Teams play, but Twitter still all the talk

NEWPORT, Wales -- The U.S. and European Ryder Cup teams ventured out for their first practice rounds Tuesday morning on the TwentyTen Course at Celtic Manor Resort, so you'd think the British media might be all, well, atwitter over what the pairings might foreshadow for Friday's opening matches.

Instead, the first question posed to European captain Colin Montgomerie in his afternoon press conference explored the ramifications of "Twittergate."

It seems that England's Ian Poulter has continued tweeting after both Montgomerie and U.S. captain Corey Pavin said they were discouraging members of their teams from posting their thoughts on Twitter. Montgomerie did qualify in his comments on Monday that there was no ban, per se, because, "if somebody does it how can you punish someone for it? It's not a ban."

But Poulter, the most enthusiastic tweeter from either side, has continued his tweeting ways. So clarification from Monty was in order

"I didn't say it was OK to Tweet. Tweeting has not been banned," Montgomerie started, further clouding the issue. "I think banning things is very dangerous, because, say, someone does it, what's the -- how can you then say anything. So Tweeting, let's get this cleared up, right -- talking about Tweeting ... I thought I was the captain of a golf team, not the captain of a Tweeting organization."

Yes, well, the tasks of a Ryder Cup captain never cease to grow more complex.

"Whatever they do, whatever they are, respect is shown for what is said within the team room. That's what I have banned," Montgomerie said. "And they are respectful, the ones that do, that are on these social websites, the ones that do use them, they understand fully what was said and they respect that view."

Later on in the program, Monty was able to segue from tweeting to birdies. Not that it's of any interest but Lee Westwood, who hasn't competed since the Bridgestone Invitational because of a calf injury, made three birdies in his first four holes Tuesday morning.

So to summarize: No Twitter ban at Ryder Cup is the headline. Subhead: Golf also played on Tuesday.

--Dave Shedloski