Golf Digest Search Results

Ron Sirak: Should Tom Watson Serve As Ryder Cup Captain Again?

Ron Sirak — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 05:00:00 GMT

The U.S. could help change its losing ways by turning to the past and tapping Tom Watson as captain.

Ron Sirak: Captain Crunch

Ron Sirak — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 16:00:00 GMT

How can the U.S. turn things around in the Ryder Cup? By starting at the top.

Tenuous golf connection: When Gretzky was benched like Woods

Sat, 29 Sep 2012 12:06:00 GMT

By Sam Weinman

It's an unthinkable notion: the greatest player of his generation, quite possibly of all time, sat out in a crucial session of international competition.

Tiger Woods in Saturday foursomes of the Ryder Cup? Well, yeah, that, too. But we were actually referring to Wayne Gretzky in the 1998 Winter Olympics.

So maybe a hockey game from nearly 15 years ago doesn't immediately spring to mind when looking at the bold decision by Davis Love III to bench Woods after his 0-2 start at Medinah CC. But it's worth noting the U.S. captain isn't first guy to bypass a living legend.

Like Woods on Saturday morning, Gretzky in 1998 had to watch players with inferior careers carry on in his place.

Some back story: the 1998 Winter Games marked the first time the NHL allowed its stars to participate in the Olympics, which meant that Gretzky, by then the most decorated star in the game's history, could represent his native Canada. Like Woods now, Gretzky's career record dwarfed all of his contemporaries (by the time of his retirement, he owned 61 NHL records). But like Woods, he was at that point in his career struggling to maintain the same level of play, finishing the Olympics with just four assist in six games.

When a semifinal game against the underdog Czech Republic headed to a shootout, Canadian coach Marc Crawford faced a decision not unlike Love's. Like foursomes, shootouts are a quirky format, and not necessarily a gauge of the best players. And just as Love opted to go with less-decorated players like Jason Dufner and Brandt Snedeker for Saturday foursomes, Crawford tapped the likes of Joe Nieuwendyk, Eric Lindros, and Brendan Shanahan for the shootout -- leaving Gretzky to watch helplessly from the bench.

The result was that the Canada failed to score, the Czechs won the gold medial, and the dispirited Canadians couldn't even get past Finland in the bronze medal game. Gretzky retired a year later, but his Olympic benching remains a controversial topic today.

Whether Woods' absence from play on Saturday will have the same sort of ripple effects is unlikely, especially if the U.S. holds onto its lead at Medinah. But for what it's worth, Love is one of the few professional golfers who knows something about hockey.

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In playing Woods again, Love takes a gamble

Fri, 28 Sep 2012 18:19:00 GMT

By Bill Fields

MEDINAH, Ill. -- Tiger Woods' Friday morning foursomes match ended with his putter in his hand, for a five-foot par putt he didn't have a chance to make on the 17th hole of Medinah No. 3. Justin Rose had just snuggled a hybrid chip to within inches, ensuring a 2-and-1 victory for he and Ian Poulter over Woods and Steve Stricker and pulling Europe into a 2-2 deadlock with the United States.

Photo by Getty Images

Given how Woods -- who is now 4-8-1 in Ryder Cup foursomes -- had struggled during the anchor match of the first session of the 39th Ryder Cup, it was plausible that U.S. captain Davis Love III might sit Woods in the Friday afternoon four-ball session.

Related: Complete Ryder Cup coverage

But Love put Woods and Stricker out again in the afternoon in the third match against Lee Westwood and long-hitting Nicolas Colsaerts. Friday morning losers Jim Furyk and Brandt Snedeker were rested in the afternoon, along with Jason Dufner and Zach Johnson, a pair that scored one of the Americans' two opening-session victories.

"We considered it for sure but we had some good inside information," Love said in an interview with ESPN. "We just thought once they started playing best ball they'd get back on their games."

That Love decided to stick with Woods-Stricker in the afternoon was in line with what the American captain said on the eve of the Matches. "I didn't go back and study Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker's record before I put them together," he said, answering a reporter who noted the duo had struggled in the last two Cups. "They wanted to play together and they have done pretty well together, so going to let them go."

Woods struggled from the outset Friday morning, driving far left into trouble on the first hole, and subsequently spraying tee shots to the right. Better with his irons, Woods hit a beautiful long-iron approach onto the 16th green which appeared to give the U.S. pair a good chance to cut its deficit to 1-down. But Ian Poulter sank a clutch 12-footer to halve the hole.

If Woods rebounds in the afternoon (he has a 5-6-0 record in Ryder Cup foursomes), Love's decision to stick with the 36-year-old legend will seem to make sense. If he struggles, though, he will endure the kind of second-guessing that comes with the job. Before a ball had been struck Love was clear about having a plan, and planning to stick with it.

"I told some of the guys, [former North Carolina basketball coach] Dean Smith just ran his offense and he ran it and ran it and he ran it until the game was over, and I think that's what we are going to do," Love said. "We have got a plan, we have some great players and we are just going to let them play until we run out of holes. I think everybody around me seems to feel like we have a pretty good plan."

European Sergio Garcia, who lost for the first time in foursomes Friday morning, wasn't very interested when asked if he was surprised Woods-Stricker was going back out in the afternoon.

"I don't really care what the Americans do," Garcia said. "It's their problem, not mine."

Woods birdied the first hole of the afternoon, which had to make his captain feel good, but a long afternoon was ahead.

Follow @BillFields1

Another piece of PGA Tour puzzle appears to be settled

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 20:51:00 GMT

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. -- Another piece of the 2013-2014 PGA Tour puzzle appears to have been settled.

The current Fall Finish events that will move to the beginning of a split-calendar season in 2013 are likely to be worth full FedEx Cup points. The PGA Tour Policy Board still has to vote on the measure, but that was the recommendation the board received from Player Advisory Council, which met Tuesday at the RBC Heritage.

The tournaments in question are the Justin Timberlake Shriner's Hospital for Children Open, Fry's.com Open, The McGladrey Classic and the Children's Miracle Network Classic. Additional co-sanctioned events in Asia like the CIMB Asia Pacific Classic also would be worth full FedEx Cup points.

Photo by Getty Images

"The thinking was that if we're going to go through all this trouble to change the schedule and incorporate the fall events into the regular season, the points should be equal to the other events on the schedule," said Jim Furyk, one of four players on the Policy Board.

Father's Day: Snapshots

Christian Iooss — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 04:00:00 GMT

A slideshow of golf's dads and daughters, fathers and sons

PGA Tour: Fantasy Fix: The Heritage

Alex Myers — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 14:30:00 GMT

We discuss a possible last trip to Hilton Head for the PGA Tour, an honorable penalty call and a potentially legendary snack.

PGA Tour: Fantasy Fix: AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am

Alex Myers — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 16:00:00 GMT

We discuss Dustin Johnson's return to Pebble Beach, some interesting golf prop bets and give Mark Wilson a nickname.

PGA Tour: Fantasy Fix: Waste Management Phoenix Open

Alex Myers — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 05:00:00 GMT

We discuss the Waste Management Phoenix Open, Phil's penchant for putting on a show and give a not-so-bold Super Bowl prediction.

The Golf Digest 50

Ron Sirak — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 05:00:00 GMT

Golf Digest presents its eighth annual ranking of the top money makers in golf.