Friday, September
27, 2002
Strange:
Tiger not cheating fans
By Tim Dahlberg
Associated Press
SUTTON COLDFIELD,
England — Try as they might — and the British tabloid
writers tried mightily — they couldn’t get a controversy
going over the decision by Tiger Woods to play an early practice
round Thursday.
Woods was on the
course with Mark Calcavecchia at 6:30 a.m., 2¤ hours before
the scheduled American practice time.
Woods, who normally
practices early, might have disappointed some fans who didn’t
get to see him on the course, but American captain Curtis Strange
said it was fine with him.
“I’m sorry
if somebody didn’t get to see Tiger play,” Strange said.
“But they’ll get to see him play the next three days,
if he plays.”
That wasn’t
enough to satisfy the writers, who kept trying to get out of Strange
some admission that Woods violated team rules or perhaps owed
the fans an appearance.
One asked Strange
if he was aware of “any element of confrontation” between
Woods and fans over the fact he played early.
“No, because
there probably wasn’t any out there at 6:30 a.m.,” Strange
replied.
Strange had made
it clear the day earlier that he had given players the leeway
to decide how they wanted to prepare on Thursday after two days
of official practice.
He also made it clear
he was getting tired of the line of questioning, especially after
one writer said he didn’t think it was fair for Woods to
“slip out of his blanket, wear his pajamas, and go play a
game of golf without the rest of the world seeing him.”
“Are you asking
a question or making a comment?” Strange asked.
n No Seve: Seve Ballesteros
was conspicuous by his absence at a Ryder Cup opening ceremony
that drew dozens of former players.
Ballesteros, captain
in 1997 and a fiery competitor in eight Ryder Cups, declined an
invitation from the European Tour to attend the event.
“I have nothing
to do — I am not the captain or vice captain,” Ballesteros
said in an interview with BBC from his home in Spain.
Ballesteros, though,
said he would be paying close attention to the matches.
“As I was last
time, I will be watching,” he said.
Wife’s Tales: The players had their own
seating section at the opening ceremonies, and so did their wives
and girlfriends.
After each player
was introduced, television cameras would show a brief shot of
his significant other.
Nine of the 12 American
players had wives attending, while Tiger Woods and Mark Calcavecchia
had girlfriends. In Woods’ case it was Elin Nordegren, a
former nanny for Jesper Parnevik who has been his companion the
past year.
David Duval was the
only player who came without a partner. Duval broke up with a
longtime girlfriend earlier this year.
On the European side,
Sergio Garcia brought his mother, Consuelo Fernandez. Garcia has
been dating tennis player Martina Hingis.
“The wives are
fantastic,” European captain Sam Torrance said. “In
the end, they’re the ones in the room where the players go
back with the frustrations or whatever. And they’re the ones
that calm them down.”
n Jesper’s out:
Jesper Parnevik teamed with Sergio Garcia in the 1999 Ryder Cup
for a 3-0-1 record that helped put the European team four points
ahead going into the singles matches.
But he was nowhere
to be found in the pairings for the first best ball matches today.
Parnevik has fallen
from No. 24 to No. 61 in the world rankings in the past year after
struggling with his putter.
“Jesper is not
on top of his game yet, but he’s very close,” Torrance
said. “I didn’t want to put the pressure on him when
his game is not right in the first match.”
Garcia was matched
with Lee Westwood for the opening match against Scott Hoch and
Jim Furyk.
Favorites: British bookies expect
the American team to do well in the opening four matches.
Shortly after the
pairings were announced Thursday, oddsmakers made three American
pairings favorites, with the only European edge going to Colin
Montgomerie and Bernhard Langer in their best-ball match against
Scott Hoch and Jim Furyk.
The United States
is a 2-1 favorite to win the cup, while Tiger Woods and Sergio
Garcia are the favorites to lead their respective teams in scoring.
n Bad television:
NBC course reporter Roger Maltbie thinks viewers will be cheated
because of the decision of Torrance to use the back tee on the
drivable par-4 10th hole.
Most players say
they will now lay up because the tee on the 311-yard hole was
not only moved back, but to the right, making it difficult to
clear trees and hit the tiny green flanked by water.
Even Tiger Woods
says the risk outweighs the reward. Woods plans to hit no more
than an 8-iron off the tee and try to get a wedge close.
“Sadly, it’s
going to cheat the television viewer and the spectator both of
some pretty compelling and exciting stuff,” Maltbie said.
“But I don’t think Sam’s too concerned with them.
He’s trying to win the Ryder Cup.”
Divots: Play begins today with
team best ball, a change from most Ryder Cups where alternate
shot leads off. Torrance made the decision to change the format
as the host captain. ... The U.S. team hasn’t done well the
first few days in recent Ryder Cups. In seven of the last eight,
the Europeans have led after the team competition. ... NBC’s
coverage will be a combination of live and taped play on Saturday,
with live coverage of Sunday’s singles matches beginning
at 6 a.m. CDT.
Start or Join A Discussion
about This Story
Send
the URL (Address) of This Story to A Friend:
|
