High time golf got to do the talking
He’s entitled to his view, but after listening to the respective shows conducted yesterday by the pair, the dubious distinction must lie more with the European leader!
Trying to get a straight, simple answer from Faldo is well nigh impossible and if Azinger isn’t particularly forthcoming, at least he’s not trying to score points every time he opens his mouth, whether at the expense of the opposition or the person asking a perfectly fair question.
More often than not, obtaining a civil reply from Faldo is exceptionally difficult and far too frequently the unfortunate questioner is treated with disdain.
For instance, a well respected US journalist, Scott Michaux of the Augusta Chronicle, a newspaper well-known and much liked by visitors to the Masters every April, pointed out to Faldo that Azinger had earlier stated that he intended to play each of his 12 players at one stage or another on the following day (Thursday). Did the European captain intend to do the same?
Spotting his advantage and overlooking the fact that this was a very understandable slip of the tongue, Faldo stressed: “Yes, I will play all my 12 players tomorrow — Thursday.”
Michaux left it at that and a press conference significant for a very definite mistake and a clear untruth by the European leader came to a distinctly unsatisfactory close. The error concerned a piece of paper on which he had written the initials of four groups and which was picked up by a very observant Sky television cameraman. It contained the following scribble: S.G. and L.W.; P.H. and R.K.; J.R. and I.P. and G.M. and P. C.
The interpretation most people made of this was that Sergio Garcia and Lee Westwood, Pádraig Harrington and Robert Karlsson, Justin Rose and Ian Poulter and Graeme McDowell and Paul Casey would be the European pairings in the opening series of foursomes tomorrow morning. The initials O.W. (Oliver Wilson), S.H. (Soren Hansen) and M.J. (Miguel-Angel Jimenez) were also there with no reference at all to Henrik Stenson.
When the apparent faux pas was pointed out to Faldo, he initially claimed it was his “sandwich list” which he was preparing to hand his son who could then go off and tend to the players’ needs. It was a clear untruth and one to which Nick had to eventually own up.
“Okay, I’ve been caught and I’ve learned a lesson”, he admitted.
But he still couldn’t leave it at that and instead of the lunch list, he claimed it was “tomorrow’s pairings. You know the pairings and we are going to play foursomes tomorrow on the front nine. It was on the seventh tee and if the photographer was on the 13th or 14th , it all changed so it’s all different now”.
Studying all of this for some time after the press conference, you were left to wonder why Faldo, especially, and Azinger see the need for these kinds of mind games.
Azinger yesterday admitted that “a pattern was developing” with his pairings while also maintaining that “there was a time when it was important to look for certain players in the Ryder Cup. We tried to find Seve and Faldo and Montgomerie and they tried to find Tiger and Phil. But with these two teams, I don’t believe anybody is looking for anybody. I haven’t given any thought to what the European team might be considering”.
Do you really believe that? Hardly. Just as Faldo described Azinger’s comment that Holmes and Perry would lead out the Americans tomorrow as “a poker move”.
Given the veil of secrecy being pulled over the issue, one hardly knows whether there is any significance to the pairings Faldo sent out in yesterday’s practice round. The Spaniards Garcia and Jimenez took on the Irish duo of Harrington and McDowell. There is every reason to believe that they are two genuine options for the captain, although I would expect to see Harrington and McDowell being paired in the fourballs.
After that came Oliver Wilson and Paul Casey and Lee Westwood and Soren Hansen but I don’t read too much into that line-up. Equally, though, you can take it for read that the Stenson-Karlsson and Poulter-Rose line-ups will be repeated once the real action begins.
Most will be happy that we’re only 24 hours away from that happening. The phoney war – which is most certainly what it is – has been enjoyable and very often highly amusing but after the points scoring of the last few days, it’s no harm that it is nearly at an end. The foursomes pairings will be revealed this afternoon and then we can get down to what the teams are best at doing and that’s playing golf.
As for Faldo and Azinger, I suspect that not too many would be upset if they disappeared off the planet altogether!
The 37th Ryder Cup would get on fine without them.
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