The
Ryder Cup
in association with Genuity International |
| | | Will
Ryder Cup be cancelled or delayed? When
David Duval left Royal Lytham with the silver claret jug, he said he looked forward
to being introduced as the British Open champion when he returned to England for
the Ryder Cup. Reminded
of those comments today, he didn't mince words. "Are
you asking whether the Ryder Cup should go ahead?" Duval said on the practice
range at Bellerive Country Club. The
American Express Championship was canceled about four hours later. Is
the Ryder Cup next? "The
decision about the Ryder Cup is not ours to make," Colin Montgomerie said. "It
must be made by the PGAs, the relevant bodies, but it must be the American voice
that comes out loudest and is heard." In
the hours after the terrorist attacks that led to the cancellation of PGA Tour
events for the first time in 52 years, emotions were running high. "You've
got to move on," Mark Calcavecchia said. "If you don't, you're giving in."
He was reminded that only
a day before, he suggested that it would be wise to forget about the Ryder Cup
for at least a few months. "If
you would have asked me yesterday, I'd probably say that it wouldn't be played,"
Calcavecchia said. "Ask me again next Monday or Tuesday and you might get a different
answer. It's a timing thing. Time heals all wounds, and maybe next week it won't
seem so bad. Maybe it will. "If
they play, I'll be there. If they don't, I'll support that, as well." The
Ryder Cup is scheduled for Sept. 28-30 at The Belfry near Birmingham, a city with
a heavy population of Muslims. It
is run jointly by the PGA of America, which has declined to comment on the situation,
and the PGA of Europe and European tour. "With
regard to the Ryder Cup, we are continuing our discussions," European tour spokesman
Mitchell Platts said. Until
then, no one was sure what to think. To
reschedule the Ryder Cup would be unprecedented. "I
am not sure either team or either tour could manage to fit it into the schedules.
That would be very difficult at such short notice," said Mark James, Europe's
captain in 1999 and a chairman of the tour committee in Europe. "My
feeling would be that if it did not go ahead this time, we would just wait until
2003 and carry on from there." The
Ryder Cup, which began in 1927 and is played every other year, was interrupted
for six years during World War II. It has become one of the biggest events in
golf, and this year's matches were the most anticipated. Two
years ago, the United States pulled off the greatest comeback in history with
a 45-foot putt by Justin Leonard and a celebration that offended Europe.
Ryder Cup matches have been
marked by unruly gallery behavior, to the point that poor shots by the visiting
team often are booed. Calcavecchia was once reduced to tears when he squandered
a big lead. Duval showed more emotion in the '99 matches than he did when he won
his first major championship. That,
too, is likely to change. "The
prospect of the Ryder Cup is still exciting," Duval said. "Maybe some of the drama,
some of the excitement and some of the importance placed upon the matches is certainly
gone. Maybe some of that animosity amongst the matches would disappear now."
Montgomerie wondered about
the quality of golf the Americans could produce. "They
will not be able to concentrate on golf, I am sure of that," he said. Rumors
circulated among the Europeans at Bellerive that the American team had been asked
to cancel it, but none of the Americans had heard of such a thing. None knew what
the future held either, especially how its country would respond to the terrorist
attacks. "I'd obviously
like to play," said Phillip Price of Wales, who earned a spot on his first Ryder
Cup team. "It just depends on how it affects the U.S. team." For
Calcavecchia, it would be his first time in the Ryder Cup since 1991, the year
he squandered a 4-up lead with four holes to play against Montgomerie. The United
States won the cup, but the pressure affected Calcavecchia. He
is excited at the chance to play again, but wouldn't be disappointed if the matches
were called off. "I
don't think that would be a bad thing," Calcavecchia said. Scott
Hoch agreed. Then again, Hoch has been saying all along that the Ryder Cup is
overrated. "I'm not
that fired up about the Ryder Cup anyway, and this puts even less importance on
it," Hoch said. "It wouldn't bother me if they did call it off, but other people
have to make that decision, and I'll agree with whatever decision they make."
The 1939 Ryder Cup was scheduled
for the Ponte Vedra Country Club, just up the coast from the TPC at Sawgrass in
Florida. The British
PGA sent a message via cable that because of the outbreak of World War II in Europe,
it would not be sending a team. "When
we have settled our differences and peace reigns," wrote British PGA secretary
Charles Roe, "we will see that our team comes across to remove the Ryder Cup from
your safekeeping."
Genuity
International, in association with Ryder Cup, sponsors Golf Today
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