The Scotsman has some of the best golf writing available on the web (I guess it ought to, coming from the home of golf). A recent article takes an in-depth look at Tom Lehman’s plan to get more out of the top American players than has been evident at recent Ryder Cup Matches. One of Lehman’s comments is especially interesting:

“We put a lot of emphasis on individual performance. You talk to any [American] player out there, he’ll say, ‘I want to be on the Ryder Cup team,’ and that’s a great goal, to be on the Ryder Cup team. But really, who wants to be on a losing Ryder Cup team? So I think the message I’m trying to lead through is this: I want to be on a team that goes to Ireland and wins.

Is it wistful thinking, or is European Ryder Cup Captain Ian Woosnan really going to have trouble assembling a team? This article in the Guardian reports that Justin Rose has joined the cadre of European players who now living in the US, including Clark, Casey and Donald. Rose has given up his European Tour membership.

Woosnam’s problem is that traffic across the Atlantic right now is all one-way. Rose now lives in Orlando, Florida. Poulter also has a residence there. They’re in pretty good company - Clarke, Casey and Donald already have houses in the US - and Greg Owen and Brian Davis, who got their cards at the US Tour School, have taken up residence in America. The main problem is that the European Tour cannot compete with the American tournaments for official world-ranking points. Anyone in the top 50 in the world ranking gets an automatic invitation to the major championships and the lucrative world golf championships. The best way to move up that premier league table is to play well in the US. Hence Rose’s decision to let his European Tour membership lapse.

There more food for thought in the full article.

In a quote that is sure to cause a good deal of controversy, Phil Mickelson said that his performance in the Ryder Cup wasn’t due to the equipment change, but to his lack of motivation.

“I attribute my performance (in the Ryder Cup) to motivation,” Mickelson said. “I wasn’t willing to put in enough work to play good golf.” (Full story here)

I’m not sure what to make of this. I can think of two explanations:

1) He is protecting his equipment manufacturer.

2) He’s taking ownership of the failure and is refusing to take the easy way out by blaming the equipment change.

I prefer to think its #2. I see this as the same thing as a quarterback after a losing effort blaming his own lack of preparation for the loss.

US Ryder Cup Captain Tom Lehman has selected Corey Pavin and Loren Roberts to serve as co-captains for the 2006 event. I don’t think it’s going to help. As Jamie Diaz noted in a recent issue of Golf Digest, US players are slowly being eclipsed by international stars. Twenty six of the 48 PGA events last year were won by non-US players. And, Diaz says, after the big three of Mickelson, Woods and Love, the rest of the top players are “plodders” who “ply their trade on a tour that rewards middling finishes with riches.”

I posted similar thoughts earlier this year. I maintain that the selection system is broken, and that the captain—or captains—should be free to pick young, hungry players, instead of jaded pros for whom second ... or fifth ... or twentieth ... in a regular tournament is ok becuase it means a decent payday.