ShareThisBy RICK MARTINO
Friday, October 20, 2006
The much-anticipated 36th Ryder Cup gets underway this Friday-Sunday, Sept. 22-24, from The K Club in Straffan, Ireland. Captained by Tom Lehman, The United States Ryder Cup Team is led by the top three ranked players in the world: Tiger Woods, Jim Furyk and Phil Mickelson, and also includes veterans Chris DiMarco, David Toms, Chad Campbell, Stewart Cink and Scott Verplank.
However, with four rookies - J.J. Henry, Zach Johnson, Vaughn Taylor and Brett Wetterich _ on the squad, the U.S. Team is actually an underdog to a veteran European Ryder Cup Team. Europe is captained by Ian Woosnam, and led by the likes of Sergio Garcia, Colin Montgomerie, Padraig Harrington, Luke Donald, Henrik Stenson, Jose Maria Olazabal and Ireland's native son, Darren Clarke.
The phenomenal popularity of the Ryder Cup is likely based on people's desire to see the best players in the world going head-to-head for their country in a match-play format, as opposed to the stroke-play (or medal-play) format we see at most events.
Stroke-play is essentially conservative in nature, because par is always a safe score, while soaring to a large number with a double-bogey or worse can effectively shoot a good player out of a 72-hole tournament. It's just too difficult to recover.
However, match play allows players to take far more risks. That's because if a gamble fails, all you've lost is one hole - a temporary set-back that you can usually recover from. Interestingly enough, the PGA Championship was conducted as a match-play tournament from 1916-1957.
Players are split over their preference between match- and medal-play. Many prefer medal, arguing that the fairest way to determine the best player in any given tournament is 72 holes of play against par.
While Tiger Woods is undoubtedly the greatest player of his generation, his struggles at the team match-play format during recent Ryder Cups are well-documented. Conversely, the late PGA Champion Sam Snead thrived in match play, but remember, his generation had an opportunity to play the format at a major Championship every year.
While you still have to play good, solid golf to win in match-play, here are some strategies that can help improve every golfer's chances while playing the format.
1. Play the course, not your opponent. While you certainly want to be aware of how your opponent is playing and how the match stands, it's important to avoid the trap of getting swept up in the emotion of the match. It's a waste of energy and focus to personalize the competition.
2. Always play first. Whenever possible, play first, because if you hit a good shot, it will increase the pressure on your opponent and possibly force him or her to hit a poor shot. Walter Hagen, who won five PGA Championships at match-play, would often start a game by hitting a 3-wood from the tee. While he might leave himself a slightly longer approach shot, he knew that by playing first he might get an edge over his opponent.
3. Get the ball into the hole first. Again, this is a way of increasing the pressure on your opponent. You shouldn't rush your putt by any means, but do putt out if possible.
4. Always assume the worst. This might be the most important rule of match-play. There's nothing that sets you back quicker than assuming you have a hole won, only to see your opponent pull off a miracle shot or sink an impossible putt. This doesn't mean you shouldn't be optimistic _ far from it. But you should always temper your optimism with a healthy dose of reality.
5. Take it one shot at a time. Just as in medal play, you have to try very hard to play one shot at a time. Don't dwell on the past, since you can't do anything about what has already happened. When the time comes to play, concentrate on the shot at-hand and only the shot at-hand.
6. Play to your par. Now, depending on your handicap, par is the score you figure you need to shoot in order to win a hole. For higher-handicappers, "par" might be a bogey or even a double-bogey. You may get to a point late in the match when you have to gamble, but establishing your par and sticking to a game plan that allows you to match that number will win you more than your share of holes - and matches.
7. Watch your opponent. People are creatures of habit. But under pressure, they tend to get out of their routine. They walk faster or slower. They become indecisive over what shot to play or which club to use. When you notice that your opponent is struggling or has gotten out of his or her routine, it's a golden opportunity to stay relaxed and try to increase the pressure even more.
8. Don't look ahead. There's a temptation when you are in front during a match to look ahead to the next round of the draw. The danger is that your concentration will slip, and your opponent may be working especially hard to beat you.
9. Study the Rules of Golf. The Rules of Golf can be complicated and difficult to truly understand. But by knowing the rules, you know all your options, and this can help you save strokes. Jack Nicklaus, for example, used to read the Rules of Golf cover-to-cover before the start of every season.
10 Never give up. It's a simple truth that in match play: "It's never over until it's over." You may pull off a miracle shot or your opponent may surprise you and miss a relatively simple shot, and let you back in the hole - or even the match.
Golf is simply too difficult and unpredictable to ever take anything for granted.
Don't believe me? Just think about Phil Mickelson and his heartbreaking finish during this year's U.S. Open.
Oh, what he would give to have that one back!
