Pond Scrum: No match for Poulter, lots to love about Paris
In honor of the two big-money match-play events staged last week on the LPGA and European tours, were going to move quickly and decisively.
Theres lots of ground and at least a couple of continents to cover.
These are the weeks that were made for Pond Scrum, our weekly two-ball match between Transatlantic scribes John Huggan, our European Tour correspondent in the U.K., and CBSSports.com senior writer Steve Elling in the States.
This week, the ledger tips absolutely to the European Tours biggest regular-season event, the notable BMW PGA Championship in suburban London, at the tours home track, Wentworth. As ever, the Sons of Uncle Sam have stayed home in droves.
If every hole of match-play is akin to a little tournament in itself, feel free to keep track of the snide asides, put-ons, putdowns and occasionally coherent points logged in the oceanic to-and-fro of these theres no slow play in this pairing. And nobody concedes much of anything.
In an entertaining finale to the Volvo World Match Play over the weekend in Spain, the last two winners of the WGC-Accenture Match Play event butted heads in the finale. Is winner Ian Poulter the best in the world at the match-play format, given his stellar Ryder Cup record?
Is Ian Poulter the best match play player in the world? (Getty Images)
Elling: Hes the best in the world at match play, other than the guy he beat in the finale, Luke Donald. But no doubt, from an American context, those two guys have been the guts of the last few Ryder Cup teams for Europe, amassing a combined mark of 17-4-1, if my match-play math is right. Donald is so annoyingly steady he wears you down, and when he misses a green, his stellar short game cuts you up with little razor-blade slices. It wears on a guy when players keep short-gaming you to death. Someday, Poulter is going to be a Ryder Cup captain. Right after Harrington. Those two will fill up a few notebooks with quotes.
Huggan: Heavens, Im going to start off by agreeing with you. Perhaps the only challenger to Poulter and Donald when it comes to match play is Aussie Geoff Ogilvy, who has won the Accenture twice and lost in the final once. The great thing is that all three could hardly be more different as p how great head-to-head play can be.
Elling: For match play, which sometimes can grow tedious, it was darned easy to watch, with Poulter entertaining the crowd with his one-liners and animated gestures. Falling on his butt was a seasonal SportsCenter highlight, to be sure. Talk about two distinct personalities. Donald is as stoic as they come and Poulter is a cockatiel in cleats.
Huggan: Poulter is fun to watch, though. I watched a fair bit of the action in all six of his matches and in each one he was, for long enough, very much second-best. No one is better at winning when they really have no right doing so than Poults.
Elling: Ogilvy? You mean the former world top-3 guy who withdrew from the Players Championship with an injury nine days ago and create an international firestorm?
Huggan: Paul Lawrie, Francesco Molinari, Nicolas Colsaerts. Just three of the names who will feel they were robbed by Ian over the course of the matches. Yes, Ogilvy, thats the guy. He is easily the most anonymous world-class player on the planet.
Elling: I had no clue that Poulters short game was that good. I can see why he was auditioning putters so often early in the season and switching every other week between makes and mo all the time.
Huggan: Poulter just has the uncanny knack of hitting a great shot or making a putt when he absolutely has to. No one focuses better than he. There is so much to admire about Poulter as a golfer. I, like most people, have been guilty of underestimating him at times. I think Ill stop doing that from now on.
Elling: Hes got a big-league set of Titleists, for sure. His performance with everybody watching his every move at Louisville, when he was tabbed by Nick Faldo as a controversial captains pick, might have defined his career. He was the best player on that team. Either team. But, come on, its more fun when Poulter is mad at somebody. Underestimating him, or annoying him over some slight, real or perceived, is half the fun. The guy has the fastest Twitter thumbs on the planet.
Huggan: Ian wasnt far behind Donald at last year at the Ryder Cup at Celtic Puddle … sorry, Manor. He does have an itchy Twitter finger. I laugh when he gives credence to the often inane ramblings of some distant geek with a computer.
Elling: As opposed to, you know, us.
Luke Donald missed another chance to become world No. 1 on Sunday, though the way he is playing, it seems inevitable. Does he seem like a No. 1-caliber guy to you?
Elling: Its a darned accurate reflection of the times, or at least, of the moment. This impending possibility is a real eyebrow-raiser over here in the States, where Donald has played full-time since finishing college 10 years ago. In that span, do you know how many 72-hole stroke-play events he has won on the P the final round of what is now the Viking Classic was rained out after 54 holes and he was given the trophy. In an era when nobody is dominant, Donald might be the perfect Numero Uno, really.
Huggan: Yeah, I wish Luke had more Ws on his record. Ive actually been one of the few U.K. journos to have doubted his ability to get it done at the very highest level. For long enough, he hit too many shots left under pressure for my liking. But hes a better player now than he has ever been. I would love to see him win a major. Quite apart from the fact that he is half-Scottish, you have to love that rhythm and tempo.
Elling: The world ranking rewards wins, and failing that, consistency. Nobody is doing much of the former and Donald is doing plenty of the latter. Ergo …. Win a major, you say? Win a stroke-play event, period. I am not knocking him. Nobody backdoors the No. 1 spot. But grab a 54-hole lead and maintain it. Come from five shots down on the back nine to win. We like fireworks and swagger. Pirates, not accountants.
Huggan: As for the No. 1 thing, Luke is every bit as good as Westwood and Kaymer, both of whom have ascended to the throne this year. So he will be next and he will be legit.
Elling: From a patriotic standpoint, I probably should watch my flowery verbiage here. The top-rated Yank is none other than Phil Mickelson, the most inconsistent player on the planet. He has one victory in the past 13 months, so hes not exactly lightin musical chairs and a song that never ends.
Huggan: I like to think if Luke got himself into position with 18 holes to play in the upcoming U.S. Open, he wouldnt shoot 82 like that American “superstar” did last year. Or 80 like that other U.S. star did at the PGA Championship last year. Or 80 like the young buck from Northern Ireland did at the Masters. Lukes technique is too good for that to happen, I think. It really was a sign of the times that last weeks match p none of them American.
Elling: You are probably right … by a little. What did Donald shoot in the final pairing of the 2006 PGA Championship when paired with Tiger at Medinah, aka, the red-shirt Sunday? Less than a million but more than Tiger, the 54-hole leader and eventual winner. (Note: Donald shot 74.)
In a move that didnt generate a lot of attention Stateside last week, the venue for the 2018 Ryder Cup was chosen, set for a course outside Paris. After less-than-complimentary reviews of the past few host venues, especially in Europe, whats the buzz on this one?
Huggan: For the first time since 1981, a European Ryder Cup will be played on a decent course. No all of them rubbish. Paris National, while far from perfect, is a huge step up from those goat tracks. The last few holes in particular will be hugely exciting, with water everywhere. It will also offer a built-in advantage for the home team, nearly all of whom will have played the course more than a few times in the European Tours annual French Open.
Elling: Thats excellent news on the worthiness front. Though at the Ryder, the course is perhaps the least-important part of the process, really. Everybody plays it. The last couple of holes are used intermittently. The drama is in the pairings and performance, not so much the stage itself. But a good venue surely helps. Interesting that the PGA of America, which runs the Ryder in the States, does not put its venues up for bribe. Did I say bribe? I meant bid. Sorry. Occupational sarcasm overload. But think how much the PGA could reel in if it went the European route and charged for the right to stage the biggest event in golf?
Huggan: Rumor has it Monty wants to be captain in France. Just kidding.
Elling: Monty deserved to be beaten senseless with a stale baguette for throwing his name back in the ring in the first place. Other worthy candidates in the mix deserve a shot. they make no bones about their shameless milking of the cash cow that is the Ryder Cup. Hence their lack of interest in the quality of the venue. Money talks many different languages in Europe.
Elling: No question. Without hawking the Ryder at auction, there would be no Euro Tour. But hey, if you are going to sell yourself to the highest bidder, what better place for a painted lady than France?
Crying shame that the shame and humiliation from his three-putt playoff loss at the Players Championship had such a hangover for 44-year-old David Toms, huh? It took him all of seven more days to win his first title in five years. Hes a born-again stud, eh?
Elling: While we are riffing on the Ryder, I can envision Toms as a U.S. captain at some point. He has 13 tour wins and a major. In this era, thats almost a Hall of Fame career.
Huggan: Maybe 20 years ago I had the pleasure of playing a round with David Toms when he was competing on what was then the Hogan Tour. He was a fine player then and a really nice lad. Ive followed his career with interest since. Hes another killer in match play, actually. At the Belfry in 200 he took out Sergio in the singles at a time when beating Sergio actually meant something. David would be a fine captain, one of those who could take the job on either side of the Atlantic, such is the respect he engenders on all sides.
Elling: I freely admit that I didnt think Toms still had the same fire in the belly as he did years he opened with 62s at C he hit the defining shot when he holed that wedge for eagle early on the back nine. Took the lead, never looked back, did what experienced guys are supposed to do with the lead. As was noted, he has the perfect game for that fairways-and-greens track at Colonial. Pretty good for a guy with a 107 mph swing speed. Man after my own heart.
Huggan: The other thing I noted about Colonial is how easy the course apparently is for the modern player. How much longer can it survive without the ball being reined in? Hogan must be spinning in his grave after 62-62?
Elling: As to your question: It cant endure. I saw tears welling in the eyes of that Hogan statue behind the 18th green when Toms cut the place to shreds. Hey, nobody listens to us. And the dollar signs expended for redesigns of historic venues continue to mount as a result.
Its the 10-year anniversary of the infamous Casey Martin verdict at the U.S. Supreme Court and its the subject of an interesting ESPN special. Has the PGA Tour ever looked worse than it did upon the announcement of this verdict?
Huggan: Yeah, that was a low point. The big surprise for me was the opposition of Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer. Unusual for these titans of the game to miss a point by such a wide margin.
Elling: Nicklaus and Palmer both provided errant testimonials in support of a no-cart rule. Spectacularly bad public-relations in a sport that is rightly viewed globally as being populated by stuffed shirts and rich white guys with trophy wives. Oh, did I stereotype?
Huggan: Never has the game of golf appeared to be so uncaring. Just one more thing I could never explain to my non-golfing friends. They either hate golf or laugh at it.
Elling: The Martin scenario was a bad joke that required a decade for the punchline to be delivered. To wit, John, do you know how many players have petitioned and been granted for the use of a cart over the decade since Martin “won” his case?
Huggan: Would it be one or two?
Elling: One. Double heart-transplant recipient Erik Compton was given six months use of a cart. He has since stopped asking for one, bless him. Who would possibly deny that he might warrant a little help with his engine? Nobody. All that needlessly bad PR for the game of golf.
Huggan: What you have to remember, however, is that the PGA Tour rarely does anything for the “good of the game.” It is populated by hard-nosed businessmen who have hijacked the game for their own financial interests. They couldnt care less about anything other than the bottom line and their own end-of-year bonuses. The same is true of the European Tour, before anyone jumps on me for racism.
In a shocking industry surprise, longtime NBC Sports czar Dick Ebersol has bailed in an apparent contract dispute, just weeks after parent company Comcast placed NBC, the Go namely, his. What does this mean for the golf coverage and impending PGA Tour rights-fee contract talks?
Elling: The PGA Tour was set to begin talks with CBS and NBC this summer about the TV contracts, and was optimistic that the takeover of NBC by Comcast would not affect NBCs appetite for weekend tour coverage. In fact, an official with the tour had noted during the Players Championship that the symbiotic coverage of the Golf Channel and NBC was better than ever and was hopeful it meant the two entities were “more invested” than ever in the product. Ebersol was the guy running the overall show and you can bet his abrupt departure throws a dollop of doubt into the mix from Philly to Orlando. Will NBC still want to fork over the same rights-fee dinero for weekend golf coverage when it is already paying for weekday coverage on the Golf Channel? At a point when Tiger Woods is mostly irrelevant on the weekends? Now I am less sure.
Huggan: My only hope regarding NBC and the Golf Channel is t of Mark Rolfing. Im a Sky Sports guy, remember!
The biggest regular-season event on the European Tour begins this week at Wentworth. Hey, where are the Americans?
Huggan: There will be one in the field: an up-and-coming youngster by the name of John Daly. Its high time the likes of Dustin Johnson, Nick Watney, Rickie Fowler and the rest got themselves over to Wentworth for the real PGA championship this week. They need to test themselves against the best on foreign turf. They would emerge as better players if that did.
Elling: I admit, I like the E-Tours feistiness. Two weeks ago, a tour media relations guy issued an email that called the BMW PGA Championship the “fifth major.” That takes some moxie.
Huggan: I spoke with Ken Schofield, former chief exec of the European Tour, last week. He would like to see the Players and the PGA “twinned” so that both count on the PGA Tour and ET money lists. It makes too much sense for it to ever happen, but I live in hope. As I intimated earlier, it would help the young Americans if they were competing against the very best players more often.
Elling: Thats a darned lucid idea. So, both the Players and Wentworth would count toward both money races?
Huggan: Exactly. Clearly, you dont read my Sunday newspaper column.
Elling: By the way, here is the scorecard, as promised two weeks ago: The Players Championship had 44 of the top 50 when it began, and eight of the top 10. The Wentworth event has 19 of the top 50 entered, and seven of the top nine.
Huggan: Think what a great event it would be if even some of the leading Americans made the epic journey to London. If they can go to Hawaii for the Sony, surely they can get themselves across the Atlantic. Lots of lovely world ranking points available, too.
Elling: Fat chance. They cant get the U.S. stars to show up in Dallas for the Byron Nelson this week, and he was the closest thing to a saint the game has ever known.
Huggan: The Nelson is played on such a bad course, though. Wentworth, while not really a fave of mine, is much better.
Elling: I went to the Nelson once. Tiger missed the cut that week and snapped his streak of finishing in the money for eight straight years. He never went back. Same for me. I guess I am guilty of ignoring it, too. I cant even remember the name of the place. Something real catchy, like TPC Colitis.
The PGA Tour has staged 22 of its 37 “regular-season” events, meaning pre-FedEx Cup series stops. Anybody see a player of the year favorite emerging? Failing that, how about a world player of the year?
Huggan: Hmmm. Donald has to be leading right now. But with three majors to play, its way too early to draw any sensible conclusions. Why dont you ask Tiger?
Elling: True, but being sensible isnt a strong suit, and the que that the landscape is awfully level out there. Its beginning to look a lot like 2010, when the FedEx Cup series decided the top-player in Jim Furyk, the only guy with three wins last season. If Mark Wilson wins again, giving him three victories, I guess he is our man? Ah, parity. I bet a guy from ESPN the princely sum of $1 that the next eight majors will be won by eight different players. You want a piece of that action, too?
Huggan: I can see one duplicate occurring.
Elling: Ask Tiger? At this point, Tiger doesnt get to vote on the player of the year. He has to play 15 events to keep his voting rights. Playing 12 at this point seems like a stretch.
Speaking of the deposed world No. 1, Woods posted a note on his website last week indicating that he probably wont play until the U.S. Open in three weeks because of lingering leg issues. In other words, he is expected to skip the Memorial Tournament, one of his most successful annual stops. Is it better to play while ailing in order to shake off the rust, or better to show up and play with little live preparation and take his chances on the outcome?
Huggan: Why do you keep asking me questions about someone who isnt even in the top 10 in the world ranking? And who wont be in the top 20 by the U.S. Open? I dont care about Tiger. Until he starts telling us something approaching the truth, Im declaring myself a Tiger-free zone.
Elling: I just flipped a coin. It was tails. Therefore, Tiger made the right call. As in, better to be ambulatory and rusty. You just used “Tiger” and “free” in the same sentence. You know the man well. His two favorite words.
