Ryder Cup madness returns

Every four years we are subjected to three days of Ryder Cup madness in the USA. Golf candour is thrown to the dogs as celebrities take centre stage alongside golf legends, Presidents stand alongside WAGS, galleries go bananas during back swings and golfers proceed to act like lunatics after holing long putts – all while another golfer is still trying to work out which way his putt breaks.

Australian TV Times
Luckily, every other four years, the Ryder Cup reaches European shores  and we get to see Team golf the way it should be. Combatants and friends who all get to know each other after the round over champagne and chicken sandwiches.
Sadly this is no longer the case and Ryder Cup madness is now occurring every time it is held. This week for example, the Ryder Cup is being held at the Celtic Manor Resort in Wales on the Twenty-Ten Golf Course. The only golf course to ever be designed specifically for the Ryder Cup. They do that sort of thing for the Olympic Games so why not golf as well I suppose.
Celebrities will be in attendance as usual to offer television networks something to broadcast while Dustin Johnson is trying to figure out if his ball is in a bunker or not. Catherine Zeta-Jones will be about the place as a Welsh native and it wouldn’t surprise me to see Tom Jones grace the green, green grass of Twenty-Ten.
The team uniforms is a talking point for those who don’t care for golf. The players always look a little awkward in them though. Like that feeling when you’re wearing someone else’s clothes. You know no one else knows but it feels wrong. Ryder Cup uniforms have very much a Steve Elkington look to them somehow.
As far as the golf goes, we have a Ryder Cup a little different from the norm. This one is not going to be about the big names but the small ones. Sure, Tiger will do his best to prove he is a team player on course and try and find some form that has reduced his name to nothing more than a commemorative beer. Phil Mickelson will try every shot he hasn’t thought of before and any others suggested by the WAGS at dinner. And Ian Poulter will just attempt to look good and broadcast invective tweets behind Monty’s back.
It is the young guns that will have my interest. Can Rickie Fowler handle the pressure of playing in anything other than bright orange? Will he be allowed to wear a cap? What about Rory McIlroy? Surely he needs a cap to wear? If both of these long-locked guys square up, we’ll need some big crowds just to tell them where their ball went.
At least we won’t be subjected to the celebrity assistant captain like when Michael Jordan turned up at the last President’s Cup. Although in his current form, Sergio Garcia could be considered one. I know Miguel Angel Jiminez is happy with Darren Clarke’s assistant role. He is bringing the cigars and Miguel’s gonna smoke ‘em.
This whole madness will be worth watching.

Ryder Cup: What you need to know

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