Pavin Overcomes Private Charter Jet Lag To Engage Monty In Witty Repartee

/

You just can't get this kind of banter these days anywhere but in Ryder Cup captaindom.

Q. There were some quotes from you today saying that perhaps you would not have picked Tiger Woods on your team; is there a danger that those quotes might stoke up the Americans a bit more?

COLIN MONTGOMERIE: I don't know where that came from. I never spoke to any press yesterday, and I don't know where that came from. I've always said that  I've always said that Tiger, the best player in the world, and in my opinion, the best player who has ever played the game. Of course he would be on my team. I said that at the US PGA.

COREY PAVIN: He actually recommended to me.

COLIN MONTGOMERIE: Yes, I recommended to Corey to pick him.

COREY PAVIN: I was following his recommendation.

Ryder Cup Viewing Questions...

/

As a story appears acknowledging NBC's extreme tape-delay Saturday versus ESPN's decision to show it live, I'd like to know how you plan to watch the Ryder Cup.

1.) Will you watch the start of ESPN's live coverage starting Thursday at 11:30 p.m. Pacific, 2:30 a.m. Eastern, or DVR it and start from the beginning and fast forward through commercials (this is for those who don't have jobs!).

2. Will you watch NBC's tape-delay coverage on Saturday without checking results online?

3. If you could watch it live online Saturday, would you choose that over the tape delay, even if it means getting up very early or needing a DVR to record the early play?

Graeme: Monty Won't Blow It Like Faldo Did!

/

Strong words from the U.S. Open Champion about 2008's Captain Faldo led squad versus what he expects in 2010 from Captain Monty. Douglas Lowe reports:

“Monty is running a good ship and the backroom staff are going to make a big difference this time as well. Having guys like Thomas [Bjorn], Darren [Clarke] and Paul [McGinley] – and wee Sergio [Garcia] as well – is going to be unbelievable. We’re definitely a lot more organised.

“At Valhalla, maybe just that extra spark in the team room was missing. Sergio had been sick the week before and was on antibiotics. Westwood got dropped on Saturday morning, and a guy like that needs to be playing every game. We just didn’t have that x-factor in the team room, someone to stand up and rally the troops.

“Jose Maria [Olazabal, Faldo’s only assistant] got up on Saturday night and made a great speech when the singles line-up came out. That was the first emotional speech we had the whole week. I think we’ll have the extra dynamic in the team room this time round. Our backroom staff will help to make sure we have that passion and really get guys up from it from the word go."

Padraig On Cup Cutline?

/

Would you kindly ask him to step aside in light of his mediocre play in France?

Harrington, the only player from the world's top 50 in the field, is also the only member of the European team in action this week, after Peter Hanson withdrew before the first round because of a chest infection.
The Dubliner, with four top-10 finishes in nine European events this season, birdied all four par-five holes on Friday.

But it was at the par-fours where he encountered problems, going out of bounds with a hook at the 12th, and dropping seven shots in four holes.

But in the pro-am style event that reverts to the top 65 professionals for the final two rounds at the Marly course, Harrington was inspired by his brother Fergal, who chipped in from off the green at the 17th, after which his younger sibling holed from around 15ft for a birdie.

A par at the last left him in a share for 58th place which would be good enough to qualify, but Harrington will have to see what scores are recorded by the players in the afternoon groups.

Ryder Cuppers Rounding Into Dismal Form As Cup Nears

/

With four of the five contenders for the $10 million FedExCup prize and the format leaving the points chase up to a riveting algorithm race, attention is already turning to how the Ryder Cuppers are faring.

Luke Donald has the round one lead while Paul Casey is right there so…oh well, one bit of good news for Monty. I was, however, surprised by Donald's quotes about the omission of Casey in this Lawrence Donegan story.

"I was certainly – what's the right word? – surprised he wasn't one of the three picks," he says. "I thought his name would have been before mine. He's a great match player, with a great matchplay record. He hits the ball long and straight off the tee, which is not a bad thing to have around Celtic Manor, and he is a decent putter. I'm not sure if we should blame Monty or the selection process for what happened."

Meanwhile as Casey eyes a possible $13 million payday, Padraig Harrington fired a 68 at the Vivendi Pro-Am and trails by seven. But he offered some Yogi Berraesque thoughts on his beleaguered game.

“If I had putted well it would have been a tremendous score,” Harrington said. “You have to hole putts to shoot a low number. I could see the two weeks of practice I’ve just done and I got stalled over the ball a bit, but another three rounds will do me no end of good.”

On the American side, Bubba Watson and Jeff Overton are stinking it up, but at least Bubba knows why, according to Jason Sobel.

"The golf course doesn't set up good for me," Watson said. "I've never played good here -- never played close to good here -- and that's the difference. Just not a fan of the golf course. It just doesn't set up good for me."

As for Overton, his round was doomed from the beginning.

"I missed a 2-footer on the first hole, then hit a bad 8-iron on the second hole," he explained. "It's just one of those things where I really didn't get into the round right away, for some reason."