Perry Gets Ryder Cup Premature Satisfaction
All the news is Kenny Perry's desire and public announcement to play in the Ryder Cup., but as some fella mentioned, it's a long way away and maybe his decision to skip the US Open is a little over zealous. The boys over at ESPN discuss it:
Bob Harig, golf contributor, ESPN.com: FICTION.
It is admirable that Kenny Perry has put the Ryder Cup above all else this year. Perhaps if others wanted to be part of the team so much, the outcome for the United States would be different.
Still, skipping a major championship does not seem right -- especially when that major championship could help you achieve your goal. Next week's U.S. Open at Torrey Pines will have a purse of $7 million-plus, and since the new points criteria is based on money earned, that is an important fact. Not to mention that points are doubled at the majors.
Aside from all of that, it is hard to swallow the notion that a player who now has 10 PGA Tour victories would not want to take a crack at the U.S. Open when he is playing so well. A victory at the Open would be remembered longer than making a Ryder Cup team.
Perry certainly views his decision to skip qualifying as a smart move. He built his schedule with the idea that he would not be in the U.S. Open. He is playing venues and tournaments he likes.
But what if his game slips in the next two months, and he falls to just outside the top eight spots? What if captain Paul Azinger is weighing his captain's picks between Perry and someone who played and competed well at the U.S. Open or British Open? The move might not look so good then.
Jason Sobel, golf writer, ESPN.com: FICTION.
I just don't get this one. Seems to me it's a bad decision on a few different levels. First off, Perry states it's his No. 1 goal to make the Ryder Cup team, so he can play in his home state of Kentucky later this year. Hey, nothing wrong with that. But where's the logic in skipping the Open, a major championship which doles out double points to potential candidates? I know he doesn't want to play a 36-hole qualifier and hasn't fared well in previous attempts at Torrey Pines, but isn't it worth giving it a shot? Secondly, if I'm U.S. captain Paul Azinger, I want players who are battle-tested and have competed in the year's biggest pressure cookers. Perry didn't qualify for the Masters, shot a final-round 80 in the last pairing of the Players and won't play the Open. Not including his victory at the Memorial, which is one of the more prestigious regular-season events on the schedule, most of Perry's damage this year will have come against nonelite fields. Like Jack Nicklaus stated on Sunday, I "understand" the theory behind Perry's latest decision; I just don't agree with it. The careers of professional golfers are judged largely on what they accomplish in major championships. For Perry, a guy who has been a solid performer throughout his tenure and is one of the hottest golfers on the planet right now, the opportunity to compete in his country's national championship should have instilled a little desire to succeed on the grand stage rather than providing a week of rest in between tour stops in Memphis and Hartford.
Ron Sirak, executive editor, Golf World: FACT.
I'm not sure it is a smart move, but it is a move that makes sense on many levels. Let's be honest, the 47-year-old Perry has little chance of winning the U.S. Open at muscled-up Torrey Pines next week, so skipping it is not that great of a sacrifice. But he is in a great position to make the Ryder Cup, and playing for his country at Valhalla in his home state of Kentucky would be major thrill for this good old boy.
The real question to ask, however, is how effective Perry will be on the U.S. Ryder Cup team. Captain Paul Azinger wants to avoid the biennial drubbing the Americans have been taking from the Europeans for the last two decades. I'm thinking Perry will have to play his way onto the team and not rely on Azinger making him a captain's pick. That being the harsh reality, Perry is doing the right thing by focusing on getting the necessary points to be an automatic selection.
We feel that hey, Perry can do whatever he wants and all credit to him but as Jack said, it was never a goal for him to get on the Ryder Cup, granted he never had to worry about that, but let us ask you this: How many major championships has jack won? 18 correct! Now what is Jacks Ryder Cup ryder cup record? How many Ryder Cups did jack play and and how many winning sides was he on? What's Tigers Ryder Cup record? That's right, unless you are a walking golf statistician, nobody cares about the Ryder Cup at the end of your career and you can bet the two greatest players ever to play the game - Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus, won't be losing much sleep if they never play in another Ryder Cup again.
Bob Harig, golf contributor, ESPN.com: FICTION.
It is admirable that Kenny Perry has put the Ryder Cup above all else this year. Perhaps if others wanted to be part of the team so much, the outcome for the United States would be different.
Still, skipping a major championship does not seem right -- especially when that major championship could help you achieve your goal. Next week's U.S. Open at Torrey Pines will have a purse of $7 million-plus, and since the new points criteria is based on money earned, that is an important fact. Not to mention that points are doubled at the majors.
Aside from all of that, it is hard to swallow the notion that a player who now has 10 PGA Tour victories would not want to take a crack at the U.S. Open when he is playing so well. A victory at the Open would be remembered longer than making a Ryder Cup team.
Perry certainly views his decision to skip qualifying as a smart move. He built his schedule with the idea that he would not be in the U.S. Open. He is playing venues and tournaments he likes.
But what if his game slips in the next two months, and he falls to just outside the top eight spots? What if captain Paul Azinger is weighing his captain's picks between Perry and someone who played and competed well at the U.S. Open or British Open? The move might not look so good then.
Jason Sobel, golf writer, ESPN.com: FICTION.
I just don't get this one. Seems to me it's a bad decision on a few different levels. First off, Perry states it's his No. 1 goal to make the Ryder Cup team, so he can play in his home state of Kentucky later this year. Hey, nothing wrong with that. But where's the logic in skipping the Open, a major championship which doles out double points to potential candidates? I know he doesn't want to play a 36-hole qualifier and hasn't fared well in previous attempts at Torrey Pines, but isn't it worth giving it a shot? Secondly, if I'm U.S. captain Paul Azinger, I want players who are battle-tested and have competed in the year's biggest pressure cookers. Perry didn't qualify for the Masters, shot a final-round 80 in the last pairing of the Players and won't play the Open. Not including his victory at the Memorial, which is one of the more prestigious regular-season events on the schedule, most of Perry's damage this year will have come against nonelite fields. Like Jack Nicklaus stated on Sunday, I "understand" the theory behind Perry's latest decision; I just don't agree with it. The careers of professional golfers are judged largely on what they accomplish in major championships. For Perry, a guy who has been a solid performer throughout his tenure and is one of the hottest golfers on the planet right now, the opportunity to compete in his country's national championship should have instilled a little desire to succeed on the grand stage rather than providing a week of rest in between tour stops in Memphis and Hartford.
Ron Sirak, executive editor, Golf World: FACT.
I'm not sure it is a smart move, but it is a move that makes sense on many levels. Let's be honest, the 47-year-old Perry has little chance of winning the U.S. Open at muscled-up Torrey Pines next week, so skipping it is not that great of a sacrifice. But he is in a great position to make the Ryder Cup, and playing for his country at Valhalla in his home state of Kentucky would be major thrill for this good old boy.
The real question to ask, however, is how effective Perry will be on the U.S. Ryder Cup team. Captain Paul Azinger wants to avoid the biennial drubbing the Americans have been taking from the Europeans for the last two decades. I'm thinking Perry will have to play his way onto the team and not rely on Azinger making him a captain's pick. That being the harsh reality, Perry is doing the right thing by focusing on getting the necessary points to be an automatic selection.
We feel that hey, Perry can do whatever he wants and all credit to him but as Jack said, it was never a goal for him to get on the Ryder Cup, granted he never had to worry about that, but let us ask you this: How many major championships has jack won? 18 correct! Now what is Jacks Ryder Cup ryder cup record? How many Ryder Cups did jack play and and how many winning sides was he on? What's Tigers Ryder Cup record? That's right, unless you are a walking golf statistician, nobody cares about the Ryder Cup at the end of your career and you can bet the two greatest players ever to play the game - Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus, won't be losing much sleep if they never play in another Ryder Cup again.
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12:06 PM
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