38th Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor

[Flabbibulin]

The biggest golf event of the year is a day away. Coverage starts 1230am Friday morning on TSN. The European team is the favorite, but I think the Americans will do well.

Not sure how many people been watching the coverage leading upto the event, but the media has done a good job of turning the headlines into a smut fest... They're sports reporters, but you'd think it was TMZ.

Anyways, on with the golf. I hope it's a good one.

[GirlySports]

It's the British tabloids! TMZ are amateurs.

Got a feeling the Euros are too cocky and the underdog Americans will take this one.

[Mayer]

Cannot wait for this to start. I'm heading to bed pretty soon so I can get up and watch it until I have to go into work. I love the Ryder Cup.

[transplant99]

Just brutal conditions to begin with...got in about 90 minutes worth of play before it was suspended. Looked like a typhoon on the course...wind and pelting rain coming in sideways.

In the morning matches the Euros are up in 2 the Yanks lead one and one is "dormy".

[Mayer]

"Dormie" does not mean all-square. And by my count Europe is up in 3 matches to the Americans 1.

I can't believe I got up to watch this. No sense in going to bed now.

It didn't even look like golf with all the standing water that was on the course.

[NBC]

It chucking buckets all across the south of the UK at the moment. Forecast is for rain tomorrow and heavy rain Sunday at Celtic Manor. It will be a miracle if they finish this off on Sunday. It wouldn't surprise me if no matches are completed today. They will reassess the situation at 14:00 BST and no play is likely until 14:45 at the earliest today.

[GirlySports]

They really should have never even started, it was insane!
Do they even play on monday or is everything not played halved?

[NBC]

Play has always completed on a Sunday. Playing on the Monday would be a first if I recall correctly. There needs to be a drastic improvement in the weather for this to finish within a decent amount of time. The forecast here is for rain, lots and lots of rain. I don't see how they will finish on time.

[GirlySports]

Can't see how they can finish on time now. They can't combine sessions.

Wales in October wasn't such a great idea.

[transplant99]

Azinger was just on ESPN hinting that its likely they wont get this thing finished in full and that they will probably eliminate one of the partner sessions tomorrow.

What a shame...this thing only happens once every two year and there is a ton of work put into it by the hosts and the organizers.

They will be going off again at 10 AM Calgary time.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by transplant99

Azinger was just on ESPN hinting that its likely they wont get this thing finished in full and that they will probably eliminate one of the partner sessions tomorrow.

What a shame...this thing only happens once every two year and there is a ton of work put into it by the hosts and the organizers.

They will be going off again at 10 AM Calgary time.

Probably the fourball session tomorrow. Fourball takes FOREVER! Especially in these conditions.

[NBC]

They are due to head back out on the course at 17:00 BST. Not sure how, but that is the plan.

[GirlySports]

So they've figured out what they're going to do.

Tomorrow they will finish these fourball matches.

Followed by SIX foursome matches

THEN it will be FOUR fourball matches and TWO foursome matches at the same time!

Then 12 singles matches on Sunday.

So after this round is finished, all 12 guys on both teams have to play all the time, nobody will be able to hide anybody.

I think this is genius! I wonder how the captains will stratagize... who plays what?

[transplant99]

Yeah....now that will spice things up a whole bunch IF the weather co-operates.

I think they said today that whoever won the first (todays match) fourball match has gone on to win the last 17 Ryder Cups. So tomorrow morning is critical for both sides with the US slightly ahead at the start.

I will be getting up at 3 AM to watch this stuff....absolutely fascinating with the sudden shift of strategy that will be necessary. Also I see no reason why they cant go off on 1 and 10 like they so often do during stroke play tournies. Especially when they go off with the six foursome matches at the same time. All players will still be playing the same pin locations etc.

I have to admit I was expecting a European romp this year, but it appears it may be very close.

[GirlySports]

You can't really go off on 1 and 10 because not all matches go 18 holes.
Let's say the US is good at par 5s and the 8th hole is a par 5, if they started on the 10th hole, the match might not get to the 8th hole etc and that wouldn't be fair. Just an extreme example I can think of.

Everyone's strategy is based on holes 1 to 18, epsecially in foursomes where they alternate teeshots.

[Mayer]

Does anybody know if TSN plans on showing this live when they start play again? On my guide (Bell) it doesn't show the Ryder cup starting until 6:00am.

[NBC]

Lots more rain in the forecast. That is an ambitious schedule that they have presented and is 100% dependent on the weather cooperating. Which, I must admit, is hard to imagine after the pounding we took today.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by NBC

Lots more rain in the forecast. That is an ambitious schedule that they have presented and is 100% dependent on the weather cooperating. Which, I must admit, is hard to imagine after the pounding we took today.

They can go into Monday if necessary.

AND

TSN has it scheduled already!

http://www.tsn.ca/broadcast/schedule...0-02-2010&tz=0

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by Mayer

Does anybody know if TSN plans on showing this live when they start play again? On my guide (Bell) it doesn't show the Ryder cup starting until 6:00am.

Dunno if TSN is, but ESPN is for sure and i would think that TSN would follow suit. Then at 8 EDT it all switches to NBC.

[Mayer]

Good news.