Golf-Yang and Olazabal named Royal Trophy captains

Golf-Yang and Olazabal named Royal Trophy captains

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July 30, 2013



July 30 (Reuters) - Asia's first male winner of a golf major,Yang Yong-eun, will captain the continent at the Royal Trophy against a European team led by Jose Maria Olazabal, organisers said on Tuesday.

South Korean Yang, who beat world number one Tiger Woods to claim the 2009 U.S. PGA Championship, takes over from Japan's Joe Ozaki for the defence of the annual team title at the Dragon Lake Golf Club in Guangzhou, China from Dec. 20-22.

Ozaki had led Asia in five of the six previous editions of the eight-man event.

"I am truly honoured to undertake the leadership role of Asian team captain for the next edition of the Royal Trophy,"Yang said in a statement on Tuesday.

"I am committed to building a very strong team for our continent's defence of the Royal Trophy. I will do my utmost to retain stewardship of the trophy in Asia and look forward to the matches with great excitement and anticipation."

Asia won the team event, based loosely on the Ryder Cup format, by the slightest of margins last year in Brunei, with Yang and compatriot Kim Kyung-tae prevailing in a sudden death playoff after three days of competition had finished 8-8.

Despite the loss, Olazabal has been retained as captain of Europe as they seek a fifth win in the event. (Reporting by Patrick Johnston in Singapore; Editing by Peter Rutherford)

Hal Sutton: 'Tiger and Phil Expected to Do Too Much at Ryder Cup'

Hal Sutton: 'Tiger and Phil Expected to Do Too Much at Ryder Cup'

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Adam Fonseca July 30, 2013


COMMENTARY | In 2004, the American Ryder Cup team captained by Hal Sutton suffered one of the worst defeats in the history of the event when it lost to Europe 18.5 to 9.5 at Oakland Hills.



In fact, it remains the biggest loss by the American team to date. Unfortunately, for Sutton, it will forever be a blemish on an otherwise respectable career that includes 14 PGA Tour victories and a major victory at the 1983 PGA Championship.





During a recent interview with Golf Magazine, Suttonrecalled his highly controversial decision to pair Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson -- two players who have a lukewarm working relationship, at best -- in two matches. It was an attempt to create some type of "Super Pairing" that Sutton believed would be unbeatable.

Woods and Mickelson went on to lose both matches before being split up by Sutton. Oops.

Sutton received a monumental level of criticism from armchair Ryder Cup captains across the globe (as should be expected when your team losses by such a wide margin). The naysayers got to be so bad, in fact, that Sutton literally quit the game of golf.

"I quit. It drove me right out of the game," Sutton told the magazine. "You needed to blame a body, so I caught the blame. So I said, 'I'm going to go over here. I don't need you all.' That's the only way I could get grounded again, and get focused again on what I know."


When asked what he believed was the biggest issue with that 2004 American squad, Sutton suggested that there was nothing wrong with the team's talent level. Instead, he believes that the team's superstars at the time -- namely Woods and Mickelson -- were asked to do too much.

"We've created some real superstars in the U.S. who have failed us when it comes to [the Ryder Cup]," he explained. "They don't fail because they don't have enough talent; they fail because there's too much for them to do."

Hold on a second. Are we really supposed to accept the notion that the two biggest names in American golf shouldn'tbe expected to win more often? Sutton explained further in his interview.

"I mean Tiger's Ryder Cup record [13-14-2] is not very good at all, but everyone expects him to carry the team," the former captain surmised. "He can't get but five points. That ain't gonna win it. So everyone else has got to perform."

To be fair to Sutton, his obvious declaration that neither Tiger nor Phil could win the Ryder Cup single-handedly is correct. Other golfers on the team are going to have to pull their own weight. But surely American golf fans are in the right to expect the highest-ranked players on the planet to at least card a winning record, no? For the sake of comparison, Mickelson's Ryder Cup record is equally terrible as he has the most losses in Ryder Cup history (18).

True, it does take a certain type of player to be successful in match-play. Ian Poulter is the modern-day king of Ryder Cup matches, boasting an impressive 12-3 career record. However, the Englishman still searches for his first major championship in singles play. His is but one example of the playing style differences needed to be successful in match play.



Adam Fonseca has been covering professional golf since 2005. His work can also be found on the Back9Network. Follow Adam on Twitter at @chicagoduffer.

Mickelson back to earth at Firestone with work to do

Mickelson back to earth at Firestone with work to do

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Mark Lamport-Stokes July 30, 2013

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Phil Mickelson of the U.S. (L) holds the Claret Jug as he celebrates with his wife Amy after winning …


By Mark Lamport-Stokes

AKRON, Ohio (Reuters) - Having been on cloud nine since winning his fifth major crown at the British Open nine days ago, Phil Mickelson is ready to resume his challenge for more golf titles at this week's WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.

By his own admission, the American world number two is playing some of the best golf of his life and is eager to take full advantage with several high-profile tournaments on his schedule over the next two months.

"We've got the big event here, a World Golf Championships (WGC) event, we've got the PGA (Championship) next week, and our FedExCup (playoffs)," Mickelson said atFirestone Country Club on Tuesday while preparing for Thursday's opening round of the Bridgestone Invitational.

"So it's a lot of golf left. Right now I'm playing as well as I ever have and want to make sure I stay focused this week and next week because there's an opportunity to add to this year and make this year every bit as special as it can be.

Mickelson won his second PGA Tour title of the year by a commanding three shots in the British Open at Muirfield, separating himself from the field with a stunning final round of five-under-par 66 despite difficult scoring conditions.

FIRST SUCCESS

It was his first success in the year's third major, having recorded only two top-10s in his previous 19 appearances at the event, and he has since barely kept his hands off the coveted Claret Jug.

"It's been really a fun time," the American left-hander told reporters. "I'm just excited every day that I've got the Claret Jug and I get to look at it every day. It's here with me. It's not like I'm going to leave it.


"I'll have some of my friends throughout these next couple of weeks be able to drink out it. To give friends of mine an opportunity to drink out of the Claret Jug and have a picture of it, that's a cool experience that not many people get to do."

Mickelson was delighted to be back in golf mode, his previous nine days having been a whirlwind of victory celebrations, media commitments, travel and a visit to Oak Hill Country Club, venue for next week's PGA Championship.

"Last week I had a lot of other things going on that didn't allow me to practice until Saturday," he said.

"I went up to Oak Hill and wasn't really able to work on my game yesterday as much as I was developing strategy and getting ready and prepared for next week's major, next week's PGA.

"Starting today was the first day that I was able to really work on my game and work on my touch, work on shot-making and so forth. It was not far off. I hit a lot of good shots today. I'm playing really well."

A 42-time winner on the PGA Tour, Mickelson was impressed with the condition of Oak Hill for the August 8-11 PGA Championship though he was surprised by the severity of the rough.

"It's in immaculate shape, it's really pristine," he said. "It's difficult, as you can imagine, like any major championship.

"It's as thick a rough as I've seen in a long time - long, dense, thick, heavy rough - it's very much like a U.S. Open. It will have a premium on getting the ball in play off the tee."

(Reporting by Mark Lamport-Stokes; Editing by Gene Cherry)