Player Profile: Young, Talented, and One to Watch For...

 

Player Profile : Rory Mcllroy

The above picture was taken after what Rory McIlroy considered the best week of his life: the Ryder Cup 2010.  What a successful week that was for Rory.  He proved he belonged along side some of the game's best golfers even though he is only 21 years old.

Rory turned pro on September 18th 2007.  This was no surprise for family members as he recorded a 40-yard drive at the age of two.  He has had a very successful amateur career conquering Ireland and Europe.  In 2007 he was just the second person to top the World Amateur Rankings.  The 2010 Ryder Cup was not Rory's first experience of Ryder Cup, he competed in the Junior Ryder Cup in 2004 and won.  From there he became a part of the golf scene after opening with a three-under 68 in 2007 at the Open Championship at Carmoustie Golf Club.  He finished 42nd overall and accepted the Silver Medal as leading amateur.  Rory's first professional event where he made the cut was at Quinn Direct British masters and he finished third.  Flash forward to 2009 where Rory was beaten in a play-off for the UBS Hong Kong Open title elevating him into the top 50 of the Official World of Golf Rankings.  This assured him a spot in the 2009 masters Tournament at Augusta.

Dubai Desert Classic was a classic golf finish, the type of finish us viewers love watching on a Sunday afternoon.  It came down to the last hole before Rory ultimately beat Justin Rose to win the title.  Rory made his mark in the USA in April of 2010 when he won the Wuail Hollow Championship on the PGA tour.  He shot a course record 62 on the final day beating Phil Michelson by four shots. When Rory won his first title over 20 months ago his first purchase was a Ferrari.  In the 2010 season he finished tied for third in both the Open Championship and the PGA Championship.  For more stats on his Victories as an Amateur and Professional visit:http://rorymcilroy.com/career-info.html

Some interesting facts about Rory are:

• His average score as a professional is a 70.94.
• Rory's average drives are 300 yards.
• He is sponsored by Titleist and uses all their clubs.
• He uses the Titleist Prov V1 X

http://rorymcilroy.com/home.html

Team Europe continues the drought for Team American to win on foreign soil

The Ryder Cup has concluded for another year and it was another exciting event that those professional golfers put on for us fans and viewers.  Through torrential downpours, darkness creeping over the golf course to postponing of numerous matches to the next day, the greenskeeeping staff at the Celtic Manor 2010 Golf Club have done an extraordinary job keeping the golf course playable through horrible weather conditions. Another issue was Team America's rain suits.  Each player was decked out in their colours and once the rain started to come their rain jackets were more like towels.  They raced into the Pro Shop at Celtic Manor and bought all the remaining rain gear available.  Below is a picture of the greenskeeping staff clearing off the water off the greens.

Mondays Single Pairings that started at 4:05a.m. ET included:

Europe vs. America

Lee Westwood vs. Steve Stricker

Rory McIlroy vss. Stewart Cink

Luke Donald vs. Jim Furyk

Martin Kaymer vs. Dustin Johnson

Ian Poulter vs. Matt Juchar

Ross Fisher vs. Jeff Overton

Miguel Angel Jimenez vs. Bubba Watson

Francesco Molinario vs. Tiger Woods

Edardo Molinari vs. Ricke Fowler

Peter Hanson vs. Phil Michelson

Padraig Harringston vs. Zach Johnson

Graeme McDowell vs. Hunder Mahan

Team Europe as able to pull off the win but it came down to the final match of the day Graeme McDowell and Hunder Mahan.  Graeme won it on the 17th hole allowing team Europe to win by a small margin of 14 and 1/2 points to 13 1/2 points.  Team America did battle back harder than every after a disappointing Sunday finish.  I think its important at this time to point out how well Tiger Woods played this weekend including today on his singles match.  With all the controversy about being a captains picked he proved himself to not only his country but to the world that he was perfect for a captains pick.

Team Europe celebrating their win

 

 

 

Winning matches for Team America were:

Stricker, Johnson, Overton, Woods, Michelson, Z. Johnson

Winning matches for Team Europe were:

Donald, Poulter, Jimenez, McDowell

 

For more information please visit : http://www.rydercup.com/2010/usa/

Ryder Cup Preview

In what could be one of the most anticipated golf tournament after all major tournaments have been completed will take place the weekend of Oct 1-3.  The Ryder Cup is a fascinating tournament with two teams; Team Europe and Team America.  The Ryder cup was developed in 1927 and is one of the and is know as one of the last great sporting events founded on prestige rather than prize money.  The origin of the idea was to play international matches between the best American professionals and the best of Great Briatain.  The format for this event consists of:
Day 1- Two Man Alternate Shot Match Play
Day 2-Two Man Best Ball
Day 3-Single Stroke Play

• Team Europe 
• Captain Colin Montgomerie
• Team Members
• Luke Donald, Ross Fisher, Peter Hanson, Padraig Harrington, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Martin Kaymer, Graeme McDowell, Rory McIlroy, Edardo Molinari, Francesco Molinari, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood
• Vice Captains
• Thomas Bjorn, Darren Clarke, Sergio Garcia, Paul McGinley
• Team America 

• Captain Corey Pavin
• Team Members: 
• Phil Michelson, ,Hunter Mahan, Bubba Watsson, Jim Furyk, Steve Stricker, Dustin Johnson, Jeff Overton, Matt Kuchar, Stewart Cink, Rickie Fowler, Zach Johnson, Tiger Woods 
• Assistant Captains
• Paul Goydos, Tom Lehman, Davis Love III, Jeff Sluman

In a teleconference on Friday Sept 23rd Pavin (Captain of Team America) spoke to the Media about attempting to be successful on foreign soil for the first time since 1993.  He talked about how he is strategically trying to form partners for the different days and give the rookies a chat to give them some clarity on what to expect.  He also talked about picking Tiger Woods he states: 

"He's in a position as a pick, and he has not played up to his own standards, but he's playing some very good golf now; that I think just like everybody on the team, he's one of the 12 guys and I'm going to pair him and talk to him just like all of the other players I've talked to about who they want to play with and who I feel is best for them."  he went on to say: "I'm just going to look at ever player and try to figure out how many times to play them and where they will do better.  The object is to get more points then the other team at the end of the competition, and that's what I'm looking at."   

When he talked about the rookies and what eh would tell them on the first tee he commented: "The first thing is...breath would be a good thing.  I think, you know, when you're nervous like that, you tend to do things a little bit quicker, so you know, I'll just ask him to slow down a little bit and take some breaths and just try to relax and just try to make a good rhythmic swing.  Things happen so fast when you're nervous."

For more of Corey Pavins interview visit: http://www.rydercup.com/2010/usa/news/pavin_teleconference091710.cfm

 

Score Golf website did a slide show about the best outfits worn in Ryder Cup history. Above are some photos taken over the years.   The outfits over the years could be considered award winning.  Whether its a reflection of the past or the dominant colours that stand out either way these guys look great.