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Golf blog live from Valhalla| Ryder Cup 2008

By Carly Cummins Live from The Ryder Cup

Tour News

17 September 2008 16:00

Live from Valhalla

Wednesday, September 17th

It's only the second day of practice here at Valhalla golf club yet the atmosphere is already buzzing and the crowds are enjoying some fun interaction with the players.

Europe's Ryder Cup captain Nick Faldo is on good form this morning joking with spectators while whizzing back and forth from group to group with his son Matthew taking charge of the wheel.

It's perfect practice conditions. 70 degrees, not a cloud in the sky, not a whisp of wind and the course just looks immaculate.

Faldo's spiced up his practice pairings today by adding a 'Home Nations' twist. Spaniards Sergio Garcia and Miguel Angel Jimenez are playing alongside Irish duo Padraig Harrington and Graeme McDowell. They're followed by Brits Paul Casey and Oliver Wilson, playing in a fourball with Lee Westwood and Soren Hansen. While Swedes Henrik Stenson and Robert Karlsson are bringing up the rear taking on England's Ian Poulter and Justin Rose.

The groups are paying particular attention to club selection and short game practice, bumping balls onto each green from every angle and practise putting to different points. Everyone is looking comfortable, relaxed and confident.

Meanwhile on the other side of the course US team captain Paul Azinger has gone down the predictable route of pairing local lads J.B. Holmes with Kenny Perry, playing alongside Boo Weekley and Jim Furyk.

The second fourball is made up of Stewart Cink, Steve Stricker, Ben Curtis and Chad Campbell. While Phil Mickelson, Anthony Kim, Hunter Mahan and Justin Leonard are bringing up the rear.

Watch this space for more news as the day's practice unfolds, we'll keep you posted live from Valhalla and remember that you can still grab a piece of the action via our £5,000 Ryder Cup Fantasy Golf League. Sign up for free by clicking the link.

Thursday September 18th


It's the final practice day before the Ryder Cup kicks off and what a 24 hours it has been.

The talk of the press tent yesterday was Faldo's slip-up on scribbling the initials of his Friday pairings on a sheet of paper which a photographer zoomed in on during the players' practice round.

Faldo insists these were only his thoughts for who should play with who in practice today, but was fairly sheepish when the news was revealed to him in a press conference. Whether or not these are his 'actual' pairings remains to be seen later on today when the real team order for the first day's play is announced.

While the press were busy condemning Faldo for this sharp remarks and poor humour, the crowds of spectators were loving it. Captain Nick was in great form on the practice ground entertaining the crowds, signing autographs and making everyone laugh.

The American team were a bit more subdued but nevertheless managed to drum up a few choruses of 'U.S.A, U.S.A' from their followers.

Both teams hit the town last night for a posh Red Carpet Gala Dinner with family and VIPs. Sadly TG missed out on the golden ticket but were treated instead to a fine-dining experience of our own courtesy of The Colonel. That's right, the man behind the Kentucky Fried Chicken dining experience lives right on the doorstep here near Valhalla.

TG popped along to Colonel Sanders house, which is now a restaurant named after his wife Claudia, and enjoyed some deep fat fried chicken - the first and original KFC recipe.

Look out for more updates and gossip from inside the ropes as the day unfolds!

Evening update

The USA team went on a grand parade through the centre of Louisville tonight to gee up the local crowd ahead of the start of The Ryder Cup tomorrow. The crowds came out in force to cheer on their American heros.

Meanwhile the Europeans were kicking back and jamming with the lead guitarist from Iron Maiden. Faldo arranged the special jamming session to get his team into fun spirits and help them relax ahead of the pressure packed morning tomorrow.

TG also took to the town and were treated to an evening of Bourbon tasting courtesy of the Louisville tourist board. 14 Bourbons and a few beers later we left feeling like a bunch of connoisseurs!

The Opening Ceremony proved to be a bit of a wet fish with the speeches so dull that the crowds started piling out way before the end. Faldo's odd spot of humour just didn't seem to register with the American audience. What provided greater entertainment was watching big-hitting US team player J.B.Holmes bombing his driver down the driving range just a few hours before the ceremony. He pitched it clear over the back of the range and onto the roof of the stage - a massive 360 yards on the fly! 

Friday September 19th


Wow, the Ryder Cup is finally underway and what a morning it has been so far. Open Champion Padraig Harrington teed the tournament off in style with a superb drive that split the fairway in two. Chants of "Europe, Europe" echoed around the first tee from a bunch of aptly dressed Irish supporters and a gathering of Spanish Matadors! Phil Mickelson followed with a monster drive and the "USA, USA" roars took over.

In actual fact the entire morning has been dominated by cheers and roars, some quite entertaining chants including "Where's your Tiger, where's your Tiger gone?" reverberating around the course.

Europe made a strong early statement on the leaderboard with three out of the four matches going one up at the first. The matches have been swings and roundabouts since with a few shaky shots but some first-class putts too.

Watch this space for more inside the rope information as the matches unfold...

Morning update...

What a difference a few hours make! For the first 90 minutes of play this morning it looked like Europe were going to take the US to the cleaners. All of the matches were up, some quite decisively so, and the vibe was positive. But a few silly mistakes here and there and timely birdies from the Americans and the momentum totally shifted their way.

The crowds really started to pump up the volume and as soon as one or two matches swung the American way it just snowballed back through the field. Faldo didn't look like he knew where he needed to go, and I have to say I had a similar problem. Every time a European duo lost a hole I dashed to support the teams who were still up, but every time it seemed to jinx their match and the tide would turn the US way.

So the plan for the afternoon is to sit back, relax and watch the drama unfold from the big screen in the press centre. I shouldn't be able to jinx the European luck from there. The Fourball pairings are strong, so fingers crossed.

On the plus side the crowd are loving every minute of this and the atmosphere is electric. It's about time the Americans got excited about this Cup. I was beginning to get bored of the European dominance anyway. I hope we win, but let's see it come down to the last putt in the last match hey!

Evening update

As I type I'm watching with astonishment as Americans Boo Weekly and J.B. Holmes both knock it into the water off the tee at 18. It's out of character for Boo who in an afternoon packed full of drama has undoubtedly been the star. The crowds' chants say it all - instead of 'U-S-A, U-S-A' it's 'Boo-S-A'!

The Americans have dominated the Friday play in a manner we haven't witnessed in a Ryder Cup for years. Both morning and afternoon Europe looked strong after nine but over the closing nine crumbled away.

The biggest disappointment of the day for Europe has been Sergio Garcia's performance. The Spaniard, previously unbeaten on a Friday, has lost his sparkling foursomes and fourball record, hitting poor shots very out of character.

America's new dynamic duo are Phil Mickelson and Anthony Kim who teamed up both morning and afternoon with great success. They took on in-form Open Champ Padraig Harrington who joined forces with fellow Irishman Graeme McDowell to great effect. But despite a birdie blitz, their eight-under-par better-ball score still wasn't good enough for the Europeans and they fell short at the final hurdle losing at the last to the USA's new star pair.

What remains to be seen is whether Faldo will shuffle his pairings tomorrow in the hope of discovering that magic spark which, at the moment, seems lacking. One thing's for sure, with a three and a half point deficit to make up, the morning's foursomes play will be crucial.

Saturday 20th September

What can I say. Either Faldo is losing his marbles, or we're in for a complete shock today. I just can't believe he's left out two of the best players in the world this morning. Garcia and Westwood are exceptional players. In what other sport would this ever happen? Imagine England leaving out their two best players in the World Cup final! It's a joke?

So instead what we're presented with is rookie Oliver Wilson who spent most of the final practice day performing the most ridiculous-looking drills on the range with coach Pete Cowen in his first-ever Ryder Cup match paired up with big-hitting Henrik Stenson. The Europeans have to take on the almighty undefeated duo of Phil Mickelson and Anthony Kim - nervous? Just a touch.

The other pairings are a little bit better. Padraig Harrington teams up with Robert Karlsson again. The duo scrambled a half yesterday, can they go one better this morning?

In-form Graeme McDowell is playing with steady Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez, fingers crossed they gel. And Ian Poulter and Justin Rose are leading the way, taking on the might of Stewart Cink and Chad Campbell.

Let's hope my pessimistic view is proved horribly wrong and we win four nil. We certainly need to. Another American whitewash this morning and I fear it leaves to big a mountain to climb. Fingers crossed I'm reporting back at lunch with better news...  

Morning update

Thank goodness we've finally started to put points on the board! Faldo's been vindicated by that morning result. To be honest it wasn't that we played that much better today, just that the Americans self-destructed a little bit. But after yesterday it was nice to see the tables turn in our favour a touch.

Phil Mickelson and Anthony Kim were the biggest shock losing a four up lead to rookie Oliver Wilson and Henrik Stenson. Wilson stole the show in his first-ever match canning a huge putt across the green at 17 for victory.

The most dynamic member of the European side so far is captain's pick Ian Poulter, who got off to an amazing start in his foursomes match with Justin Rose by nearly pitching in for two at the first. He's so far bagged two out of a possible three points for Faldo - totally justifying his pick. Let's just hope he doesn't burn out before the morning singles matches.

The excitement has continued into the afternoon which is packed with drama and not just from the players. Movie legenday John Travolta is apparently strutting his stuff around the Valhalla hills. And former President Bush Senior is being escorted by an entourage of buggies around the fairways too.

I even had a brief celebrity moment myself. Walking down the seventh fairway inside the ropes a couple of lads from Leeds shouted my name and I found myself dashing over to high-five a few hands! Then at the back of the eigth green a finger tapped me on the shoulder and I turned round to find myself face to face American Olin Browne asking me what I was writing.

"I'm telling Today's Golfer magazine and website readers all about these amazing Kentucky lads," I tell him. "I love your accent," he laughs.

Watch this space for more news as the all-important afternoon results flood in.

Evening update

What an amazing afternoon! If you ever get the chance to go to a Ryder Cup then snatch it with both hands because the atmosphere here is like no other event on the planet! Talk about a turn around. Faldo's troops really rallied for him. It was touch and go for a time but in the end we managed to scrambled a much needed victory and two halves which means that we only have a two shot deficit going into the singles tomorrow. A score that is definitely rosier than the situation at the start of the day.

The atmosphere around the 18th green where three matches finished was electric. Ian Poulter won the hearts of the European contingent once again with an absolutely sparkling finish, slotting in a critical birdie putt at the last to salvage a much needed win. Olazabal turned around and told him he'd kiss him on the lips if the television crew weren't watching!

The star of the back nine this afternoon was Robert Karlsson. The Swede who had previously been criticised for performing poorly in the morning foursomes was simply on fire, rolling in putts left, right and centre. He carded six birdies on the back nine to hold off the challenge of Americans Phil Mickelson and in-form Hunter Mahan.

America's hero was Steve Stricker whose cool, calm and collected performance saw him finish in style with a sensational birdie four to halve his match. The crowds were really on the US side with what can only be described as muted applause for the European's best shots, and even cheers when they messed up!

Words cannot describe the relief and joy on captain Nick Faldo's face at the come-back his team have made today. Let's only hope the European momentum carries over to tomorrow morning. Can we scramble those seven singles victories? You bet we can!

I'm now off to join the European fans in Louisville's fourth street where all the parties are going to kick-off. See you bright and breezy for the final day's play tomorrow!

Sunday 21st September

Louisville, what an amazing city. After play finishes the celebrations go on here way into the wee small hours. The tourist board have really gone to town to ensure that the supporters are treated to a week to remember, closing off Fourth Street, purely for Ryder Cup celebrations.

With live bands, dozens of bars and restaurants and a great mixture of fans from both sides, it's fantastic to see the comaraderie here. A real tribute to the sportsmanship of this tournament.

The only man missing this week is Tiger Woods, and to be honest the tournament hasn't been an ounce less exciting for it. The World Number One has been texting his good luck wishes and messages of support to US captain Azinger all week.

As for today it's shaping up to be one of the most exciting final day's in Ryder Cup history. I love the draw. Faldo's split his team into three fours, strong at the top, weak in the middle and strong at the end. Azinger has top-loaded. I just hope that Sergio has his A-game and goes out on a mission to put blue immediately on the board.

We need seven points and it's a big ask but I think the Europeans can do it. It's going to be close, I can't see many of the matches being over early. I'm even predicting that this one could be a draw, and if that happens it would only be the third draw in Ryder Cup history.

But ultimately I'd love to see one of our guys with a putt for victory and no-one deserves that more this week than Ian Poulter. Poulter's the top point scorer and has generated more support and excitement than anyone else in the European squad. He's perfectly positioned towards the end of the line-up so if everything goes to plan and we get those all-important early points it could come down to Poults.

One thing's for sure. I'd bet my life he'd hole it! 

Evening update

Words cannot describe the disappointment on the Europeans' faces right now. I've just stood by the 17th green and witnessed the crowd erupt as Miguel Angel Jimenez conceded Jim Furyk's tap in for par and the US victory.

Congratulations have to go to captain Azinger and his team. He conducted himself with total professionalism all week and really won the support of the 13th man, the crowd.

From the word go today the crowds roars totally overwhelmed the Europeans efforts. Screams of 'USA, USA' echoed around every corner of the course and the highest pitch. And it paid off.

Anthony Kim was the tallisman destroying an out of form Sergio Garcia by a whopping 5 and 4 in the opening match. From the moment Garcia's head went down he never looked up and just couldn't buy a putt. Even the constant support of European vice and compatriot Jose Maria Olazabal could do nothing to reignite Garcia's game.

It just seems that Faldo's masterplan to back load his line-up totally backfired, because in the end it didn't matter how well Poulter, McDowell, Westwood and Harrington were playing, the earlier losses had proved pivotal.

The result might be a total disappointment but the 37th Ryder Cup has been an overwhelming success. No stone was left unturned in the preparation of the course and the public and press were looked after like Kings. The course set-up was one of the finest I've ever seen. What made this tournament exciting was the fact that every single hole was a birdie opportunity but at the same time a potential card-wrecker.

Tiger was one of the first to phone US captain Paul Azinger and congratulate him. Just shows you don't need the World Number One to put together a winning side. The Americans played more like a team this year rather than a bunch of individuals. The emergence of new young talent such as Anthony Kim fuelled the fire of the team.

The star of the week was still Ian Poulter for me. He's always talked the talk, but now he's walked the walk. I think he'll go on and win a Major now.

All that's left is for me to head out and suffer the American's wild celebrations this evening, trying hard not to be a sore loser, but sore about losing! Oh well, at least there's wet and windy Wales to look forward to in two years time!