UNITED KINGDOM: GOLF - Ryder Cup captains name four rookies in opening pairings ahead of the first round of fourballs on Friday morning

Record ID: 567130

  • Title: UNITED KINGDOM: GOLF - Ryder Cup captains name four rookies in opening pairings ahead of the first round of fourballs on Friday morning
  • Date: 25th September 2014
  • Summary: GLENEAGLES, SCOTLAND, UK (SEPTEMBER 25, 2014) (REUTERS) UNITED STATES RYDER CUP CAPTAIN TOM WATSON ARRIVING AT NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) UNITED STATES RYDER CUP CAPTAIN, TOM WATSON, SAYING: "We put out some rookies early too. I am sure that Paul (McGinley) has the same idea as I do as far as playing someone who hasn't played in the Ryder Cup before; you like to get them to play all 18 holes and play their own ball and get them out that way and that is the reason I put the two rookies out together: Jordan Speith and Patrick Reed. They have been playing some practice rounds together and doing very well and I told them today 'I am going to throw you in the ocean without a life preserve. You are on your own. Get out there you get it done.' And they are all in." VARIOUS OF NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS (SOUNDBITE) (English) UNITED STATES RYDER CUP CAPTAIN, TOM WATSON, SAYING: "But, again, every match is really important. Every point is important. If you look at the Ryder Cups, they have been separated by one points three times in the last, what is it Ted? Four Ryder Cups. Just one point in three out of the last four. And that is close. Every point is so important in the Ryder Cup." NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS (SOUNDBITE) (English) UNITED STATES RYDER CUP CAPTAIN, TOM WATSON, TALKING ABOUT EUROPE'S VICTORY IN LAST RYDER CUP IN 2012, SAYING: "You bet. It affected me and I told them (the players) that is affected me. That was a hard, hard loss. You know, throughout my career as an individual I have had one or two pretty hard losses. I am not going to say what they are but boy, they stayed with me. Longer than normal. Longer than normal. Even in 2009 (British Open) that loss did not stay with me as long as some other losses did, but you learn quickly, when you have a defeat like that, you have to carry on, you have to take what experiences you have had and make them right for the next time you go out and you play." ASSEMBLED MEDIA WATSON LEAVING NEWS CONFERENCE EUROPEAN RYDER CUP CAPTAIN PAUL MCGINLEY ARRIVING AT NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) EUROPEAN RYDER CUP CAPTAIN, PAUL MCGINLEY, SAYING: "I mean, the template doesn't necessarily mean like-with-like. These guys all know each other very well and, you know, you move forward and two years down the road you have a different view and take on things and games have evolved in slightly different ways and guys become more experienced. Ian Poulter is a very experienced player now. There is going to be a big atmosphere in that group. Obviously, with Stevie (Gallacher) being Scottish and the Ryder Cup being here in Scotland it is going to bring a big attitude, or sorry a big atmosphere. We need a guy with a big attitude for that and I think Ian Poulter fits that bill." NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS (SOUNDBITE) (English) EUROPEAN RYDER CUP CAPTAIN, PAUL MCGINLEY, SAYING: "We will be ready. There has been lots of communication during the week. They have known from earlier in the week, pretty much, where they were going. That was kind of - I had an idea at the start of the week and it hasn't really moved much over practice, as I have communicated with the players over the last four or five months. This is kind of the idea I had in mind." ASSEMBLED MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (English) EUROPEAN RYDER CUP CAPTAIN, PAUL MCGINLEY, TALKING ABOUT THE PAIRING OF RORY MCILROY AND SERGIO GARCIA, SAYING: "It was quite clear that it wasn't just on the golf course, off the golf course there was a real bonding going on. They are big players, their statistics are very, very strong, they complement each other, they enjoy each other's company and, in a lot of ways, it was a natural fit. That communication has started, really, they kind of raised it to me around the BMW (Championship) time in Wentworth." MCGINLEY LEAVING NEWS CONFERENCE
  • Embargoed: 10th October 2014 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: United Kingdom
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVA1MLFYZMSP5DMN5T1D7QEGUCWS
  • Story Text: Europe's Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson will take on Americans Bubba Watson and Webb Simpson in the opening Ryder Cup fourball match on Friday (September 24) as both captains revealed their initial strategy during a glossy opening ceremony.
    Europe's world number one Rory McIlroy and Sergio Garcia will meet Keegan Bradley and Phil Mickelson, who will set an American record of 10 Ryder Cup appearances, to close out the first session.
    Mickelson has twice as many Ryder Cups to his name than the entire group before him as American rookies Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed take on Scottish first-timer Stephen Gallacher and the talismanic Ian Poulter, who will be seeking an eighth successive individual win.
    Dane Thomas Bjorn and Germany's Martin Kaymer take on Rickie Fowler and the third American debutant Jimmy Walker in the second match out.

    "We put out some rookies early too. I am sure that Paul (McGinley) has the same idea as I do as far as playing someone who hasn't played in the Ryder Cup before; you like to get them to play all 18 holes and play their own ball and get them out that way and that is the reason I put the two rookies out together: Jordan Speith and Patrick Reed," U.S. captain Tom Watson told reporters on Thursday (September 25).

    "They have been playing some practice rounds together and doing very well and I told them today 'I am going to throw you in the ocean without a life preserve. You are on your own. Get out there you get it done.' And they are all in," he added.
    An enthusiastic Watson stressed the importance of every match-up in the Ryder Cup, and said that the four remaining members of his team would all feature in the foursomes on Friday afternoon.

    "Every match is really important. Every point is important. If you look at the Ryder Cups, they have been separated by one points three times in the last, what is it Ted? Four Ryder Cups. Just one point in three out of the last four. And that is close. Every point is so important in the Ryder Cup," he stressed.
    Europe come into the competition as favourites, having won the previous two tournaments, including coming from behind to unexpectantly claim victory in 2012 at Medinah.
    Watson, who didn't play in the tournament, said he was greatly affected by the loss and has urged his players to use the experience of that capitulation as motivation this time around.

    "It affected me and I told them (the players) that is affected me. That was a hard, hard loss. You know, throughout my career as an individual I have had one or two pretty hard losses. I am not going to say what they are but boy, they stayed with me. Longer than normal. Longer than normal. Even in 2009 (Watson's loss at the British Open) that loss did not stay with me as long as some other losses did, but you learn quickly, when you have a defeat like that, you have to carry on, you have to take what experiences you have had and make them right for the next time you go out and you play," he said.
    European captain Paul McKinley will also be blooding one of his rookies, Scot Gallacher, during the opening pairings.
    Gallacher, who will be alongside the vastly-experienced Poulter, can expect a thrilling atmosphere to accompany him around the course as the home-favourite.
    McGinley believes Gallacher will embrace the atmosphere and that Poulter, who boasts an impressive 72% win-rate in the Ryder Cup, has the attitude to handle the pressure.

    "These guys all know each other very well and, you know, you move forward and two years down the road you have a different view and take on things and games have evolved in slightly different ways and guys become more experienced. Ian Poulter is a very experienced player now. There is going to be a big atmosphere in that group. Obviously, with Stevie (Gallacher) being Scottish and the Ryder Cup being here in Scotland it is going to bring a big attitude, or sorry a big atmosphere. We need a guy with a big attitude for that and I think Ian Poulter fits that bill," said McGinley after the opening ceremony.
    Each captain introduced his team, then revealed the fourball line-ups, on stage in front of a crowd cranked up by big-screen highlights of previous classic Ryder Cup moments.
    But McGinley said he had a fairly firm idea of what pairings he would make before this week's practice.

    "There has been lots of communication during the week. They have known from earlier in the week, pretty much, where they were going. That was kind of - I had an idea at the start of the week and it hasn't really moved much over practice, as I have communicated with the players over the last four or five months. This is kind of the idea I had in mind," he said.
    McGinley's decision to pair world number one McIlroy with Garcia comes as somewhat of a surprise, but the Irishman says the two have developed a close bond over the summer and personally communicated their desire to pair during the Ryder Cup.
    McIlroy won the BMW Championship in May and it was at this event, McGinley said, that McIlroy and Garcia first mentioned teaming-up.

    "It was quite clear that it wasn't just on the golf course, off the golf course there was a real bonding going on. They are big players, their statistics are very, very strong, they complement each other, they enjoy each other's company and, in a lot of ways, it was a natural fit. That communication has started, really, they kind of raised it to me around the BMW (Championship) time in Wentworth," he said.
    The first match tees off at 0635 GMT, with the others following at 15-minute intervals.
    EUROPE UNITED STATES Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson v Bubba Watson and Webb Simpson Thomas Bjorn and Martin Kaymer v Rickie Fowler and Jimmy Walker Stephen Gallacher and Ian Poulter v Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed Sergio Garcia and Rory McIlroy v Keegan Bradley and Phil Mickelson
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2014. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register