UK: GOLF - BOTH U.S. AND EUROPEAN TEAMS OF PLAYERS PRACTICE BEFORE RYDER CUP COMPETITION BEGINS
Record ID:
648018
UK: GOLF - BOTH U.S. AND EUROPEAN TEAMS OF PLAYERS PRACTICE BEFORE RYDER CUP COMPETITION BEGINS
- Title: UK: GOLF - BOTH U.S. AND EUROPEAN TEAMS OF PLAYERS PRACTICE BEFORE RYDER CUP COMPETITION BEGINS
- Date: 28th September 2002
- Summary: SUTTON COLDFIELD, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (SEPTEMBER 25, 2002) (REUTERS) 1. U.S. PLAYERS WALKING 2. CADDIES WATCHING 3. RYDER CUP TROPHY 4. U.S. PLAYERS POSE FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS 5. TIGER WOODS TEES OFF AT SECOND 6. WOODS WITH GROUP WALKING DOWN THE FAIRWAY 7. U.S. CAPTAIN CURTIS STRANGE ON GREEN TALKING TO PLAYERS 8. WOODS PUTTING AT SECOND 9. (SOUNDBITE) (ENGLISH) CURTIS STRANGE ANNOUNCING PAIRING FOR PRACTICE ROUND "I have my pairings here, I have Tiger (Woods) and Zinger (Paul Azinger) and Calc (Mark Calcavecchia) and (Scott) Hoch, so don't point towards one and not the other two." 10. PAUL AZINGER ON FAIRWAY 11. (SOUNDBITE) (ENGLISH) STRANGE: "Well, Tiger Woods can play with anybody. A lot of people would like to play with him. With Zinger, he's a competitive son of a gun." 12. PHIL MICKELSON PRACTISING 13. MICKELSON TEES OFF/MICKELSON IN BUNKER 14. WIDE OF GREEN 15. MICKELSON PUTTING 16. (SOUNDBITE) (ENGLISH) MICKELSON SAYING: "The way a person has played this year, I don't think will have a greater bearing as we are said to believe and the reason is at this level of play, a player can turn it around in the matter of a day or a matter of an hour or minutes. Sometimes, you just need a little thought to trigger great ball striking and it turns your confidence around overnight. I think that at this level, the least of our concerns is how all of our players are going to play. We feel like going into this week, we've all tried to prepare ourselves to be our best for these matches and how we've played in the last nine months does not have much bearing on this particular week." 17. BERNHARD LANGER TEEING OFF AT THIRD 18. LANGER ON FAIRWAY 19. SERGIO GARCIA AND COLIN MONTGOMERIE WITH LANGER 20. LANGER MEASURES DISTANCE 21. LANGER PUTTING ON GREEN 22. (SOUNDBITE) (ENGLISH) MONTGOMERIE SAYS: "Either way, I hope it does come down to someone's game on Sunday, because that means it is close and that is what this event is all about. I think that someone's game on Sunday is going to win or lose it and if that happens to be me, then fine and good - I will take that on. But if not, then I will be hoping it will be someone on my side and good luck to them because I know the pressures involved on the last few holes of a tournament and having to play certain shots when you team mates are watching; it's a very difficult task." 23. MONTGOMERIE DRIVING 24. CUTAWAY OF BOYS IN KILTS WATCHING 25. MONTGOMERIE PUTTING 26. EUROPEAN TEAM PHOTOGRAPH 27. CADDIES PICKING UP BAGS 28. TORRANCE AND GARCIA WITH TROPHY 29. WIDE OF ALL EUROPEAN PLAYERS 5.05 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 13th October 2002 13:00
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- Location: SUTTON COLDFIELD, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
- City:
- Country: United Kingdom
- Reuters ID: LVA160BYB7BOGWDGYF0K51JLOSMJ
- Story Text: Both U.S. and European teams of players are practising
before the Ryder Cup competition begins on Friday.
It has already been a long three-year wait and players
and captains on both sides were itching for the 34th Ryder Cup
to start after completing their second full day of practice on
Wednesday (September 25).
Neither European skipper Sam Torrance nor his opposite
number Curtis Strange were prepared to offer much insight into
their likely pairings for Friday's opening fourball matches.
Strange, winner of successive U.S. Opens in 1988 and 1989,
gave details of his second day's practice pairings but
Torrance gave no indication of his own thoughts by mixing up
his team.
Strange spoke warmly of Tiger Woods's ability but also
praised Paul Azinger saying he was a competitive son of a gun.
Phil Mickelson spoke about the players ability at this
level of being able to rally their confidence at important
times and play fine shots. He said that a player's form
earlier in the year should not be seen as being a reliable
indicator of their ability in a tournament like the Ryder Cup.
A significant boost for the European captain is the
remarkably relaxed approach adopted by Colin Montgomerie, one
of his key players this week at The Belfry.
Montgomerie, the seven-times European number one, had
already given his team a confidence boost last week when he
confirmed he was fit enough to play in all five matches if
required.
The Scot has been dogged by back trouble for much of the
year and was forced to withdraw from two tournaments.
At the Belfry he said that he was hoping that the
tournament would be decided on Sunday by the good or bad
playing of one player. He said this would indicate that the
tournament was close which it should be. He said if he was
that player then he was prepared for it. He hoped that that
player would be on his side.
Both Europe and the U.S. have a final morning of team
practice lined up on Thursday before the first-day pairings
are announced at the Ryder Cup's opening ceremony in the
afternoon.
The U.S., who hold the trophy after their victory by
14-1/2 points to 13-1/2 at Brookline in 1999, have won 24
times in the 75-year history of the biennial competition.
Britain (or Europe since 1979) have won seven matches
while two have been tied.
Both captains will reveal their opening Friday morning
fourball pairings at Thursday's opening ceremony. The teams
then play foursomes -- two teams playing one ball each -- on
Friday afternoon and the skippers have until lunchtime to
reveal their combinations.
The formats are then reversed on Saturday and on Sunday
all 24 players contest 12 singles matches.
The teams are: U.S: Woods and Mark Calcavecchia, the 1989
British Open champion, Paul Azinger, rookie Stewart Cink,
David Duval and Davis Love III, Phil Mickelson and David Toms,
Jim Furyk, Scott Hoch, Hal Sutton and Scott Verplank.
The Europeans: Thomas Bjorn, Darren Clarke, Colin
Montgomerie, Lee Westwood, Niclas Fasth, Padraig Harrington,
Pierre Fulke, Phillip Price, Sergio Garcia, Bernhard Langer,
Paul McGinley and Jesper Parnevik.
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