It was a magnificent 2010 Ryder Cup. It certainly looked that way from the view within the screen frame of our television sets. I hear it was also quite nice for those inside the ropes at Celtic Manor in Wales. 

The US team didn’t win but it did battle back from poor play on Saturday during final foursomes and four-ball matches. The “team” did very well during the final day of singles play.

One of the highlights of that final day was watching Rickie Fowler who truly rose to the occasion, battling back from 3 down against European team member Edoardo Molinari. Fowler managed to halve the match with 2 birdies at the end in part because of his focus, conviction and excellent putting. The “rookie” proved he was a good pick by Ryder Cup captain Corey Pavin. I became of Fowler fan.

Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods, surprisingly for me, won their singles matches. Phil Mickelson says this particular Ryder Cup loss, at Celtic Manor, really stung.

MP3 Audio: Click here to listen to Phil Mickelson in his own words
(Click Phil Mickelson link. Audio player will open in a new window.)

THE RYDER CUP CONDITIONS

As “GolfWorld” executive editor Ron Sirak put it during one of our conversations on “The Golf Club” show, the Ryder Cup has become the best made for TV event in golf or maybe even in any sport.

I don’t consider the phrase “Made for TV” to be praise. “Make for TV” sounds contrived. The Ryder Cup and the excitement it instills in the players and the fan is hardly contrived.

But Mr. Sirak was using that phrase to actually describe how the event is best observed.

Sirak points out there are only 4 groups of guys playing at one time but there are 40 thousand people trying to see them play. I doubt even using the periscope type contraption would be much help viewing the action. Seeing it on TV is really the best view.

Then there were the almost intolerable conditions on the course. What most of us didn’t see was the bog of mud and muck the spectators were slogging through, and sometimes falling, into. Golf365.com’s Matt Cooper was there, snapping these photos and having a really good time being there. He joined us in the clubhouse on “The Golf Club” while he was attending the 2010 Ryder Cup.

At one point, the question wasn’t so much can the players play but will the spectators perish in mudslides trying to view the event.

CAN THE US PLAYERS BE A TEAM

The question of whether Team USA can play as a team as well as Team Europe manages to, always raises its head during these Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup events.

Mary Bea Porter-King, a former LPGA player and the founder of the Hawaii State Junior Golf and who has also served on the PGA of America board of directors and works today within the United States Golf Association, gave me some good insight into why the European teams work together better than the U.S team does.  During our conversation about the competitions pitting a country or state against another, she pointed out that the Europeans play in many events as teams as junior players, years before they get to the professional level.

Much like what we are doing in Hawaii with the Asia Pacific Junior Cup, which pits the top Hawaii junior golfers against the top junior golfers from all the Japan. Next year China will be involved as well.

But back to the 2010 Ryder Cup.

The defending Team USA lost the Ryder Cup to the Europeans this year. It was close but that was obviously no consolation for these guys.

JUNIOR RYDER CUP

Team USA was victorious at the Junior Ryder Cup played at Gleneagles in Scotland the week before the 2010 Ryder Cup in Wales.

Cassy Isagawa from Wailuku on Maui got the treat of her life this year – a chance to play at Gleneagles in Scotland as part of the USA Junior Ryder Cup team.

She accomplished that by being the top finisher at the Junior PGA Championship. Isagawa beat all of the qualifiers from around the United States to earn her place on the team.

RACE FOR THE CARD

Following the season ending FedExCup, came the Race for the Tour Card. It’s the “season ending” series of PGA Tour events that determines the top 124 players who get full playing privileges.

Hawaii’s Dean Wilson and Parker McLachlin are both in that battle. McLachlin is coming off his two-year automatic playing privileges after winning the Reno-Tahoe Open. He is close to losing his “card”. McLachlin will have to pull out a win in the next couple of weeks. It would be the perfect story. Parker hoists the trophy with wife and baby at his side.

Wilson hasn’t had the distraction of a newborn. He has been working nonstop to refresh his game to PGA Tour top level since floundering a bit after winning the International. It’s paying off.  This season, under the difficult playing conditions someone with no set schedule has to contend with, Wilson is close to earning his card back for the 2011 season.

The $550,800 Wilson earned for the 2nd place finish in Canada and the T13th place finish at the Frys.com Open have helped propel him above that 124th position.

At Frys.com, a familiar face hoisted the trophy. Rocco Mediate, who went into a playoff with Tiger Woods at the U.S. Open, won the Frys.com Open. We hope to see him at the SBS Championship in Kapalua this January. Remember, there is no entry fee for spectators during the entire event.

At the end of the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospital for Children Open, Wilson was 115 on the PGA Tour money list. The top 124 on the money list keep their unrestricted playing privileges. That means the player can actually set up a schedule and know where he is working from one week to the next.

SHOT OF THE YEAR

That's always one of the questions we like to ask at the end of the golf season. What was the most amazing shot of the year. Sometimes it's a putt. Like during the Masters when Tiger Woods putt was hanging on the lip with the Nike Swoosh visible before it finally dropped.

This year I've decided the shot of the year for me happened during the race for the card at the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.

It was a three way playoff. Martin Laird, Jonathan Byrd and Cameron Percy. It was almost too dark to continue. The officials asked the three men if they wanted to finish the following day. They said let’s play on. In fact, I think Byrd said “Up to you guys.”

It’s the fourth sudden-death playoff hole. 204-yar par 3 and Byrd tees off. No one can really see where the ball is going but the camera man is at the hole and one bounce and a little twirl and down it drains.

Byrd had no idea he made a hole-in-one for about 60 seconds. Percy and Laird were grinning at Bryd. They couldn’t even be really disappointed in their loss because Byrds’ win was so amazing.

LPGA and MICHELLE WIE

Michelle Wie took some time out of class at Stanford to fly off to Malaysia for the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia. Wie got off to a hot start with a 68 but lagged with 2 74’s and finished T32. Not surprising considering the change in climate and lifestyle. Wie made $12,008 for her efforts.

Jimin Kang won the event by beating Juli Inkster by a stroke when the 50 year old Hall of Famer bogied the final hole.

This is Kang’s first victory in 5 years. Her reaction?
“Speechless,” Kang said. “That’s not that easy to do for me. I played solid. I hit a lot of putts. As you guys can tell, my score was good enough to win a tournament, and you know, it’s been a while. So I’m trying to soak this in.

Kang is a 30 year old from South Korean who went to High School in Washington State and played outstanding golf for Arizona State. She took home $270,000.

WOMEN’S SECOND TIER

For those women who didn’t qualify to go to Malaysia, and there were many, there was the 2010 Arizona Women’s Open at the Wigwam Red Course in Litchfield, Arizona.
Ester Choe won the three day event with a final score 207.

Hawaii’s Kimberly Kim and Xyra Suyetsugu were also in money.
Kim, who finished tied for 7th, took home $800.
Suyetsugu tied for 10th and took home 425 dollars.

It ain’t easy making a living unless you are one of the top 60 professional players in the world. Should I say top 30?

YOUNG GUNS DEPARTMENT

Matteo Manassero, who was invited to play at the Masters in Augusta, Georgia last year, at the age of 16 has broken a record.

At 17, Manassero has won his first European Tour event becoming the youngest winner on the European Tour. At the end of October, he claimed the Castello Masters title by four strokes. The Italian, who is 17 years, 188 days old, eclipsed the record of Danny Lee of New Zealand, who was 18 years, 113 days old when he won the Johnnie Walker Championship in 2008. Manassero had already become the youngest winner of the British Amateur Championship, capturing the title in 2009 as a 16-year-old.
How to celebrate?
“I am too young to have a drink, I am too young to drive, so I will not be buying a car and I have not got a girlfriend who would like a present,” said Manassero, who earned $460,000 for the victory.

HAWAII’S RYDER CUP – THE JOHN A BURNS CHALLENGE CUP…
 
The field has been set for the professionals for quite a while but the amateurs had to play the 2010 Turtle Bay Amateur to find out exactly who was going to get a chance to play in the Sony Open in Hawaii and will be playing in the Governors Cup.

2010 TURTLE BAY AMATEUR

Rudy Cabalar Jr. separated himself from the rest of the field shooting a 6-under 66 and winning the 2010 Turtle Bay Amateur by 4 shots.  The Campbell High School junior had 5 birdies, 1 bogey, and to go with an eagle on the Fazio Course’s 17th hole for a tournament total 138. 

Cabalar who also won the HHSAA David Ishii State High Championship at Turtle Bay in May has secured his spot on the 2010 Governor’s Cup amateur team with this victory and will be one of 12 individuals trying to qualify for the 2011 Sony Open in Hawaii.  This is the first time Rudy has qualified for the Governor’s Cup.  Cabalar had played in two previous Turtle Bay Amateurs finishing T15th and T5th.

Brian Lee shot 2-under par 70 for a tournament total 142 and was the Championship Flight runner-up.  

A flight Champion was Jerry Iman with a 154 total.

B flight Champion was Reid Takatsuka with a 153 total.

Matthew Itagaki won the C Flight with a 169 total.

Tournament scoring record for the Turtle Bay Amateur is held by Tadd Fujikawa who won the event in 2006 posting a 36-hole total 10 under par with rounds of 69 on the Palmer and 65 on the Fazio Course.

ALOHA TEAM CLASSIC

Beyond the Rainbow Foundation, a not-for-profit entity, hosted a free Golf Clinic with LPGA Members, Mary Bea Porter-King (now with the USGA and HSJGA), Big Break Ka’anapali Winner: Kim Welch, Anna Grzebien and Angela Jerman in conjunction with the Aloha Team Classic Event.  More than 50 juniors and adults came to watch these four ladies give tips on pre-round routines, club and shot selection and getting over the “1st Tee Jitters”.

“One of the best pieces of advice I can give any golfer is to have a pre-game and a pre-shot routine and stick to it,” said Angela Jerman.  She added, “This way, if you get nervous or you find yourself in uncomfortable position, you can revert back to that routine and you’re able to feel comfortable again.”

Anna Grzebien, who is known for being very consistent throughout her round stated, “For every shot I take, I like to visualize the ball flight, commit to the shot and go for it.” Anna added, “If you get up to the ball and start having a conversation with yourself , ‘like maybe I should use a different club or should I move my target a little more,’ step back and refocus – if you aren’t committed to the shot, you have no chance of the ball doing what you want it to do.”  Great advice for any golfer.

Ka’anapali’s touring professional and Big Break Ka’anapali Winner, Kim Welch talked about playing in the trade winds, “In Hawaii, I play my shots differently then when I’m in California or on the East Coast.”  Welch, who played on the Ladies European Tour this past year adds, “I play a bunt driver a lot in the trades – my routine and my tempo are still the same, but I don’t quite have a full follow-through and this allows me to keep the ball flight lower than my normal drive.”

Great tips we can all use!

COMING UP

Every Saturday we are giving away sleeves of TaylorMade Penta golf balls to the 18th caller listening to “The Golf Club” radio show. Tune in and when it’s time to dial, the number is 808 296 5467.

Start making your plans for the SBS Championship at Kapalua’s Plantation course the January 2nd to the 9th. This year is truly an exceptionally outstanding field and a big one.  All the champions of this past year are invited.

The event is free to the public every day this year, including the weekend.

The following week, most of these guys are going to shoot over to Oahu for the Sony Open in Hawaii at Waialae, the first full field PGA Tour event of the season.

The Friend of Hawaii Charities will be funneling the proceeds from the tickets sales to the Sony Open to many of Hawaii’s charities, with matching funds from the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation.

The first event you’ll want to save the date for is the King Auto Group Pro Junior Skills Challenge. It’s a “big” Mini-Event on Tuesday, January 11, 2011 at the 18 green at the Waialae Country Club golf course.

There will be pre-event entertainment and a Sky Dive Hawaii show. It all benefits the Hawaii State Junior Golf Association. If you want to find out more information about reserved seating for groups, get in touch with Lehua Santiago at 808-523-7888.

Hope you’ll join me in the clubhouse for fun and great golf tips this October on the radio. It’s “The Golf Club” show every Saturday morning at 7 AM on The Jewel, 99.5 FM on Oahu, KONI FM 104.7 on Maui , KTOH 99.9 FM on Kauai and on KPUA AM 670 in Hilo.
Thank you for your Mana and may you hit the sweet spot every time.
 
Danielle Tucker