The Irish Open

First topic message reminder :

Don't have time to write anything like a Kwini-esque preview, but I thought there may be some discussion to be had over the next few days

C'mon GMac!

Faldos only Ryder cup chance was on home soil, he was always going to fail in the US, as most captains do !!

Took a dislike to Faldo after the incident with Lyle, with the plaster on the putter to stop the Sun light shining on it !!

I agree Lyle would be hopless as Ryder captain, can you imagine he got to choose the gear, haha, puff daddy glasses and a visor pulled ot of the ball pocket !!

I was using tw@t in the new twitter sense. I though that was a running joke on this thread. Appolgies if I have made a boo boo.

dont worry mac i got the tw@t reference!
I vavent liked Faldo ever since his cringy "I did it may way" bit in his speech after wining the open!

It wasn't wise for Mcilroy to get embroiled in a twitter argument with that idiot Townsend, but as far as class is concerned I don't know of many young golfers who would have done what Rory did and visited Haiti. I wonder when Jay's last visit was?

By the way I know Faldo is not everyone's cup of tea, but why is he on a board that is about the Irish Open?....oh yes he won that as well.

Does anyone actually "like" Faldo? You can do nothing but respect how good he was on the course and his ruthlessness is something that I think all of our British stars are missing but I can never quite put my finger on why he comes across as such an idiot. Shame really as he also does a huge amount for young players and is one of Britain's most successful sports stars.

I like him. I actually grew up with his career where as you were 14 when he won his last major. I actually like people that are successful. How bizarre is that? The masses of people that willed him on his various open wins appeared to like him too.

I particularly liked Faldo's putting, though I think he was the most charmless and charisma free golfer around at the time. It's no surprise he couldn't galvanise a team.
Winners tend to be pretty dreary and unlikeable on a personal level on the whole though.

I followed Faldo about a dozen times in his career and the only time I ever found him anything close to miserable to watch was at the 1991 Ryder Cup where he was in a total funk.

Don't think he ever makes much effort to get to know any players other than the top guys (and his faves Poulter and Rose) but he's surprisingly good on CBS, sometimes less so on the GC.

He was completely focused and tunnel visioned which is why he was so good at grinding a round out. You can't do that whilst waving to the crowd every 2 minutes.

The Faldo haters couldn't wait to blame him for the RC defeat. The fact is that the americans putted way better than the europeans and Garcia and Harrington were useless.

Winners tend to be pretty dreary and unlikeable? What like Seve, Olazabal,Woosie,Mcilroy,Clarke.....

I like Faldo too. I think a lot of people misjudge him, mistaking his deadpan humour for miserableness.

Was it the 2000 Open that was held on TOC and on the evening before there was a little 4 hole challenge featuring most of the remaining living Open champions. Faldo was paired with one of the real old legends (forgive me, I can't remember which one) and he was incredibly respectful to the old boy - even offering to tee his ball up for him when he was clearly struggling to bend over to get a tee in the ground. He also showed his humour when he got in a bunker (may have been the road hole) - took one slash at it, left it in, then bent over, threw scoops of sand out with his hand and tossed his ball out on to the green - much to the amusement of the galleries.

I'm also pretty much alone in believing his RC captaincy wasn't as bad as many make out. The knives were out for him already, and IMO his team let him down badly - the most lacklustre RC effort from Team Europe in recent years.

Come on folks its nice to dream, but lets admit it, Faldo was the worst Ryder Cup Captain of modern times, I mean he was a total joke as bad as his sandwich list

Faldono1fan, I too grew up watching the end of his career and used to love watching him play. On the course he showed one of the greatest mental games that I've ever seen and his Masters win in '96 was one of the best final day performances (and worse) that I've seen. When you've got people like the Olympic medalists picking up knighthoods all over the show, it always amazed me why it took so long for his call, especially considering he puts so much back into the game.

I think that the thing with Faldo is that he's just a bit of a plum. He always comes across like a dad that's trying to still be cool like he's one of the lads - I certainly don't think that there's any harm meant which is why I can't work out why he's not that well liked.

Davie, I agree that his RC captaincy wasn't as bad as the team performance. Poulter aside, some really great players forgot how to play golf that week and I can't believe that it was all Faldo's fault. Maybe Faldo couldn't get the players up for it but then there were enough experienced Ryder Cup players in that team that should have helped with that and really didn't.

As much as I think Faldo wasn't a good captain I think people perhaps made more of it because he is inept at dealing with the media, public speaking and organisation unless of course he's in the comfort of a tv studio, where I still think he's terrible, but that's my opinion.
I've often said that he reminds me of Hoddle who himself was a great player and it was almost as if he was frustrated that the players he had weren't as good as he once was.

Monty was clearly the worst captain I can remember and he won, so just goes to show how these things roll.

Met Faldo when he recently was the commentator at AT&T National. Nice guy, and asked one of the people I was with a bit about the course (good question).

I enjoy him as a commentator - particularly when he comments on how the tournament leader should finish business - something he knows a thing or two about!

super_realist wrote:As much as I think Faldo wasn't a good captain I think people perhaps made more of it because he is inept at dealing with the media, public speaking and organisation unless of course he's in the comfort of a tv studio, where I still think he's terrible, but that's my opinion.
I've often said that he reminds me of Hoddle who himself was a great player and it was almost as if he was frustrated that the players he had weren't as good as he once was.

I think that Hoddle's a really good comparison. Also does a lot for young players but doesn't come across too well for no particular reason...

McLaren wrote:Monty was clearly the worst captain I can remember and he won, so just goes to show how these things roll.

I thought that Monty was a really good captain. He is not the most motivating of people and is not overly liked but his organisation skills were sensational. No point trying to be what you're not and he left the glory to the players which was also admirable...

sharrison01 wrote:
I thought that Monty was a really good captain. He is not the most motivating of people and is not overly liked but his organisation skills were sensational.

From that description he should have been on the organizing committee - but not captain!

McLaren wrote:Monty was clearly the worst captain I can remember and he won, so just goes to show how these things roll.

Short memory then Mac, how was he any worse than Faldo?

Faldo's opening speech as RC captain had me watching from behind the sofa with my toes curling, but I guess we only see a tiny fraction of what makes a good or bad captain and it should really be for team members to judge. He seems relatively difficult to like, and perhaps misjudges what stands for humour at times.

Back to Rory and tweeting this is in today's Telegraph - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/8670291/Top-ten-sporting-blunders-on-Twitter.html

Seems to re-inforce my view that it is easier for twitterers (or what whever they call themselves) to do bad than good.

By the end of the week I really thought monty had lost it, the stuff he was coming out with was mental.

His Ryder Cup record and European Tour success deserved the captaincy and he approached it with professionalism and to his strengths. There was also a lack of alternatives to an extent with Lyle clearly past it and Olazabel not ready for it. The wealth of experience in that team and big characters also meant that he could have really messed it up by telling them all what to do so I think that an organising committee was more what was needed and he dropped his own ego to add this.

Compared to Faldo doing that all week. Monty was statesmanlike in comparision. I think it's just your dislike of the man rather than anything he's done whilst in the job. His selections on the final day was excellent. I know its only a little thing but that's the job.

Paul Cutler, leading irish player at the moment. anyone know anything about him?

I was and still am a faldo fan the way he played the game single mindedly determined to be as good as he could is something to admire. He doesn't need to have a great personality to be respected for his game. I have also been fortunate enough to meet him on a few occaisions and he comes across as a likeable guy who isn't afraid to make fun of himself.

As for the RC how the hell can Monty be the worst captain. He may not be an inspiring but his playing record alone is enough for players to want to win for him, that plus the fact he also picked some good VC's in order to help give the players the support and inspiration was great.

Oh, the virtues of instant communication Twit er and the others, but even more instant is coffee (err it isn't is it) sorry, I meant television. There you go Jay (now with a name like that he really should be a particularly proficient tweeter) throwing insults over the airways just (in my view) to provoke a reaction and promote / substantiate his reputation as being a crass, rude and argumentative pundit. What next we'll have some of the finest golfers known to man giving their expert opinions Mark (I'm the best short game guru) not forgetting, or perhaps we should, the thoroughly absorbing John Hawkesworth

Young Rory will make many mistakes and possibly has done on this occasion; but even in these times of media contradiction, they're still waiting to bring any success down with a bang, build you up and then knock you down.

Along the same lines as Gael suggests, I would recommend Rory takes a break from his Thinternet conversations, ignore the provocations and gets on with what he does best. By the way, intelligence and education are two different attributes put them together with experience and you will go far. I have never managed to do it and I am past caring. But Rory, in my view, is only lacking in experience and this may be one of them to remember.

Just my opinion like

By far the worst captain in RC history was Mark James. Not playing 3 players until the singles was at best naive and at worst stupid.

Clarke and Harrington looking like they've got a weekend off. Rory also over the cut line at the moment but time to recover yet.

Twitter will be interesting to watch if he misses

sharrison01 wrote:He (Faldo) always comes across like a dad that's trying to still be cool like he's one of the lads - I certainly don't think that there's any harm meant which is why I can't work out why he's not that well liked.

I think you hit the nail on the head.

Faldo reminds me of Piers Morgan. As soon as thet got that great Media break infront of the camera they decided to become jovial, engaging and the biggest brown nosers.

You talk some rubbish Keizo.

Just ignore him Faldo, he's a plum

Has Keizo forgot to take the Meds again...

Faldo may not be to everyone's taste, but to even attempt to bracket him with Piers Morgan, one of the biggest kumquats to ever sully the face of the earth in my opinion, is a little harsh

Keizo may be a plum but that doesn't mean he doesn't make the odd decent point however. I never warmed to SNF; admire his play as a golfer but, from his public persona at least, impossible to remotely 'like'.

His behaviour towards David Gilford in the Ryder Cup was disgusting and the way he didn't concede, halve the hole or attempt to have his ball replaced where it first came to rest vs. David Graham (I think...may not have been him) in the World Matchplay at Wentworth after his ball shot through a green and a 'fan' kicked it back on are episodes which endeared him to precisely no-one. The number of ex-wives he has might suggest a thing or two as well.

Navy - The incident you refer to involved Graham Marsh. As I remember he got stick for that which was partly unjustified because he didn't see the incident and therefore he played the ball as it lied. Had he seen it on tv or been at the green end then I am sure things would have been different. He always gets it in the neck for trying to do things per the book. The Sandy Lyle incident was another one. It was Lyle's bloody fault for putting the tape on in the first place.

Yes he has had a few ex wives so is no saint, but what about:-

Giving his winning prize in the world Matchplay to charity
The time and effort he has given to the Faldo Junior Series.

He is not impossible to like as I do and I know others do.

In true British style we always like to be negative about our champions. Rory is finding out that now. All people focus on is the negative points.They forget the visit to Haiti and what a classy act that was. I suppose we just like to moan and whinge.

I think it's easy to forget the good things about a sporting personality if their not someone you personally like, the Faldo Junior series has done more for Junior golf in britain than any other scheme, i've been one of many to be fortunate enough to take part in it and os has a certain US Open champion Rory McIlroy..

I was unaware of his donation of prize money from world matchplay but that in itself is a selfless act.

As for Lyle that's his own stupid fault and if anyone blames Faldo for that then their as much a fool as Lyle was in the first place.

There will always be points for and against any golfer

Faldono1fan/Mav, you know what you have just done don't you? This thread will now turn into a giant custard pie throwing fight as posters queue up to point out that "he's got the money, why shouldn't he give winnings to charity."

You are right in that Faldo is a true British star - anywhere else in the world and he would be a national hero, introduced to the sick to cure all illness. In Britain, he's had too many divorces and is golf's answer to Pier's Morgan. Like him or dislike him, there's fewer from these Isles with as much sporting success...

Birdies at 14 15 and 16 have got Rory back in the mix, anyone know what club he used off the 18th tee?

If it is not Driver I can just see Townsend gloating.

sharrison01 wrote:Faldono1fan/Mav, you know what you have just done don't you? This thread will now turn into a giant custard pie throwing fight as posters queue up to point out that "he's got the money, why shouldn't he give winnings to charity."

You are right in that Faldo is a true British star - anywhere else in the world and he would be a national hero, introduced to the sick to cure all illness. In Britain, he's had too many divorces and is golf's answer to Pier's Morgan. Like him or dislike him, there's fewer from these Isles with as much sporting success...

sharrison01

Interesting, I don't think I've ever seen a giant custard pie......presumably they are expensive. I'd back Sir Nick to hammer Slicky Piers at giant custard pie throwing any day

Shotrock wrote:Met Faldo when he recently was the commentator at AT&T National. Nice guy, and asked one of the people I was with a bit about the course (good question).

I enjoy him as a commentator - particularly when he comments on how the tournament leader should finish business - something he knows a thing or two about!

I think Faldo's a great commentator. I love hearing him.

Faldono1fan wrote:Yes he has had a few ex wives so is no saint, but what about:-

Giving his winning prize in the world Matchplay to charity
The time and effort he has given to the Faldo Junior Series.

He is not impossible to like as I do and I know others do.

In true British style we always like to be negative about our champions. Rory is finding out that now. All people focus on is the negative points.They forget the visit to Haiti and what a classy act that was. I suppose we just like to moan and whinge.

All good points. I don't seriously dislike him, I don't know him well enough hence I mentioned his public persona. I guess he's just a bit gauche in front of the media. I did seriously like his "heart of my bottom" speech I have to say.

TBH, I don't think some of the time people like McIlroy can win. In these days of media management and spin, I wouldn't be surprised if it was a managed visit for good publicity. I don't think so in his case but so much that's done and said by high profile people these days is difficult to take at face value.

hogie wrote:Birdies at 14 15 and 16 have got Rory back in the mix, anyone know what club he used off the 18th tee?

If it is not Driver I can just see Townsend gloating.

Good point that! Glad to see he'll make the cut by the look of it.

Yadsendew wrote:Interesting, I don't think I've ever seen a giant custard pie......presumably they are expensive. I'd back Sir Nick to hammer Slicky Piers at giant custard pie throwing any day

Me too. He's a big unit that Faldo.

Yadsendew wrote:

sharrison01 wrote:Faldono1fan/Mav, you know what you have just done don't you? This thread will now turn into a giant custard pie throwing fight as posters queue up to point out that "he's got the money, why shouldn't he give winnings to charity."

You are right in that Faldo is a true British star - anywhere else in the world and he would be a national hero, introduced to the sick to cure all illness. In Britain, he's had too many divorces and is golf's answer to Pier's Morgan. Like him or dislike him, there's fewer from these Isles with as much sporting success...

sharrison01

Interesting, I don't think I've ever seen a giant custard pie......presumably they are expensive. I'd back Sir Nick to hammer Slicky Piers at giant custard pie throwing any day

I'd go for Piers myself. I think Faldo would throw his giant custard pies more accurately but giving money away and getting divorced all the time means that he cannot afford that many giant custard pies. Piers, however, has always had his grubby fingers in lots of custard pies, some giant, and will thus be able to afford more giant custard pies to throw at Sir Nick. It would thus become a fight of attrition...

sharrison01 wrote:I'd go for Piers myself. I think Faldo would throw his giant custard pies more accurately but giving money away and getting divorced all the time means that he cannot afford that many giant custard pies. Piers, however, has always had his grubby fingers in lots of custard pies, some giant, and will thus be able to afford more giant custard pies to throw at Sir Nick. It would thus become a fight of attrition...

I don't want to do this...fighting it hard...but...

If were also going to judge someone on the number of ex's that they;ve had I;m guessing I wont have many friends left...

What about the number of bits on the side Tigers had i'd say his turnover makes him a legendary swordsman!!!

As for custard pie can I hide a brick in one aimed at Piers....

Anyway back to the point at hand whats the scores on the doors for the Irish Open havent caught any of it myself

Sharrison01

Quality retort, made me laugh.

Scores on the doors: Only followed a few - Clarke and Harrington have missed the cut; Super's secret fantasy golfer, Lowry, had a stinker; Rory went from being closeish to the Par cut to have a birdie flurry in the last few and finish -4; Rock, Wood, Dougherty all missed the cut; Jeev Milkha Singh leads on -8.

sharrison01 wrote:Scores on the doors: Only followed a few - Clarke and Harrington have missed the cut; Super's secret fantasy golfer, Lowry, had a stinker; Rory went from being closeish to the Par cut to have a birdie flurry in the last few and finish -4; Rock, Wood, Dougherty all missed the cut; Jeev Milkha Singh leads on -8.

And McDowell shot a -5 round of 66 to tie with McIlroy on -4