Insight from John Wood who is Hunter Mahan's caddie durring the 2008 Ryder Cup matches. This years matchs were a supuerb display of golf at its best.
Well, I'm warning you right now that this e mail will fall woefully short of the feelings we all felt out there yesterday during the matches and last night as we celebrated as a team. One, I haven't settled down enough to look at this logically, and two, my vocabulary is nowhere near good enough to convey what went on out there.
We did it. All of Captain Azinger's plans were perfect, executed perfectly by the players, caddies, and assistant captains, cheered on by a battalion of crazed hillbillies (and I mean that in a good way), and somehow a dream that seemed so far away one week ago has come true. Not that this is in any way comparable to a miracle on ice or anything like that, but given our recent history in this event, the hill we had to climb to get this done seemed so steep and so long I'm not sure a lot of people knew where to start. The beautiful thing is that Azinger did know where to start. It's a huge hill when you look at it, but if you just take one step at a time, it's not that bad. And Captain Azinger broke it down into
steps for us. And all the players had to do was follow along.
One of the things I don't like in the aftermath of these team events are the overall grades most publications and television analysts give the players. It is a team event, and although there are individual matches and two-man team matches, it is all influenced by the other guys you are around all week. The camaraderie and encouragement is so influential on
how you play, on how many points you acquire as an individual that you can't say that Hunter Mahan or Anthony Kim deserves an "A," and Phil Mickelson or Justin Leonard deserves a "B," because the truth is the influence and play from Phil and Justin hugely impacts the play, the demeanor and especially the outcomes of the team matches. Justin was an absolute animal in the first three matches we played with him... unbelievable putter, unbelievable influence on Hunter, and the same can be said of Phil for Anthony. That being said, here are my grades for the week.. ha ha....
Paul Azinger A+++++++
Phil Mickelson A.... Although Hunter really played well all week, in our four ball match we were absolutely carried by Phil for a big portion of the match. He was perfect. And despite what most people want to think of him, he loves this event, what it means, and is one of the most encouraging teammates you could ever want. And on a personal level, being a part of this team is great. Being on a team with a true and true friend in Bones, Phil's caddie, means the world. When we halved that match against Karlsson and Stenson on Saturday on the 18th hole, he was the first person I looked for to congratulate. A very meaningful day.
Jim Furyk A.... Everyone thinks of Jim as this stoic figure, but inside he burns as hot as anyone who plays this game... He brings a totally intense and businesslike approach when he is on the golf course, but off it he can relax and cut it up with the best of them. On a team full of rookies he was a hugely calming influence with how he went about things. KILLER INSTINCT.
Kenny Perry A.... What can you say about Kenny? I can honestly say I was critical about the way he was going about his year, not playing in majors and focusing his year solely on this week in his home state, in front of his hometown crowd, in front of his family and his 87 year old Dad, who is a WWII veteran who once spent 40 days in a foxhole surrounded by Germans... NOW I get it. Now I understand what he was aiming for and that this was his major, and he won it.
Anthony Kim A.... Are you kidding me? Do I even have to say anything? If he had gone 0-4 he would have gotten an A. The attitude he brought to this team. The Swagger I talked about earlier in the week. The impossibility of failure. Plus the fact that he throttled Sergio in the first match of the day. He wanted the match that was going to provide the emotional compass for the day, and all week he wanted Sergio. When those two things came together, not only did he win, but he won big, and took the symbolic heart out of their team early in the day. Impossible to overvalue his influence on the rest of the team. A case where water flowed uphill. Like I said earlier, I think some of the veterans looked at him and said "I used to be like that, and I'm gonna do it again." The
emotional MVP
Justin Leonard A.... ; A lot has been said about Justin never winning a full Ryder Cup point coming into this week, and that is a load of baloney. Yes, technically he's never won a point. But in 1999 I seem to remember him being 4 down early to Jose Maria Olazabal, proceeding to make about 17 miles of putts in the next 10 or so holes, and then before this week he had made the only U.S. putt that has meant anything in the last 12 or so years. Justin was an amazing partner for Hunter. A fantastic putter, and there's something to be said for having two guys out together with something to prove, as Hunter and Justin did.
Stewart Cink A.... Big Stew finally got on the right side of one of these things, and the drive he hit in the foursomes match with Chad Campbell on 18 was as big a shot anyone hit all week. About 340 down left center with water right and bunkers left, leaving Chad only a 5 iron, which he put to about 8 feet to get a full point in a match that only two holes earlier looked like it could go the other way. And it's those little swings in momentum that totally dictate how these matches turn out.
Boo Weekly A.... Again, Are you kidding me? Throwing the pony ride on 'em down the first hole of a Ryder Cup, then proceeding to make an eagle and six birdies through 16 holes. Laughing and dipping and and grinning and firing up the crowd the whole way. I promise you however funny he seemed to you guys at home he was twice as funny to us.Whenever this team even hinted at lapsing back into the overly intense mood that the past few teams have gotten into, he'd spit his dip into the grass and tell his Orangutans story and we'd be back to playing golf.
Ben Curtis A.... Gutsy Gutsy Gutsy. In a match late in the day yesterday that ultimately was important only in the final score, he was turning a close match against a European stalwart, Lee Westwood, into his own coming out party. Unconventional swing, maybe, but as tough as they come. A quiet assassin that I promise you you don't want to face in match play.... He will give you absolutely nothing.
J.B. Holmes A.... He would get an A if all he did was show up in the morning and hit his drivers on the driving range next to the Europeans... Loud and carrying about 340 yards and ricocheting into the stage built in a place that the planners assumed was safe from harm. That, my friend, is intimidating to everyone around. It pumped us up and kept us loose... With every rifle he fired, the crowd would whoop and holler and even though they would never admit to it, the Europeans would shrink just a little bit more. Oh, and did I mention he went undefeated with two wins and one half as part of the dominant rookie contingent? Kentucky Bomber
Steve Stricker A.... Just having Strick here with everything he's gone through is inspirational. He is emotional, he is good, and he came back from a place in the golf world that not many people ever come back from. Again, momentum wise, if all he did was show up and make that 20 footer on 18, then it was worth him being here... An emotional guy who may be a rookie but demeanor wise, is fazed by nothing. The pressure of a Ryder Cup is nothing to a person who 4 years ago had no status on any tour in the world. One of the best people I know, and more fire in his belly than anyone could possibly imagine.
Chad Campbell A.... Again, another quiet assassin. A better ball striker you won't find, a better teammate you won't find, and again if all he did was show up and fire20that 5 iron on 18 to about 8 feet on 18 in his foursomes match with Stewart Cink then it would have been worth it to have him here. Momentum Momentum Momentum. A surprise captain's pick to some but everyone on this team knows what a talent he is, and again there's something to be said being surrounded by good people.
Hunter Mahan A.... I can't tell you how proud I am of Hunter... He came in this week with a lot of baggage, with a lot to prove, and he more than answered every question thrown at him. Zinger threw him out there in every match, and he didn't lose... Five matches... Two wins, and three gutty halves. Played more holes than anyone on either team, and even when he was running on fumes on Saturday afternoon with Phil, he was able to clutch up and hit a huge drive and a perfect 4 iron to 18 to halve a superior match against Karlsson and Stenson. The team leader in points with 3 1/2. Probably the biggest putt of the matches on 17 vs. Paul Casey from about 50 feet over a hill. A big, big step in his career.
The best tournament in golf. The biggest stage, the biggest payoff, the most pressure. There is just nothing better than winning a Ryder Cup. Bones, who has won three majors with Phil, told me on Saturday night as we drove back to the hotel that he felt more pressure than he has on Saturday nights when Phil has been in contention in majors. Your mouth gets dry, your heart beats faster, and despite the fact that you consider yourself reasonably intelligent, you somehow don't allow yourself to believe that 130 + 10 = 140. And that's just the beginning. I can't imagine having to wrap your shaking hands around a golf club and execute a golf shot under those conditions, but these guys do it. Knowing that any swing or putt or chip could be the difference. You can't give them enough credit for what they are able to do... this is what it's all about. The only
reason to caddie.
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