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Should Tiger be a 2014 Ryder Cup Pick?

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If the RC was next week, TW should not be on the team....if the US wants to win.
 
Should he...no. He's not earned his spot. However, that's what Captain's picks are for. Will he? Ya, probably. With that said, I'd hope he would know that he's not ready and respectfully decline the invite, or just be a coach for the this time, as dumb as that may sound.
 
Mulligan9111 said:
I can only speak for myself, but after I get done watching a golf tournament on television, all I want to do is get out and play. Granted I like to play all the time, but when I get done watching golf, my desire to play increases even more than usual.
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You are a diehard golfer not a passer by. The non golf fan watches as long as he is playing well. They switch off the minute he doesn't. It's not enough exposure to effect anything significant.

I guess I am a fan of good golf and stood by him even when he was going through waitress gate. But watching him play now is horrible. And I'd rather watch a 'lesser' player in terms of reputation then watch the sh1t show he has been putting on.

If rather see the US go to battle with 12 guys that know where the ball is going and can make putts. The pedigree may not be there with the others but it's time we start thinking of a winning formula for the RC.

If he wins or has top 5 finishes in his next few events then I say he is trending in the right direction. But short if that, he needs to stay home and work on his game.
 
Maybe he should give hank haney a call again. LOL
 
Simple answer - no. With as much younger talent that exists in the game right now, I would prefer to have them gain the experience and recognition associated with playing for the US before Tiger is given a spot based solely on what he has done previously. If that's the case, why not give a spot to Tom Watson....after all, he did outplay Tiger this past weekend...
 
Are we really that married to our memories that winning the cup back is somehow second to 'our guy' being picked because of who he 'used to be'? I mean if we really need a legend to move the needle, Watson might as well pack his own sticks for the trip. Didn't he (in his mid 60s) just scorch Tiger by about 5-6 stokes at the Open? Winning this thing with some memorable heroic shots and grit from our younger up and comers will resonate more with young golfers IMO (and I'm an old guy).
I could 'kinda' see it if Tiger brought true leadership, but he really doesn't. As soon as his own game goes a little sour he's cursing, pouting, slamming clubs, and acting like a selfish brat. He is as far from a TEAM guy as we could pick IMO. There are several options in that 10-20 area of the rankings far more deserving of a spot right now. Yes take him if Tiger somehow shows he's dominant again beforehand (maybe win the PGA by a 10), but if it's Tiger of last week, no thanks. I want the Ryder cup back and I'd prefer it happen with some of our young stars heroically leading the charge and putting some new charge back into golf.
 
staticline said:
If the RC was next week, TW should not be on the team....if the US wants to win.
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Agree. Not now. I don't know when picks are made but TW needs to show a little more.

Keegan has had a decent last month so I'd pick him.

Phil, no wins this year, but he's played well in Europe two years in a row.

That third Captain's pick is up in the air. Harris English seemed like he would be in 6 months ago. Patrick Reed about 4 months ago. Who would have guessed Sneds & Mahan would be outside looking in at this point.
 
Tiger still has a way to go from what I saw this week, giving a place to someone else wouldn't hurt too bad now but let's see how he looks at Vahalla
 
No. He hadn't earned it since the last Ryder Cup. If you go strictly on reputation than a whole bunch of other golfers should also be considered.

Now, if he turns his game around in the next few tourneys, maybe he should be considered.
 
At this point Tiger doesn't deserve to be on the team based on recent performance. Tiger doesn't do much to grow the game either. At one time, yes, but not now. As a recent convert to golf about 6 years ago, I can tell you, I knew who Tiger was, but it had nothing to do with me playing golf. I had no clue what the Ryder Cup was other than another golf tournament that took up time on TV on the weekend when I'd rather be watching ANYTHING else. And that's exactly what the Ryder Cup is to the vast majority of non golfers. Most of my friends are avid sports fans and can't tell you anything about the Ryder Cup other than it's another golf tournament. You've never seen as much interest in this tourney among non golfers like you did the recent world cup among non soccer players. If you are remotely interested in golf, you may watch it if you're in a bar or restaurant and it happens to be on, and you may cheer when something good happens. You won't find throngs of non-golfers getting their buddies together to come over and watch the Ryder cup or meet at a bar somewhere to take in the "action". It's important to golfers only. The vast majority won't even know anything about it.

I'm with Playdough on this one. We are no longer in the Tiger era and it is time to move on and let the old guard go and allow some fresh blood to compete.

That being said, I'm not against Tiger being on the team at all cost either. If he steps up his game between now and then and proves that he can compete at the same level as the other team members and beat out other options for the spot, then he's earned the right to play. There's not a lot of time to do that though.
 
To me, this is a similar discussion as the US Men's Soccer Team had for the World Cup. The head coach left off Landon Donovan, who is the US's leading goal scorer in the WC. But, Landon is aging and not who he used to be. The line of thinking that lead to Klinsman leaving him off the team was this - give the young guys who deserve a spot the chance to play. It gives them the experience, and they're who will be playing for the WC the next several times.

Leaving Tiger off will be good for the young guys, good for the team, and good for US golf overall in my opinion.
 
lilbilly said:
To me, this is a similar discussion as the US Men's Soccer Team had for the World Cup. The head coach left off Landon Donovan, who is the US's leading goal scorer in the WC. But, Landon is aging and not who he used to be. The line of thinking that lead to Klinsman leaving him off the team was this - give the young guys who deserve a spot the chance to play. It gives them the experience, and they're who will be playing for the WC the next several times.

Leaving Tiger off will be good for the young guys, good for the team, and good for US golf overall in my opinion.
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With all of that said... ALOT of people said they could have really used Donovan after the fact.
 
Sanzabar said:
With all of that said... ALOT of people said they could have really used Donovan after the fact.
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Only because of an injury... With golf, that's not the case. US put on a good run without him, and managed to get out of the "group of death".
 
Tadashi70 said:
You are a diehard golfer not a passer by. The non golf fan watches as long as he is playing well. They switch off the minute he doesn't. It's not enough exposure to effect anything significant.

I guess I am a fan of good golf and stood by him even when he was going through waitress gate. But watching him play now is horrible. And I'd rather watch a 'lesser' player in terms of reputation then watch the sh1t show he has been putting on.

If rather see the US go to battle with 12 guys that know where the ball is going and can make putts. The pedigree may not be there with the others but it's time we start thinking of a winning formula for the RC.

If he wins or has top 5 finishes in his next few events then I say he is trending in the right direction. But short if that, he needs to stay home and work on his game.
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Look, I'm not saying he should be in the Ryder Cup at all. In fact my first post in this thread stated that I thought if he played well enough to make the FedEx Cup playoffs (which I think would mean 1 or 2 top 3 finishes), then yes he deserved a look.

However, we got on the topic of whether or not Tiger being in the Ryder Cup would be a detriment to the game of golf. I personally don't think there is any athlete on the planet in ANY sport that draws as much attention and scrutiny as Tiger Woods. And in order to get any growth in any sport, you need to get eyes on that sport. Tiger puts eyes on golf, whether they are just casual fans or not, he makes golf relevant for some people.

The interest in golf is not dwindling because of Tiger Woods, it's dwindling because of a multitude of other factors that has nothing to do with the PGA Tour players.
 
Nope. Nope. Nope.

At this point Phil Mickelson isn't even in the top 10 for Ryder Cup points. Maybe if Tiger gets hot over the next couple tournaments, but otherwise, go with other horses, let that one stay in the barn and heal up until two years from now.
 
Tadashi70 said:
You are a diehard golfer not a passer by. The non golf fan watches as long as he is playing well. They switch off the minute he doesn't. It's not enough exposure to effect anything significant.
.
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But I think this would be wrong. Speaking only for popularity and growth with the sport.
The fact that the non golf fan will watch him in the first place is what I think part of "mulli's" point is.

Those are the people who most already in the sport want to try to bring on over to the game to help its growth. You say once he doesn't do well they will turn it off and that is probably true for a lot of those people just like they do with other sports. The fans who are not passionate enough about the sport and only want to see their team or guy do well. Other than that they could care less. But its still then true that he will draw in that attention and interest in the first place. Who else will do that? If he doesn't play then those people will simply not tune in anyway. No matter how you slice it, there is no denying he still draws that extra attention to begin with. It will cause more people to turn on the TV sets and spark more interest in general.

Perhaps as some are saying his attention drawn is not quite the same by us avid golfers and fans as it once was. But when talking about growth and popularity we are not the ones to worry about. It is those "hop aboard the love train" type of fan that the golf world wants to get a hold of and keep for purposes of growth. It has to start with something. And even for those already involved in the sport who say the passion for tiger has died, I guarantee that if he played and played well and also the US won because of it that so called dead passion for him would return in a heart beat for most people including the tons of fans who only hop aboard when things are well. Even if he played great and the US still lost it would still be a huge buzz. And not just in the US too.

When discussing growth and popularity among the average household there is no argument (whether you like it or not) that having Tiger will still work in favor of that purpose. If the game is very close and very exciting, there will be very many more TV's tuned in and if tiger is a part of it, that number will further increase by a large amount imo. I think some of you are fooling yourselves if you don't think Tiger can still have a big influence towards this purpose. Remember, its not about us avid players and fans and our opinions. Its about grabbing interest from all the others and no one else will do that to the same degree as Tiger.
 
rollin said:
But I think this would be wrong. Speaking only for popularity and growth with the sport.
The fact that the non golf fan will watch him in the first place is what I think part of "mulli's" point is.

Those are the people who most already in the sport want to try to bring on over to the game to help its growth. You say once he doesn't do well they will turn it off and that is probably true for a lot of those people just like they do with other sports. The fans who are not passionate enough about the sport and only want to see their team or guy do well. Other than that they could care less. But its still then true that he will draw in that attention and interest in the first place. Who else will do that? If he doesn't play then those people will simply not tune in anyway. No matter how you slice it, there is no denying he still draws that extra attention to begin with. It will cause more people to turn on the TV sets and spark more interest in general.

Perhaps as some are saying his attention drawn is not quite the same by us avid golfers and fans as it once was. But when talking about growth and popularity we are not the ones to worry about. It is those "hop aboard the love train" type of fan that the golf world wants to get a hold of and keep for purposes of growth. It has to start with something. And even for those already involved in the sport who say the passion for tiger has died, I guarantee that if he played and played well and also the US won because of it that so called dead passion for him would return in a heart beat for most people including the tons of fans who only hop aboard when things are well. Even if he played great and the US still lost it would still be a huge buzz. And not just in the US too.

When discussing growth and popularity among the average household there is no argument (whether you like it or not) that having Tiger will still work in favor of that purpose. If the game is very close and very exciting, there will be very many more TV's tuned in and if tiger is a part of it, that number will further increase by a large amount imo. I think some of you are fooling yourselves if you don't think Tiger can still have a big influence towards this purpose. Remember, its not about us avid players and fans and our opinions. Its about grabbing interest from all the others and no one else will do that to the same degree as Tiger.
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Idk why you Guys keeping eluding to he draws fan so he needs to be on the team. I said it before and I will say it again the people that will tune in are already golf fans, whether it casual or fanatics, they are fans. People that are not golf fans don't care if Tiger is playing they are not watching. Especially at that point of the year. NFL will have started as will NCAA football and the MLB postseason should be getting started. All sports a non golf fan is going to tune into. The question was should Tiger make the team and the simple answer is no. Anyway you want to slice it, his play does not warrant a spot on the team.
 
jspangs said:
Idk why you Guys keeping eluding to he draws fan so he needs to be on the team. I said it before and I will say it again the people that will tune in are already golf fans, whether it casual or fanatics, they are fans. People that are not golf fans don't care if Tiger is playing they are not watching. Especially at that point of the year. NFL will have started as will NCAA football and the MLB postseason should be getting started. All sports a non golf fan is going to tune into. The question was should Tiger make the team and the simple answer is no. Anyway you want to slice it, his play does not warrant a spot on the team.
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Well to be fair, it doesn't seem like such a simple answer as the discussion has been going on for 12 pages now.

As with a lot of threads, the discussion changes as more conversation happens. More questions get asked and then answered throughout the thread. The discussion of how many fans he draws was one of the questions asked and discussed. It's not fair to just ignore it because it's not inline with the original question anymore.
 
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Mulligan9111 said:
Well to be fair, it's your opinion that he shouldn't be on the team, however other people might feel different about it.

As with a lot of threads, the discussion changes as more conversation happens. More questions get asked and then answered throughout the thread. The discussion of how many fans he draws was one of the questions asked and discussed. It's not fair to just ignore it because it's not inline with the original question anymore.
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The conversation is not evolving the Tiger fans keep repeating the same thing. Yes it is my opinion, but mine are backed up with stats, like he's 70th in the points standing, 214th in the FedEx standings (he's behind Duval and Daly for gosh sakes), a 13-14-2 all time Ryder Cup record. Tigers fans opinion is purely based on their love for the Tiger of old.
 
Mulligan9111 said:
Well to be fair, it's your opinion that he shouldn't be on the team, however other people might feel different about it.

As with a lot of threads, the discussion changes as more conversation happens. More questions get asked and then answered throughout the thread. The discussion of how many fans he draws was one of the questions asked and discussed. It's not fair to just ignore it because it's not inline with the original question anymore.
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Who asked the question about the number of fans he would draw?
 
Tadashi70 said:
Who asked the question about the number of fans he would draw?
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The whole discussion about whether it would be bad for golf brought up the question.
 
If Tiger wants to be a captain's pick, then he needs to play in more tournaments. Right now, his play is marginal at best to be picked. He just hasn't played in enough competition this season. Play more, then we'll see.
 
jspangs said:
The conversation is not evolving the Tiger fans keep repeating the same thing. Yes it is my opinion, but mine are backed up with stats, like he's 70th in the points standing, 214th in the FedEx standings (he's behind Duval and Daly for gosh sakes), a 13-14-2 all time Ryder Cup record. Tigers fans opinion is purely based on their love for the Tiger of old.
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Not even close to being purely based on the love for Tiger. Check out the TV ratings for the events that Tiger plays in and the events he does not play in. It's pretty clear what type of draw he brings to the game.
 
Mulligan9111 said:
Not even close to being purely based on the love for Tiger. Check out the TV ratings for the events that Tiger plays in and the events he does not play in. It's pretty clear what type of draw he brings to the game.
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TV ratings don't win tournaments and they won't win the US the Ryder Cup either.
 
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