Thursday 26 February 2015 18:39, UK
Rich Beem reflects on Davis Love's appointment as US Ryder Cup captain and looks ahead to the start of the Florida swing...
I think DL3 made a great captain during his last go around at Medinah. Unfortunately for the US side, the Europeans out-played them on Sunday singles. I think the players respected him and he in turned listened to them. Lets face it, the captain can only put players in place that he believes will do will together. Beyond that, the players decide the outcome.
It will be interesting to see how the changes from three to four picks will affect the captains’ choices. Ahead of the last Ryder Cup, we saw how much flak Tom Watson got for not picking Billy Horschel. Nobody knew that Billy was going to get hot for three weeks leading up to the Ryder Cup. Teams need to be picked on a certain body of work and if it doesn’t work out for you, too bad.
I think DL3 made a great captain during his last go around at Medinah. The players respected him and he in turn listened to them.
Having not played on a Ryder Cup, it’s hard for me to say if I would make any other changes to the US set-up. It’s quite obvious that the Europeans have a good plan in place and it is currently working in their favour. It’s funny to me how you can be perceived as a “bad” captain if your team loses or a “good” one if they win. Don’t the players have a part in the blame as well?
Riviera return
Being back at Riviera Country Club was amazing. It was my favourite course to play on Tour and I absolutely enjoyed calling the action as much as I did when I was playing it. It’s a thinking-man’s course and, as I found out, it challenged me as well mentally as an analyst.
My hole-in-one in 2007 is obviously a highlight for me, but in my rookie year in 1999, I birdied nine, 10 and 11 to take the lead, which was the first lead I ever had in my life!! Not sure where I finished the first round behind the leaders, but I know I made the cut!
I thought the final day of Riviera could be named after a classic Hollywood movie; The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. There were some good shots during the final round, especially during the play-off. The ugly was some of the finishes by Sergio and Dustin. With the power they possess, both making bogey on the 17th was flat out ugly. The bad was that 10th at Riviera which looked bad on TV. It truly is one of the great short holes in golf, but as firm as the course played, especially the greens, I don’t think that it came across very well on TV.
Winning for James Hahn will be a huge confidence booster for him. It will also give him a couple of years to gain some more experience on tour. As for becoming a regular winner and a Ryder Cup member, only time will tell. I think it’s a bit premature to start thinking about what’s next for him, especially in terms of the Ryder Cup. Let’s see how the next few months play out and then we will see what kind of player James will become.
Up next
The Honda Classic has been played at PGA National since 2007 and I believe it is one of the most difficult courses on tour. The wind always blows and it is fierce. It will require an amazing amount of patience to win this event. I believe a player that has won a major will win this week.
Doral on the other hand is a bit different. I haven’t seen the new course changes up close and personal, but with a limited field, any number of players can win there. I like Jordan Spieth to get his second win on the PGA Tour there.
As for Tiger Woods, I think he will be just fine. As Martin Kaymer said, he’s human like the rest of us, unfortunately his life plays out in front of millions of viewers. No thanks. I hope he takes enough time away from the game and actually enjoys his life for a while.
