Finally! A Playoff Storyline Worth Paying Attention To: The Race To Make The European Ryder Cup Team
/We saw signs of potential cracks in the Euro armor Wednesday when Sergio made clear that Padraig would not top Ollie's list as a possible European captain's pick, but considering their history it was hardly a shock that Garcia might prefer others.
When Captain Jose Maria Olazabal was told of Padraig Harrington's Barclay's opening round 64 and said the Irishman needed "at least a win" to be considered for one of the two picks, the official soap opera had begun. This at least saved us from having to figure out what the algorithm geeks had done with resets and other nonsense to get Tiger Woods to East Lake in the "playoffs."
Maybe the worst part about today's news for Captain Ollie is the tone of the reports, where press idol Padraig is definitely winning the early PR battle.
That’s “at least a win” against a field containing nine of the world’s top 10 and one which, if the cut-off point had not been somewhat arbitrarily placed at the end of the Johnnie Walker five hours before, would probably have seen him leapfrog from 19th into the automatic standings. So now Harrington knows.
Cameron Morfit at Bethpage, reporting on Harrington's attempts to diplomatically "plead the fifth" when talking about Olazabal's duty to put the best possible team together.
Still, Harrington looked anguished as he sat behind the microphone, facing reporters. How would you characterize your relationship with European Ryder Cup captain Jose Maria Olazabal? The question hung in the air as Harrington stared down at the table in front of him for one second, two seconds, three…
“You know, I don’t know where I sit,” Harrington said. “Or maybe I do.”
The scribes broke up laughing.
An unbylined AP report tells us what could be a real problem-solver for the Captain: the fine first round play of Nicolas Colsaerts at Gleneagles. A first or second place in the Johnnie Walker and Colsaerts dislodges the struggling Martin Kaymer, while freeing up a spot for Olazabal to pick Harrington or someone he doesn't dislike so much.
"(It's) a pretty good start and that's exactly what I wanted," Colsaerts said. "As for the Ryder Cup, I can only manage what I do. But we've only played one round and anybody can still make a great story happen."
The big-hitting Belgian made five birdies — including four in five holes on Nos. 14-18 — to share eighth place. He must finish first or second be assured of an automatic position in the matches next month against the United States at Medinah in Illinois.
Here is the Golf Channel highlight package focusing on the first round play at Bethpage of Ryder Cup hopefuls on both sides.
I knew these playoffs would get interesting!
