May We Not Have The Ryder Cup Envelope, Please...

Here's a nice bit of reporting from Adam Schupak on one of the less known Ryder Cup traditions that hopefully won't come into play this week: the envelope. And namely, the Captain's Sunday singles selection of who would sit in the event of the opposition having a player unable to go in the event of injury or illness, declaring a draw and a half-point instead of a loss. The rule came into effect when all 12 players teed it up in singles (previously 10). Considering the number of ailments in golf these days it would not come as a shock that we see a situation at Gleneagles.

Schupak includes this interesting bit from Paul Azinger who had a problem Captain Watson hopes he has to face.

“That’s probably the hardest decision you have to make as captain,” Azinger said. “I didn’t know what to do at first. If the name gets revealed, you potentially have shattered someone’s confidence. And then it hit me like a ton of bricks. Could the individual handle it if they were exposed? I’m going to put who I think is the most secure individual in this envelope. I cared about my guys, and the last thing I wanted to do was damage someone’s psyche. So I actually had a very good player in there.”