Ryder Cup 2012

They will "give 2 fukks" alright bobby nothing surer think you will be surprised by the atmosphere and emotion come the weekend.Agree its not a "team sport" as the performances of Woods and maybe Mickleson have shown over the years.

The Yanks look very solid and will be extremely hard to beat, especially on home soil. Very few weak links on the US team while you'd have to worry about the likes of Colsaerts and Kaymer for the Europeans while the recent form of Westwood and maybe even McIlroy is a big worry. Max bet on team USA me thinks

funny that fellas like Tiger and Mickelson are not noted for their Ryder Cup exploits, despite playing every year

and other guys like Donald, Westwood, Garcia, Montgomerie usually excel. Tells you that these lads are great in a team environment but on their own on the back nine of a Sunday in say the Masters, cant hack it

Yer mans competitions are peculiar to say the least.

Yep, pot luck alright but at least they are free.

Cant see anything but a USA win. Westwood cant hit the ball out of his way lately. Donald not much better aside from his usual gallop past beaten horses last night.

Dont think Rory cares too much about this and may be suffering from burn out having been contending for most of the last month. You dont know what your going to get with Sergio and Kaymer.

Lawrie, Rose, Colsaerts, Molinari and Hanson are all streaky players who dont really impress me.

GMac and Poulter will probably be the best European players but I think on paper the USA look a far stronger team

Hope you held off with your "bet of the century",8/5 is is a poor price to have got when 7/4 is now available(won,t surprise me to see 15/8 in a place or 2 before Friday)

Bl-Sq doing a promo - back Europe to win the RC outright and if they lose by 2pts or less (incl tie) you get your stake back in the form of a free bet (to be used within 7 days). They are top price too at 7/4.

No haven't backed them yet lapsy pa, safe to say that 7/4 is an early Christmas present

I am actually playing up all my winnings from magic md's tips from last week on Europe Ozymandius tbh! Doubt he will back them though, golf isn't really his thing

I'm putting all my eggs in the Ian Poulter basket this weekend, and here's why:

Poulter made his debut in the 2004 RC where he played only the one doubles match. Paired with Darren Clarke, they lost the Saturday foursomes 4&3 to Tiger Woods & Chris Riley. Poulter then got some measure of revenge against Riley in the singles, beating him 3&2

He then failed to qualify for the 2006 team

He was a controversial Captain's pick for the 2008 RC, with Nick Faldo choosing him and Paul Casey ahead of Monty & Clarke but he more than justified that pick with 4 points from his 5 matches, finishing overall top points scorer in the tournament, 0.5pt ahead of Hunter Mahan.

In 2010 he qualified for the event proper and again showed his liking for the competition with 3 points from his 4 matches, finishing joint top scorer with Luke Donald, Steve Stricker & Tiger Woods.

The thing with Poulter is that he comes across as a bit of a ****, with his love of fashion and design etc which wouldn't sit well with the great golfing public. He also gets into the odd spat on Twitter regarding sports stars earnings and whether they deserve the money that they get etc. IMO he is a bit of a **** but he is a very good golfer who obviously loves this tournament format and is clearly a good partner for the doubles aspect of it, having won matches with 4 different players:- Justin Rose (not playing in 2012), Graeme McDowell, Luke Donald, & Martin Kaymer, the latter 3 are also playing this weekend. His 5&4 victory over Steve Stricker in his 2010 singles match meant that he is now 3-0 from his 3 singles matches at the competition and he has yet to go past the 16th, winning 3&2 in 2004 and 3&2 in 2008 (beating Matt Kuchar)

My Bets
Top Combined Scorer - 1.5pts each way @ 16/1
Top European Scorer - 0.5pts each way @ 8/1
Top Wildcard Scorer - 2pts @ 4/1

I debated about the each-way aspect of the bets and, while I am happy with the each-way part of the overall bet, I probably should have backed him win-only in the European market. But it's done now so I'm stuck with it!

Cheers Pa - don't know why I thought he wasn't playing

Fully agree with Poulter. I analysed him as a bet for another site and the positives are listed below. I on;y put him up as top European but the merit of top combined at 18/1 is clear.


Ryder Cup Record
This will be Poulter’s 4th Ryder Cup appearance after making his debut at Oakland Hills in 2004 and also playing in Valhalla in 2008 and Celtic Manor in 2012.

Poulter’s record is outstanding with 8 victories and 3 defeats, including 3 straight singles victories.  After being comprehensively beaten in his debut Fourball match with Darren Clarke in 2004, the only other defeats that Poulter has suffered have both been taken down the last hole, where with a little more luck, his record could be even more impressive. Only Luke Donald has a better % of points gained among the current European team that have played in more than 1 Ryder Cup.

Foursomes and Fourballs
Poulter has won 3 and lost 2 fourballs. The two defeats can when he was partnered with Ross Fisher and Graeme McDowell. On the other hand, his Fourball partnership was outstanding with Justin Rose in 2008 and he was very effective with Martin Kaymer in 2010. The strong likelihood is that he will team up with Rose in both fourballs giving him an excellent chance of securing 2 points.

In the foursomes, Poulter won his only match in 2010 with Luke Donald when they beat the fired up pair of Watson and the very loud Jeff Overton. In 2008 Poulter and Rose shared the 2 matches with Cink and Campbell, losing narrowly in the first and winning the second match comprehensively.

Again Poulter will likely be paired with Rose in at least one of the foursomes, although in the second match Olazabal may switch things around and pair Donald with him and Rose could either take a rest or be paired with Westwood or Garcia. No matter what the combinations are, Poulter is likely to play in all 4 matches and likely to score heavily if he continues his majestic Ryder Cup form.

Singles Prowess
Poulter has been an inspirational figure in the singles at the past two Ryder Cups. While a very accomplished tournament player, he brings his game to a new level at the Ryder Cup and particularly when he is asked to go out and get a point on the final day. He has been compared to the great Seve in this regard and he will draw further inspiration from having the golfing legend on his bag this weekend.

His 5&4 demolition of Matt Kuchar in 2010 was achieved with sensational golf and outstanding putting while in 2008 he took care of the previously unbeaten Steve Stricker in a match that the States would have been banking on for a win. This was despite watching the European team crumbling around him.

His 3-0 record in the singles tells its own story. While he has played 10th, 10th and 5th in the singles at his previous Ryder Cups, I expect that Ollie may well send him out first or second and to play the role encapsulated by Monty against Scott Hoch at the Belfry in 2002.

Medinah Experience
While Poulter did not play in the 1999 PGA Championship, he took an excellent 9th place behind Tiger Woods in 2006. The 7,561 yard course was a monster at the time and not much shorter than the 2012 version. While there will be many changes to the course to essentially suit Davis Love and his team, the positive Medinah experience can only be beneficial to Poulter.

Padraig Harrington who for some unknown reason is hated here had a singles record of played three won three at one time same as Poulter and Poulter will lose his singles match this time round and he is my lay of the Ryder Cup.

What planet are you living on ruby?? At least give some sort of a back up to such a sweeping statement like that!!

Think I will double up on Europe now!

Garcia can't putt
Kaymer completely out of form
Molinari won't score a point
Hanson not good enough
Westwood out of form
Poulter due a bad Ryder Cup
Lawrie lacks experience of American golf courses and is a good player in tough European weather conditions

Care to reconsider.

Yeah a good list from Wildman,
could maybe add.
Mc ilroy,s possible lack of interest.
A bit long for Donald.

We all love Pod even though he costs us.

i was going to lay the yanks before heading off to galway for the weekend ..but after your views on the europeans i'm having second thoughts...