SOLHEIM CUP ... Live scoring, all matches and players, click here.
Having this Labour Day Monday off I've had a chance to catch up on some social media comparing the final of the Tour Championship with watching the Solheim Cup, with strong opinions on both sides.
Of course Patrick Cantley (-21) took advantage of his Tour Championship -10 head start to edge Player of the Year Jon Rahm by a shot and delighted his agent, manager, coaching staff, wife and family with the $15m pay day, while disgusting most of the rest of us according to the tweets.
Incidentally Corey Connors finished 18 shots behind, T22 out of 30 at -3 but still won $466,667.
Heck as I pointed out in my last post, neither Nick Taylor (#141) or Michael Gligic (#150) played here but still earned $70,000.
The Tour Championship, and the Fed Ex Cup playoffs, the culmination of a season's play is the financial reward for the best and mainly really wealthy pro golfers who just got wealthier.
Winners like Cantlay, Bill Haas, Billy Horschel are all really nice guys, but this whole convoluted scoring system rarely provides must see viewing, like the extraordinary drama of the Ryder /Solheim Cups.
It's not even close, so not worth comparing in my opinion.
Today, Europe, the defending champions, but still the underdogs take a 9-7 into the singles which the USA normally dominates. Eight times the Euros have been up after 16 matches going into the singles and have only won 4 times and they have only won once in the USA, in 2013 in Colorado.
They need 5 points from the 12 singles to retain the Cup at the Inverness Club in Toledo in front of a surging COVID restricted, pro American crowd of 5000.
Over the first 2 days Europe has won the foursomes 4 1/2 to 3 1/2 and the same for the fourballs. Sparkplugs Mel Reid and Ireland's Leona McGuire undefeated in 3 matches, have the European women with their tails up, enjoying as always, the fuel that drives all of them in these matches, the underdog role of David vs Goliath.
That drama, the history of countries (Europe) vs country (USA) in the match play format. with the big bad, rich, spoiled Americans as the target never changes or tires, even now when many of the European Ryder/Solheim Cup players live and play in the USA.
* That drama never exits in regular 72 individual stroke play, so no point comparing the two.
Enjoy today's Solheim Cup finale, nicely poised, beginning at 1205 est. The only way I could make it better from a European point of view, would to be to have Brooke Henderson in the team !!
Bryan Angus
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