2011 US Open

Discussion in 'Golf' started by Matt in the Hat, Jun 19, 2011.

  1. Matt in the Hat

    Matt in the Hat Moderator
    Staff Member

    Sep 21, 2002
    Brooklyn
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Rory McIlroy is destroying this thing. It's more proof positive that the PGA is now second fiddle to the Euro Tour.
     
  2. StiltonFC

    StiltonFC He said to only look up -- Guster

    Mar 18, 2007
    SoCal
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    i think you're misstating the case somewhat. there are many European golfers who play very well and win tournaments in the US, but that doesn't mean that the Euro Tour is superior. There have been 26 PGA Tour events this season and 9 have been won by golfers other than Americans. 4 have been Europeans, 2 South Africans, 2 by Australians and one by an Asian.
     
  3. Matt in the Hat

    Matt in the Hat Moderator
    Staff Member

    Sep 21, 2002
    Brooklyn
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Disingenuous argument. You aren't including Euro Tour events.
     
  4. StiltonFC

    StiltonFC He said to only look up -- Guster

    Mar 18, 2007
    SoCal
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Very few PGA Tour players play in those events.
     
  5. Matt in the Hat

    Matt in the Hat Moderator
    Staff Member

    Sep 21, 2002
    Brooklyn
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I saw Tiger Woods take a double bogey at the Desert Classic this year.

    More Euro players play the events over here that on the PGA nowadays. With the exception of the majors and possible TPC the PGA is now the second circuit, like it or not.
     
  6. StiltonFC

    StiltonFC He said to only look up -- Guster

    Mar 18, 2007
    SoCal
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    There are events that attract the best European players here in the States. The Memorial Tournament is one example. The week that was held, the European Tour event was the Saab Wales Open. Unless you're a golf follower, you probably don't know half of the top ten. The prize for winning was about $470K, where The Memorial first place prize was $1.2M.

    I'm sorry, but you don't know what you're talking about.
     
  7. Matt in the Hat

    Matt in the Hat Moderator
    Staff Member

    Sep 21, 2002
    Brooklyn
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Bigger money doesn't equate to higher quality. If that's the case then the Dubai World Championship is bigger than The Masters.

    Your stat about 9 of 26 events being won by euro tour players does not take into account the number of Euro players participating. Naturally more Americans are going to win when the Euros are playing over here. That's just a big duh.

    The three big tournaments where the US players cross over here are Doha, Abu Dhabi and Dubai. An American hasn't won any of those since Tiger won the Desert Classic in 2008

    Euro players dominate the majors, won the Ryder Cup and take up 6 of the top 10 in the world rankings. Do you even watch the Euro tour?
     
  8. StiltonFC

    StiltonFC He said to only look up -- Guster

    Mar 18, 2007
    SoCal
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    If you were to say that the best European tour golfers are better than the best American golfers, I wouldn't disagree, but you said that the European Tour was better than the PGA Tour, and that isn't true.
     
  9. Matt in the Hat

    Matt in the Hat Moderator
    Staff Member

    Sep 21, 2002
    Brooklyn
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Well if it's not the players than what is it that makes the PGA tour better?
     
  10. StiltonFC

    StiltonFC He said to only look up -- Guster

    Mar 18, 2007
    SoCal
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Why do relatively few good American players travel to Europe to play in events there? It's primarily because the players are treated better here* and the prize money is far greater. The top echelon of European and golfers from the rest of the world play at most of the best the PGA Tour events, like The Memorial, The Players Championship, etc.


    *events are in big cities, mostly, with luxury hotels, etc.
     
  11. Matt in the Hat

    Matt in the Hat Moderator
    Staff Member

    Sep 21, 2002
    Brooklyn
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    This is 2008 thinking. Things have changed.
     
  12. StiltonFC

    StiltonFC He said to only look up -- Guster

    Mar 18, 2007
    SoCal
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    everything goes in cycles.

    your view is colored by what you think is evidence of a global change, but the PGA Tour, meaning the golf tournaments held on US soil, will always attract more foreign golfers than European Tour events will attract American golfers. the fact that foreign golfers are more likely to win PGA tour events than vice versa only shows that those golfers are currently superior at the top tier.

    that's likely to change eventually.
     
  13. wallacegrommit

    Sep 19, 2005
    Now, they just need to figure out how to stop all those Americans from winning the British Open. :p

    If we gave the South Africans to the European team and everyone else (Asia, South America, Canada, Australia, etc.) joined the Americans, who would win such a Ryder/President's Super Cup type competition?
     
  14. StiltonFC

    StiltonFC He said to only look up -- Guster

    Mar 18, 2007
    SoCal
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Lady Gaga!

    good question wg. the US of A has about 5% of the population of the planet. we used to be pretty dominant, after the wars, but the US has only won 6 of the last 15 Ryder Cup competitions.
     
  15. Bluto11

    Bluto11 The sky is falling!

    May 16, 2003
    Chicago, IL
    Really happy for Rory and enjoyed watching the US Open this year. Even got me on the range on Friday! Watching on Saturday I believe they had the second set up as a 260ish par 3, and Garrigus took out a 4 iron. Holy crap can he hit the ball.
     
  16. Matt in the Hat

    Matt in the Hat Moderator
    Staff Member

    Sep 21, 2002
    Brooklyn
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    That's when we were mostly playing Britain and Ireland.

    I would love an Easter/Western hemisphere tournament only to have M.A. Jimenez and Angel Cabrera duke it out for world's most unlikely athlete.
     
  17. StiltonFC

    StiltonFC He said to only look up -- Guster

    Mar 18, 2007
    SoCal
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Angel Cabrera has never seen a side of beef he didn't like...

    Angel Cabrera could bring famine to The Seychelles.
     

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