Woods' practice ends with a thud

    Writing from Medinah, Illinois
    Thursday, September 27, 2012

    It’s probably not the best way to go into the Ryder Cup.
    You are Tiger Woods, and you conk a fan in the head with your tee shot on the 18th hole.
    Oops.
    One report had the fan, Larry Johnson, getting knocked out, but that could not be confirmed. But Woods apologized several times and signed a glove for Johnson, who was taken to the first aid tent near the 18th fairway.
    Memo to Davis Love III: Have Woods tee off on the odd-numbered holes and Steve Stricker handle the even-numbered holes to avoid a repeat on Friday morning when they play Ian Poulter and Justin Rose in the fourth match.

    First up? We don’t know

    The visitors have the honor in the Ryder Cup, but neither Rory McIlroy nor Graeme McDowell were sure who would tee off in the first match to get the pressure-packed three-day fandango underway.
    “We have an idea but it’s not set in stone,” said McIlroy, the world’s top-ranked player.
    “We’ll talk through how the course breaks down for us and we’ll finalize that tonight,” McDowell said.
    But McDowell had an idea of how he wanted the match against Jim Furyk and Brandt Snedeker to develop.
    “We’re going to use the world No. 1’s power and precision and I will just knock a few tap-ins in.”
    Furyk and Snedeker practiced together all three days. Furyk called it “just getting comfy.”
    Will anyone be comfy at 7:20 a.m.?
    “I’ll be nervous just like I know Rory will be nervous and I know Graeme is going to be nervous and I know Brandt is going to be nervous,” Furyk said. “But I’ll be excited. The crowd is going to be energetic. They’re going to be making a ton of noise.
    “I think what will be going through my mind is that I appreciated the eighth one every bit as much as the first.”

    Quite the cheering section

    The eight players not playing in the morning: Americans Dustin Johnson, Matt Kuchar, Webb Simpson and Bubba Watson, and Europeans Nicolas Colsaerts, Peter Hanson, Martin Kaymer and Paul Lawrie.
    Simpson won the U.S. Open, Watson the Masters. Kaymer and Lawrie have won the PGA and British Open, respectively.
    A smart captain will want to get all 12 players on the course at some time during the first day. One who didn’t was Europe’s Mark James in 1999. He kept Jean Van De Velde, Jsrmo Sandelin and Andrew Coltart in the bullpen until Sunday’s singles. All three lost their singles matches, helping the U.S. to its 8.5-3.5 Sunday romp that brought the Americans the Cup by a 14.5-13.5 margin.

    Around Medinah

    The anticipated flyover never flew over the opening ceremony. Two military planes were in the air, but the landing patterns for O’Hare come right over the course when the wind is out of the east. They were spotted on television, but the 10,000 spectators who attended saw only an unceasing supply of 747s and the like. ... Rather than the national anthem of every country represented on the European team, the European Union anthem, “Ode to Joy,” the climax of the fourth movement of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, was played by the Chicago Youth Symphony.  That saved 20 minutes right there.
    – Tim Cronin