Sutton has tough decisions
Hal Sutton is 12 days away from his most important decision as Ryder Cup captain, when he makes his two wild-card selections to fill out the American team. He doesn’t know who he will pick, only the reaction that will follow.
“We just crave second-guessing, don’t we?” Sutton said Tuesday morning at Los Angeles, looking around the table at a dozen reporters.
“I tell you what. That’s the biggest, defeatist attitude. If we take that sort of attitude into the Ryder Cup, you can book it – we will get beat. I will not allow the U.S. team to do that.
“We’ll either be right or wrong. And that’s all we can be.”
Sutton will never be mistaken for a wishy-washy captain. Ask him the one thing he can do to influence the outcome at the Ryder Cup on Sept. 17-19, and he quickly replies, “Decisiveness.”
He is making all the decisions by himself, from the style of golf bag the caddies carry to the shirts the players wear to the order for the pivotal Sunday singles matches.
“Let me tell you how this is going to go, just so y’all know,” he said, blue eyes blazing again. “On Saturday afternoon, I will talk to (assistants) Jackie Burke and Steve Jones in a separate room. I will write the names down in the order they’re going to play. I’ll walk in and lay it down. And I’ll walk out. That’s exactly how we’ll play.
“It’s not going to be up to anybody else. And that’s what I mean by being decisive.”
But who will be the wild-card picks?
That’s where Mr. Decisive takes a seat on the fence.
He wants someone in top form and someone whose game best suits Oakland Hills. Asked which was more important, he offered a rare pause.
“I think it’s equal,” he finally said. “I know I’m riding the fence on you. It doesn’t make for good print. But honestly, it takes the guy playing the best whose game suits Oakland Hills.”
Ratings sink at Bridges
Despite the presence of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, two of golf’s marquee stars, the made-for-television “Battle at the Bridges” posted the lowest national and overnight ratings in the history of ABC’s prime-time golf telecasts.
Shown on ABC from 5-8:45 p.m. PST Monday night, the match’s national rating dipped to 3.6 with a 6 share, down from a 4.6 and an 8 share last year when Woods and Ernie Els played Mickelson and Sergio Garcia.
The ratings have been sliding since 2000 when the telecast posted its best numbers, a 7.6 rating and a 13 share nationally and 8.6 with a 14 share in the overnights, for the match between Woods and Garcia.
The joint venture of ABC and IMG is under contract for one more year.
Callaway CEO resigns
At Carlsbad, Calif., Ron Drapeau, who took over Callaway Golf when founder Ely Callaway died three years ago, resigned as chairman and chief executive officer.
The company said William Baker, the longest-tenured member of the board, would take over as chairman and interim CEO. Baker, 71, has been on Callaway’s board for 10 years and has been CEO of three publicly traded companies.
No reason was given for Drapeau’s departure.