Tom Lehman sounds off on Ryder Cup points, Ian Woosnam's keg, more

Lost in all the talk of Tiger’s two Ws so far this year, and the exciting wins from Chad Campbell,
J.B. Holmes and Arron Oberholser is that fact that guys are going to spend the next several months on the PGA Tour fighting hard to win a spot on the U.S. Ryder Cup team. At lot more is at stake this year for players fighting for a spot in the team since The PGA of America tweaked the formula to give extra weight to a players’ performance in a Ryder Cup year.

Speaking at the Riviera Country Club in California just before the Nissan Open, U.S. Captain Tom Lehman told reporters the new system is shot in the arm for the U.S.

“It’s a super thing. I’ve gotten a lot of extremely positive responses from all kinds of different players; from veterans who have been through it all a bunch … to the rookies out here that are kind of wide eyed and bushy tailed; to guys that are in their second, third and fourth year, who kind of feel like they discovered their niche, and want to take it up a notch, and they want to make this team,” he said.

Lehman talked about how the new system rewards players who WIN tourneys, far more so than those who just finish highly week in and week out.

“The big reason why the point system was changed was, in an effort to get the guys who are playing the best in year 2 and who are winning. You can’t forget about the winning portion. There is a 75-point bonus on top of the quadruple points for winning,” he said. “So we want to have the players who are playing their best and players who are winning tournaments.”

He also talked about his first impression of Ian Woosnam, the Euro Captain. Pretty funny story.

“I remember playing in a Shell’s match in Barbados. He has a house in Barbados, I actually didn’t meet him, I saw his house and he has a keg sitting in the little thing next to the pool. I figured that’s my kind of guy right there.”

Lastly, Lehman said gone are the days when team members will follow their own practice routines, like Tiger practicing so early at the Belfry that he was done before the gates even opened, or Phil “FIGJAM” Mickelson practicing on a different golf course (or not even practicing at all one day).

“We’ll practice as a team without question. And whether it’s three foursomes, or one twelve some, is yet to be seen, but we will be together,” Lehman said. “No wiggle room.”

We’ll see.