Weekend Wrap - Schadenfreude Edition

Wow, I didn't see THAT coming, but who did?

Rockin' Freakin' Dogs - As difficult as it will be, let's try to cover the game story before we dive in on the juicy bit:

ST. LEON-ROT, Germany (AP) -- After being infuriated by a call they found

unsportsmanlike, the Americans staged the biggest comeback in Solheim Cup history Saturday to wrest the trophy back from Europe. 

Paula Creamer defeated Germany's Sandra Gal to complete the turnaround and secure a 14 1/2-13 1/2 victory for the United States, which had trailed by four points going into the singles.

Europe led 10-6 going into the 12 singles but could only win three and draw another. Home golfer Caroline Masson missed the last big chance to retain the cup for Europe, before Gerina Piller made her more difficult 9-foot putt to win her match by one hole and keep American hopes alive. 

Cristie Kerr then had nine birdies in 11 holes as she beat Hull 3 and 2, and Angela Stanford ended her nine-match losing streak to beat Pettersen 2 and 1, before Creamer completed the turnaround.

That 10-6 margin before singles exactly matches the two epic Ryder Cup comeback's, Ben's Boys in the Regrettable Golf Shirts in 1999 and the 2014 Poultergeist.   

Since that 1999 comeback the conventional wisdom has been that the team behind needs to load the early part of their singles lineup to create the "Sea of red" on the scoreboard.  Juli Inkster seems to have not been copied on that memo, however, as her lineup seemed far more balanced.  And even though I had overheard an inadvertent remark leading me to believe that they had come back, watching it later on tape it was hard to see as the Euros won two and halved one of the first three matches.

While Creamer is being credited with winning the final point, the two matches that determined the outcome had to be Kerr-Hull and Piller-Masson.  Given the 3&2 margin of victory it would be easy to forget that Kerr was 3-down in the early going.  Piller had several leads and kept coughing them up, missing a gaggle of short putts.  But given one last opportunity, she gutted the putt that won the cup.

Shall we get to the good stuff?  In case you've been in a bubble, the Saturday fourball matches had to be completed at zero-dark-thirty Sunday morning, and...well....it got ugly.  Here's Sam Weinman's recap:

The U.S.'s Alison Lee and Brittany Lincicome were in a tight fourball match against Europe's Charley Hull and Suzann Pettersen, which the Europeans had just squared with a birdie on the 16th hole. Lee had an opportunity to give the U.S. back the lead with a birdie putt on 17, but her putt slid inches past the hole. 

But this is where things got weird. After the putt missed, Hull began walking off the green, followed by Pettersen and the rest of the members of the group: caddies, rules officials, and scorers. This, along with length of the putt, and the fact that the walking umpire started announcing the score, led Hull (and plenty of others) to believe the next putt was good, so she scooped up her ball.

I beg to differ with Sam, as Suzann was long gone.  Here's a screen shot as the putt slides by and the tall Norwegian is nowhere to be found:

And note that Charley Hull is walking towards the 18th tee....and, well, hold that thought.  Back to Sam:

But Pettersen claimed that the putt was never given to Lee, and since Lee picked up her ball prematurely, the hole was awarded to Europe, giving them a one-up lead. The Europeans went on to win the match, and took a four-point lead into Sunday afternoon's singles.

From there, emotions ran hot. Pettersen, when approached by European captain Carin Koch, defended her actions by saying the putt was a good three feet, which it wasn't. Hull, presumably in disagreement with her partner, broke into tears, as did Lee, whose innocent mistake cost her team a valuable point.

In the immediate aftermath of the incident, the Euros doubled down, with this via Sky Sports:

When asked if she would do the same thing again in the future, Pettersen, who was playing in her eighth Solheim Cup, said: "Totally, we are all trying to win.

"It was very clear from Charley and me that we wanted to see the putt (holed).

"I've never been more quiet in my life after seeing her first putt. We didn't say a word and unfortunately she picked up."

That never been more quiet is really quite rich, as her location closer to the 18th tee than the 17th green made any decibel reading rather moot...It is quite rude to leave the green prematurely, especially so for a member of the home team that could lead to the crowd moving en masse to the next hole.

Hull had this to say:

"I was walking over to Suzann to discuss whether or not to give the putt and then I turned around and Alison picked up," said Hull. 

"A few people are saying I was walking off the green. If they watch again, I was talking to Suzann."

Sorry Charley, no sale!  How long were you planning to leave Allison hanging before your conference call with Suzann (and given Suzann's location, a call was required) reached a conclusion?  And what, pray tell, were you crying about if you handled yourself so well?

 Back to Suzann:

“We are all trying to win, to play golf,” Pettersen said. “I totally respect the Americans. We totally respect the game. At that point of time in the match, with the putt she had left, I would still like to see it. If she had the putt to win the cup, I would still like to see it.”

Let me be clear....Suzann and Charley have every right to see every putt they want, even those hanging over the cup.  They just don't have the right to "see" them from the next tee.  Look at Hull in that photo above... if she wants to "see" the putt she should stay where she is.  When she moves towards the next tee she's signalling that the hole is over....

As for the match referee, here's the impossible position in which he found himself:

Rule 2-4/3 explains why Pettersen should have told Lee to replace her ball and hole out. It appears as a hypothetical question and answer and reads: 

Q: In a match between A and B, B made a statement which B interpreted to mean that A’s next stroke is conceded. Accordingly, A lifted her ball, B then said that she had not conceded A’s next stroke. What is the ruling?

A: If B’s statement could reasonably have led A to think his next stroke had been conceded, A should replace her ball as near as possible to where it lay, without penalty.

I agree that Petterson should have told Allison to replace the ball, but she should have done that because of what a rude a******e she was.  The referee was constrained in doing so by the specificity of the decision that relates to a "statement."  I would argue that once Hull started walking to the next tee that should be construed as a statement, but that's really an argument to amend the decision, appropriate since so much of conceding putts is done with hand gestures.

But this story ultimately affirms the existence of a higher power.  First, with photos like this:

And then with this statement this morning from Pettersen, which can only be considered complete capitulation: 

'I've never felt more gutted and truly sad about what went down Sunday on the 17th at the Solheim Cup,' said Pettersen. 

'I am so sorry for not thinking about the bigger picture in the heat of the battle and competition. I was trying my hardest for my team and put the single match and the point that could be earned ahead of sportsmanship and the game of golf itself! I feel like I let my team down and I am sorry. 

'To the US team, you guys have a great leader in Juli , who I've always looked up to and respect so much. Knowing I need to make things "right," I had a face to face chat with her before leaving Germany this morning to tell her in person how I really feel about all of this. I wanted her also to know that I am sorry. 

'I hope in time the US team will forgive me and know that I have learned a valuable lesson about what is truly important in this great game of golf which has given me so much in my life.

'To the fans of golf who watched the competition on TV, I am sorry for the way I carried myself. I can be so much better and being an ambassador for this great game means a lot to me.

'The Solheim Cup has been a huge part of my career. I wish I could change Sunday for many reasons. Unfortunately I can't.

'This week I want to push forward toward another opportunity to earn the Solheim Cup back for Europe in the right way. And I want to work hard to earn back your belief in me as someone who plays hard, plays fair and plays the great game of golf the right way.'

Yeah, you work on that Suzann, and in the meantime, Eff you!   I can only hope those stares in the locker room are especially icy... With that statement she really left Charley Hull out to dry... when your captain and the greatest player ever plead with you to relent, you might think it through in the moment, because I'm not big on Monday morning apologies.

Kudos also to Laura Davies and Juli Inkster.  The former, a friend of Pettersen, was immediately on Twitter with a clear understanding of what had transpired, and had this in the Sky Sports:

'Disgusted. We have got our best player, Charley Hull, who has just won a point and she is in floods of tears. That tells you the wrong thing was done. 

"How Suzann can justify that I will never, ever know. We are all fierce competitors but ultimately it's unfair," Davies said. "We have to play week in, week out together and you do not do something like that to a fellow pro."

And Juli was quite cryptic on this incident, but I loved her comment on an earlier contretemps over Annika giving advice (only the actual captains are allowed to do so).  Juli, trying to keep things private despite the obvious emotions involved, indicated that they had invited the Euro to Thanksgiving and were understandably upset when they declined.   So that would be "Winner Winner, Turkey Dinner."

I thought Juli handled herself well all week, most notably when it appeared that her girls were going to lose...which was, after all, most of the week.

The Jason Day Era, Resumed - I saw none of it, but here's the headline:

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Jason Day is currently the best player on the planet. 

Is he the best player of the 2014-15 season? 

Following his latest masterpiece, a six-shot romp he capped Sunday at Conway Farms Golf Club to win the BMW Championship, Day improved his case for the PGA Tour player of the year award that was once considered to be a lock for Jordan Spieth. Spieth won the year’s first two majors, made a gallant run at history in coming up one shot short in the British Open and has two other wins.

OK, he's certainly the hottest player on the planet. but best player is TBD, and therein lies the fun.  The season is essentially over, and next week's 30-player exhibition adds little to the argument.  But how much fun will next year be?

As for Player of the Year, who cares... It's marginally interesting to weight this year's records of the two leading contenders, but it's a nothing burger because it's a vote of PGA Tour members for Tour Player of the Year.  If you value the majors as the defining measure of greatness you have to vote for Spieth, as per this guy:

“I still think it’s him,” said Day, who has won four of his last six starts, of Spieth. “I’m hoping to win next week and get people talking about it more. It might change some people’s minds a bit if I go out and win next week.”

 You wouldn't expect me to disagree with the No. 1 ranked player in the world, would you?

A Lot Of Effort To Avoid The Frys - This came out of the blue:

Tiger Woods, a 14-time major champion and winner of more than 100 events worldwide, announced Friday that he has undergone a second successful microdiscectomy surgery on his back. The first was done March 31, 2014. 

The surgery was performed late Wednesday in Park City, Utah, by neurosurgeon Dr. Charles Rich. Dr. Rich also performed the initial operation.

"Tiger Woods underwent a microdiscectomy late on Sept. 16 at Park City Medical Center," Dr. Rich said. "With the upcoming offseason, the decision was made to remove a small disc fragment that was pinching his nerve. The microsurgery was a complete success, and he was discharged Thursday night." 

"This is certainly disappointing, but I'm a fighter," Woods said. "I've been told I can make a full recovery, and I have no doubt that I will."

Most curious since he had only just committed to the Frys  (because he had to) and a partner event with the Kooch.  

And don't you love that "Second successful surgery" bit?  Because nothing screams success like a mulligan shortly thereafter....  Gary Van Sickle gets to the crux of the matter:

This setback costs Tiger time, a valuable commodity that was once almost limitless for him and now is dwindling with alarming rapidity. If 2016 turns into a lost year or even a lost half-year, that’s another big blow to Tiger’s comeback hopes. He hasn’t won a PGA Tournament in more than two years. He hasn’t won a major championship in seven years. Time is getting shorter, and the odds are getting longer.

And for those with time on their hands, Golf Channel helpfully provides this comprehensive history of Tiger boo-boos, though they could have gone back further (his first knee surgery was as a Stanford Cardinal).  And this image packs a punch:

I'm not prepared to say he's done, but it's hard to see how he competes at the highest level when his body keeps breaking down.