Mickelson and Duval Think Bethpage Would Be a Great Ryder Cup Venue As Well

Phil Mickelson and David Duval both think that Bethpage Black -- and its fans -- would make a spectacular Ryder Cup venue:

"The people here are incredible, and I just keep thinking that this is like the ideal spot to hold the Ryder Cup," he said Monday.

"First of all, the course is terrific, because 16, 17 and 18 are so close together. And the way the fans are, I think we would have a big advantage."

"David Duval concurred. "Now that would be a heck of an idea," he said after tying Mickelson and Ricky Barnes for second place. "It's sure a good enough golf course for it."

And, as I said on Monday, it would also create an incredible home-field advantage for the American side, one that has all too often found itself outgunned and overmatched in the biannual event.

Say what you will about the way that fans behaved at the US Open, the Ryder Cup would be a perfect venue for the New York Fan atmosphere. It is most certainly a partisan event, and as we saw last year at Valhalla, the players can feed off of the positive vibes of the fans in attendance. Interestingly, a lot of writers are now saying that the stories painting fans at Bethpage as out of control were, shall we say, a tad overwrought. Patrick Sauer, who did a fine job of covering the US Open for Huffington Post (yes, the Huffington Post) said this:

" I read a number of articles about the drunken hecklers raining down obscenities on the poor fragile golfers. I am going to call at least half-bullcrap on that storyline. Sure, by the time Saturday's skies open up and poured around 7 p.m., there were plenty of soused golf fans that had put in a full day's drink. Including, umm, many of those who took shelter throughout the day in the hospitality tent. Was there some friendly taunting? Sure. And maybe "friendly" in the New York City area comes off as "aggressive and hostile" elsewhere, but I never heard anyone yell during a golfer's swing, nor did I hear any cursing at a particular player (Although I was never near poor old Fred Funk.) Yes, the mooks were out in full force, but they were mostly having fun, the obnoxious drunks were far outnumbered by people having a big time in the heavy stuff."

Golf blogger extraordinaire Stephanie Wei saw more or less the same thing at Bethpage, and she commented that

"At the same time, the energy, encouragement and enthusiasm have been unparalleled to anything I’ve ever experienced - especially at a golf tournament; one that has been muddy and wet, no less. Sure, they’ll always be “that” guy yelling something less-than-intelligent. But for the most part, people have been supportive and positive. (I mean, haven’t you heard the cheers for Phil?) The players haven’t seemed to mind either. In fact, I think many have been entertained and encouraged by the crowd’s response. What else can you do? It is pretty amusing."

"That" guy that Stephanie refers to shows up everywhere, and to paint New York fans as worse than what you might see at any tournament is wrong. After all, at this year's Player's Championship in Pontre Vedra Beach Florida for blustering "FIGJAM" in the direction of Phil Mickelson. And at this year's Bay Hill tournament, Mickelson was again the vicitim of someone with a complete lack of social graces when a fan yelled "Get in the lake!" after Lefty teed off. All of that leads me to believe that the over-stereotyped NY fan was probably slandered a bit by reporters with selective hearing last weekend. Sure sounds like they were no better or no worse than golf fans anywhere in the US.

The bottom line here is that Bethpage Black is more than course enough to be an incredible match play venue and the fans that have attended the two majors there have more than shown their mettle after two US Opens, so now the ball is on the the PGA's green -- they simply need to make the right call and get a future Ryder Cup in Farmingdale, NY. Whether the PGA listens to Mickelson and Duval and awards a Ryder Cup to Bethpage is anyone's guess.

David Duval Earns Back The Respect He Deserved All Along

Once the #1 Player in the world, and a major champion, starting in 2002, David Duval was beset like Job: depression that reared its head constantly, a back injury, a split with his finacee and possibly worst of all, a bout with vertigo that took away his keen sense of balance -- something of vital importance to a top-flight golfer.

Since his victory at the 2001 British Open, he's yet to win any tournament anywhere, and he's plummeted from golf's #1 to #882 coming into the US Open this weekend at Bethpage State Park in Farmingdale, New York. Few if any gave David Duval any chance to make the cut, much less vye for the tournament win.

"[T]he PGA Tour should assign someone to follow him and scream "Fore!!!" during his backswing, just to give the spectators time to duck behind a tree." - Rich Tosches, Devil Ball Golf, 2008

In fact, when people in pro golf have heard Duval say lately that he felt like his game was back, they laughed at him. But it was David Duval who had the last laugh, this week anyway: with a mere four holes to go in the 2009 US Open, he was tied for the lead and poised to win the tournament. This not being a fairy-tale, there was no happy ending so far as a US Open win was concerned, but in reality, David Duval proved that he is still a winner and that's a win in and of itself not only for Duval personally, but for golf generally.

How soon they forget: this is the guy that shot a 59 at the Player's Championship, the guy that was always in contention, and the guy capable of reeling off victories with ease. The simple fact is that David Duval has accomplished more in golf than most players ever do, yet he became the victim of snide jokes filled with contempt.

Depression is not accurately described by its dictionary definition: "a mental state characterized by a pessimistic sense of inadequacy and a despondent lack of activity." It's not a state of feeling sad and not feeling good enough, though that can be part of it. It's certainly not something one can just shake off, as though they had a bad day at the office -- the popular conception of the disease amongst a lot of people. Research increasingly demonstrates a biological condition where "[of the thirty] or so neurotransmitters that have been identified, researchers have discovered associations between clinical depression and the function of three primary ones: serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine. These three neurotransmitters function within structures of the brain that regulate emotions, reactions to stress, and the physical drives of sleep, appetite, and sexuality. Structures that have received a great deal of attention from depression researchers include the limbic system and hypothalamus." [link] In layman's terms, clinical depression is as much a physical disease as is muscular distrophy or a heart defect. Overcoming the disease is difficult, and while there is no cure, its symptoms can be mitigated with the proper treatment, and eventually the patient can function at near-normal levels.

It appears that Duval is doing just that, and just in the nick of time: he is in the last year of his PGA Tour exemption, meaning that he will need to either win a tournament, finish in the top 125 of money earned or re-qualify for the PGA Tour by going through Q-School this fall. His check for his second-place tie will go far to vaulting him up the Top 125, and if he brings the same sort of game that he had in his bag that he had this week at Bethpage, a win is not at all out of the question. Duval was achingly close this afternoon, and truly, it was only a lipped out putt and a raw rub of the green here or there that kept him out of at least a playoff with eventual winner Lucas Glover. Duval tied Phil Mickelson, and beat Tiger Woods, not to mention the rest of the field. He finished under par at a US Open venue. If he can do these things at Bethpage, he can do it again at a regular tour event.

And when he does, the know-it-alls in golf who haven't gone through one tenth of the turmoil in their lives that Duval has had in his won't be laughing. David Duval will be, but it will be with his wife, his family and to him, he says, that's all that matters.

In my mind, and with all due respect to tournament winner Lucas Glover, considering the arduous journey, David Duval is the real winner this week.