PGA CUP at The Carrick on Loch Lomond

Gary Alliss determined GB&I club

pros will break U S stranglehold

FROM THE SCOTSMAN NEWSPAPER WEBSITE

By Martin Dempster
The cupboard is empty. The Ryder Cup, Solheim Cup, Walker Cup, Curtis Cup and PGA Cup are all currently in the hands of the Americans.
Over the past few weeks, Europe's female professionals and Great Britain & Ireland's male amateurs have failed in their bids to get at least one of those trophies back on this side of the Atlantic and now, starting tomorrow at The Carrick on Loch Lomond, it's the turn of the club professionals.

"It's not much fun really when all that silverware sits on the other side of the pond," said Gary Alliss, captain of the Great Britain & Ireland team for the 24th PGA Cup.

The Americans completed their clean sweep when Paul Azinger's side regained the Ryder Cup at Valhalla almost exactly a year ago.

Brian Whitcomb, who was president of the PGA of America at that time, is the United States team captain this week. The 55-year-old from Oregon watched Azinger at close quarters as he managed to get the Americans excited about the Ryder Cup again following two consecutive heavy defeats and admits he's copying the 'pod system' that paid dividends for his compatriot in Louisville.

"During the preparation and playing of the 2009 Ryder Cup, I was able to spend quite a bit of time with Paul and both observed and learned a lot," said Whitcomb. "There was also a unique circumstance at Valhalla. There were two players on the team from Kentucky that added to it and we also had six rookies who were exuberant who hadn't experienced the downside that America had experienced the previous seven years.

"There was a youthful energy and Paul did a magnificent job of putting the two similar energy styles together in what he called his pod system. We've done the same thing this week. We've got two pods that you will see the pairings coming out of. One also includes Mike Small, who as well as being our national champion is also golf coach at the University of Illinois, and he's in there with some of the younger players for mentoring."

Alliss, son of golf commentator Peter and head professional at The Belfry, was also at the helm for the last match in 2007, when GB&I came so close to holding on to the trophy. They only lost by a single point at Reynolds Plantation in Georgia.

Although the US lead 15-5 overall, history is on their side this week. On the three previous occasions the match has been held in Scotland, GB&I have not been beaten. They won 14-6 at Muirfield in 1984, triumphed 12.5-8.5 at Turnberry two years later and, more recently, drew 13-13 at Gleneagles in 1994.

This week's team includes only one Scot, Falkirk Tryst's Craig Matheson (pictured above), and Alliss is hoping the experience of players like Paul Wesselingh, who is making his sixth successive appearance in the match, and Jeremy Robinson, who played on the European Tour for 15 years, will bear fruit.

"I believe these teams have similar amounts of experience," said the 55-year-old Englishman, who is hoping there is never any need for this event to follow the Ryder Cup down the route of being widened to encompass Europe.

"I think recent results have shown that we have stepped up our game," he added. "I hope that Brian and the PGA of America will see that we are giving them some decent games. I know we are part of Europe but I kind of don't get passionate about that."

According to Whitcomb, one of his main problems this week will be stopping his players from becoming distracted.

"The course is beautiful and my team has been very complimentary about it," he said. "The problem is what surrounds it takes their concentration away as they look at the loch and countryside."
*The full article above appears in The Scotsman newspaper today.