Azinger stirs it up

Valhalla View: Fourth Street in downtown Louisville is the party central for the Ryder Cup revellers and last night the American team dropped in for a 'Pep Rally'. Europe's captain Nick Faldo hadn't exactly covered himself in glory at the Opening Ceremony but US captain Paul Azinger won't have endeared himself to the visiting team with one pointed comment to the crowd.

Having exhorted them to be the 13th man at Valhalla, he then encouraged them to 'cheer loudly' when a European player missed a putt in what could have uncomfortable undertones of Brookline. It certainly made a mockery of the ceremony guff of Corinthian values and golf's pristine etiquette.

Hard to swallow

Walking into a restaurant in Louisville we were shown to a booth. In a matter of seconds a pleasant, smiling waitress appeared and took went through the usual preamble about specials as she handed round five menus. What ensued in the next 90 seconds though left us speechless; well, almost.

"Hi, y'all from here?"

Chorus: No.

"You'll be staying in a hotel?"

Chorus: Yes.

"At least you guys have power. I have none at home."

Chorus: That's terrible/shocking/awful/upsetting.

"Yeah, I haven't had any for three days. I have just gotten (sic) out of a 10 year relationship and have a 10 year old son. The alarm went off the other day. My cat was going mad. It wouldn't stop, so I had to climb up on a chair but I still couldn't reach it. So I had to jump up, grabbed the thing and pull it down, wires and all. Just 50 feet away, in another street, people have power but even though I am that close, I don't have any. It's very dark. It's difficult going home to that situation with a young son. I'm also allergic to alcohol."

The young lady had provided several more details in chronicling a tough few days. A respectful silence, complete with headshakes was observed, only to be punctured by one of the group who oblivious to her travails, piped up: "Right then, when you're ready I'll have the popcorn shrimp to start."

Hot under the collar

There's obviously a certain formality at the Ryder Cup but what you won't have seen is the green keeping and course maintenance staff dressed in shirts and ties. Given that the temperatures are in the 80s, it's a tough proposition.