Ryder Cup running thread

I was going to guess Goodwill.

 

Sounds like they won't resume for a while. If there was only a Zamboni in golf!

 

How's that workin' out for ya?

 

It may get worse. From the BBC live text:

 

Those rain suits remind me of the early '80s White Sox uniforms — you know, the ones that once included shorts.

Azinger tweeted that there's puddles in the 18th green and fairway. Wouldn't bet on another ball being struck today.

 

http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-tours-news/blogs/local-knowledge/2010/10/watergate-revisited-us-bags-on-rain-gear.html

U.S. gear not waterproof. Nice work, Pavin. Didn't you know it RAINS in Wales?

 

Play is supposed to resume at 12pm EST. That only gives them an hour and a half of daylight to play...

 

If you think it's been chaotic now, can you imagine the decisions to be made come Monday at sunset when all the singles matches are still on the front side?

 

Béla Károlyi wants his windsuit back, Mickelson.

Can our U.S. Ryder Cup commit any more fashion atrocities than it has over the past 11 years?

 

Seems like big news story of day is that US had to buy new rain wear using USGA credit card. Said rain wear does not have American flag.

Networks reporting it like it's a major news story.

 

I can't believe they're changing the format so they can be done by Sunday. Why can't this finish out Monday?

 

And for its sake, Sun Mountain better be dialing up that crisis PR campaign right about now.

From SportsBusinessDaily:

Montana-based Sun Mountain Sports officials are "undoubtedly feeling embarrassed" after the rain suits the golf company designed for the U.S. Ryder Cup team "weren't able to hold off the downpour in Wales" Friday morning, according to Darren Rovell of CNBC.com. The U.S. team "publicly ditched the custom outfits for raingear the team purchased in the merchandise tent" after hearing complaints from team members. What "remains to be seen is how much damage Sun Mountain, which makes golf bags, outerwear and golf push carts, may face," as many people "outside the golf industry who have never heard of their brand now might see them as a tarnished company." However, due to rules set by the PGA of America, the company that gets "awarded the rights to make the gear by the US team captain cannot put its logo on the gear, cannot publicize its relationship with the Ryder Cup and cannot sell its gear at retail" (CNBC.com, 10/1). ESPN’s Rick Reilly notes the PGA of America bought 24 rain suits made by ProQuip, the same company that made the European team’s rain suits, at a cost of 350 pounds per suit. Reilly: “I got to hold one of the (original) rain suits, and it literally was dripping out of my hands.” He added the players’ bags are “even worse,” as they are “soaked.” Reilly: “The bags also are all about form and not function, and the players aren’t happy at all with the bags.” But U.S. team member Stewart Cink said, “I think the volume of the rain coming down inundated our rain gear, and it was coming down so hard almost any rain gear would have become soaked. When it starts to get in your shirt and you get cold underneath you really have to do something and this is our only option being in unfamiliar territory” (“Ryder Cup,” ESPN, 10/1).