Wednesday, March 5, 2014

2014 Ryder Cup dates set, event to be played in late September in Scotland

gleneagles
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The 2014 Ryder Cup will be the event's 40th staging and the second time it has been held in Scotland.
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By 
PA Sport 

Series: Ryder Cup
Howling winds and torrential rains accompanied Tuesday's date announcement for the 2014 Ryder Cup, but organizers dismissed fears of another weather-disrupted event in Britain.
The 2014 biennial match between Europe and the United States will take place Sept. 26-28 on the PGA Centenary Course at Gleneagles.
Europe currently holds the Ryder Cup, having triumphed at Celtic Manor last October in an event that went into a fourth day for the first time in history due to adverse weather in Wales.
While golf's entry into the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro will lead to a restructuring of the sport's already-packed calendar, the 2014 Ryder Cup will remain in its traditional place on the schedule, rather than an earlier date that might be less susceptible to bad weather.
The wet surroundings and lying water on the King's Course by the Dormy Clubhouse, where Tuesday's announcement was made, must have made for uncomfortable viewing, but European Ryder Cup Director Richard Hills maintained the weather is not a concern.
"It's in its traditional date," said Hills. "We are not an indoor sport. You have instances where tournaments in July have had to go into Mondays, so it's not an unusual occurrence. We have to deal with what we've been given.
The possibility of changing the date was examined, he said, adding that Ryder Cup officials were comfortable with the late September slot.
"If we had played the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor we'd have had three days' straight sunshine this year," he said. "We're very confident of delivery in this particular date."
The competition will be played in the traditional three-day, 28-point format and there is the possibility of an additional day's play, if required.
"There's always been a provision that you could run over into that extra day," Hills added.
It will be the 40th staging of the Ryder Cup and the second time the event has been held in Scotland. In 1973, the contest was played at Muirfield in East Lothian.
There is a particular poignancy about the event returning to Gleneagles, too.
"The precursor to the first match in 1927 was a friendly match played here, at Gleneagles, in 1921," Hills explained. "It's something of a homecoming."
Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond was present at the announcement. He estimates the Scottish economy will benefit by up to $150 million from the event, which is to take place in the same year as Glasgow will host the Commonwealth Games.
In an effort to allay fears over the Scottish climate, Salmond read out figures relating to conditions at Gleneagles earlier this year, describing them as "balmy sunshine."
And the SNP leader, for one, is relishing the prospect of the Ryder Cup returning to Scotland.
"It's going to be enormous. I'm feeling the excitement already -- 2014's the next year of Homecoming (a celebration of Scottish ancestry)," he said. "It's also the year of the Commonwealth Games, where the whole Commonwealth will come to Glasgow for a great multi-sport event. And then in September it's the Ryder Cup."
The 2012 Ryder Cup will take place at the Medinah Country Club near Chicago next September, with Jose Maria Olazabal as captain.
Scotland will have to wait until early 2013 to discover if Colin Montgomerie -- or any other Scot -- is awarded the captaincy for 2014. It was a debate Salmond avoided.
"It's a decision which is taken by the tournament committee of the PGA European Tour," Hills said. "Normally that would take place in the second committee after the Chicago match, sometime early in 2013."
Two other announcements were made, with drinks giant Diageo joining as an official partner of the 2014 tournament.
Changes to the course were also made public, with adjustments made at the ninth, 10th and 18th holes following proposals by 18-time major champion Jack Nicklaus.

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Solid in a Snap



Posted Aug 13, 2008

By Sam Angell



Matt Katula doesn't want you to read about him after the game, but he's quietly becoming one of the best.


The date was Nov. 20, 2005. The Baltimore Ravens were celebrating a 16-13 overtime victory over their rivals, the Pittsburgh Steelers. A 44-yard field goal by Matt Stover provided the margin and erased a four-game losing streak that included a heartbreaking 20-19 loss at Pittsburgh.

Then-rookie Matt Katula had a vital role on that play, as well as two earlier field goals the team could not have done without. He had passed the ultimate test for an NFL long snapper, helping his kicker boot a game-winner, but his locker was not mobbed by the media. Then, on Monday morning, he opened the paper and skimmed the game story.

Katula was never mentioned, and he smiled.

Born Aug. 22, 1982 in Brookfield, Wisc., Katula is fulfilling a dream, following a successful tenure at the University of Wisconsin with a steady career in the National Football League. And he would rather you not know it.

“You don’t know who I am unless I mess up,” the Ravens’ long snapper said. “I think that’s the way we live as snappers. It’s better that way. Just stay behind the scenes and do your job, and if nobody knows who you are, that’s fine.”

Amongst his peers, though, Katula is very well-known. His contributions to the Ravens’ kicking game have given him a reputation as one of the premier long snappers in the NFL.

“Matt is one of the best snappers I’ve ever been with,” said Stover, who enters his 19th season. “He’s consistent. That’s huge for my confidence. I just go when I’m supposed to go and I know that ball is going to be there. It just gives me that much more confidence to be able to kick it through.”

That confidence comes with experience, as Stover, Katula and punter Sam Koch have teamed on field goal attempts – including four successful game-winners – for three full seasons heading into this year.

“We’re in a rhythm,” Katula said of the relationship. “This is our fourth year together, and everybody knows what the other guys are going to do. We just trust each other implicitly. That makes our job easier.”

Too easy, perhaps, for Stover.

“Almost 10 out of 10 times, those laces are in front,” Stover said. “I’m getting so spoiled with it that I have to be careful. There are times when I get other snaps thrown by a coach because Matt and Sam are that good that you just have to stay on top of your game so you don’t get too complacent.”

As with most snappers, Katula did not set out to play the position. He served as the long snapper as a high school junior, hoping to be rewarded with more playing time as a senior. The dedication paid off, and he was recruited by Barry Alvarez and the Wisconsin Badgers as a defensive end.

But once a snapper, always a snapper, and it didn’t take long for Alvarez to discover his new recruit’s talent.

“I was actually joking around on a walk-through practice snapping to some guys, and Coach Alvarez came up to me and said ‘You’re the new backup,’” Katula remembered. “The rest is history, as they say.”

What started out as a joke with some teammates turned into years of dedicated hard work. The former defensive end quickly realized that protecting on kicks and sprinting downfield to cover punts were just as crucial as uncorking a snap with precision and speed.

“You’ve got to be accurate and fast, but you’ve got to protect, too,” said Katula. “You can’t let that go by the wayside. You’ve got to realize that on field goals, you’re going to have 300-plus pound guys running into you and you’ve got to be strong in there. You’ve got to support the guys next to you.

“Don’t be the weak link.”

Now starting his fourth season with the Ravens, Katula has proven to be anything but a weak link in the Ravens’ special teams.

With mounting pressure to end a losing streak and beat the Steelers that November day, Stover provided the kick the Ravens needed in overtime. The team had a win, and Katula’s teammates had a new confidence in their young long snapper.

And that was exactly the type of recognition Matt Katula wanted.