Ryder Cup

Sports Editor Keith Taylor talks about his coverage of the Ryder Cup in Louisville last weekend.

If this really was the "last hurrah" for Kenny Perry, then what a hurrah it was not only for him, but all Kentuckians. Seldom can an event capture the fancy of an entire state the way last week's Ryder Cup at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville did. But thanks to having Kentuckians J.B. Holmes and Perry playing for the United States, this really was a once in a lifetime experience for many of us. Think about it. Long before we knew Perry...

Sports Editor Keith Taylor talks about this weekend's Ryder Cup, coming to Valhalla in Louisville.

The YMCA Strong Kids Golf Scramble will offer golfers a chance to win cash prizes as well as two tickets to the Ryder Cup Sept. 16-21 at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville. The tourney, scheduled for 8 a.m. Aug. 16 at Old Bridge Golf in Danville, is for two-man teams with an entry fee of $150 per team. Deadline for entry is Aug. 4, and a rain date of Aug. 23 is scheduled. First place will pay $500, second place $300 and third place $150. Prizes are also available for longest putts on holes 6 and 15; longest drives on holes 4 and 11; and closest to the pin on all four par-three holes.

BURGIN - Burgin superintendent Dick Webb will be working today, but not at school. Instead, Webb went to Louisville to work at Valhalla Golf Club as one of the many volunteers needed to help host the Ryder Cup. He had a four-hour shift today inside the merchandise tent near the 14th hole and has an eight-hour shift also working the cash register at the same site Friday. He applied for the job more than six months ago and was one of the volunteers selected to work this prestigious golf event.

LOUISVILLE - This Ryder Cup was supposed to be more suspenseful. It turned out to be a memorable one for the United States. For the first time in nine years, the Americans regained the Ryder Cup Sunday and did so behind the inspired play of Kentuckians Kenny Perry and J.B. Holmes. A successful run during the PGA Tour this summer landed Perry and Holmes a spot on this Ryder Cup team played here at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville. It also proved beneficial to have two homegrown professional golfers competing in front of thousands of their own. Holmes seized the moment with a 2-and-1 win over Soren Hansen in singles matches on Sunday.

I decided not to attend the Ryder Cup on Saturday. Too much sun and too much walking on Thursday and Friday took its toll on me. I did, however, enjoy watching the matches on television, especially since I'd become more familiar with some of the players and holes. Lenny Midden and I went back on Sunday. This time I was well prepared with a cap, sunscreen, binoculars, a map of the course, and the singles pairings. I also stopped at the golf shop to purchase a Ryder Cup radio, which I wish I had done on Friday.

For as long as she can remember, Amanda Rowland has never seen pressure bother her brother, golfer J.B. Holmes. "He knows what he has to do and how to do it. Even when he was in third grade playing on the high school golf team, he could rise above the pressure. God just blessed him with many talents, including the ability to handle pressure," said Rowland. "If we were playing basketball and I would tell him he couldn't hit a shot, he would hit it. If you give him a challenge, he usually excels.

Day 1 I was assigned to a camera man and pointer (remote satellite) and my responsibilities were basically to set up a tripod for these guys when needed at the green, drive the cart with our batteries and equipment from hole to hole, and to do whatever else was asked of me. Our assignment for the day was to film all on course interviews for NBC. We started at the range and went to No. 1 tee and watched all the foursomes tee off. The crowds...

J.B. Holmes and Brandon Parsons literally grew up together on the golf course. "During the summers, our parents would pick us up at 9 a.m, take us to the golf course and pick us back up at dark. They would leave us lunch money. But all we did was play golf together," said Parsons. This week the duo will be on an international stage when Holmes plays in the Ryder Cup in Louisville and Parsons works as his caddy. The two Taylor County natives, both 26, have known each other since their elementary school days.

A year ago J.B. Holmes helped lead the Americans to a win over the Europeans in the Ryder Cup. Holmes is near the completion of his third season on the PGA Tour and is getting ready to settle down for the winter at his home in Orlando, Fla. Holmes spoke about the past, the future and a variety of topics during a recent visit to Mahan Manor Golf and Hunt Club in Winchester. Holmes defeated John Daly 1-up in a "Bombs Away" event Sunday at Mahan Manor. How was your third season on the PGA Tour?

WNCHESTER ? A year ago J.B. Holmes helped lead the Americans to a win over the Europeans in the Ryder Cup. Holmes is near the completion of his third season on the PGA Tour and is getting ready to settle down for the winter at his home in Orlando, Fla. Holmes spoke about the past, the future and a variety of topics during a recent visit to Mahan Manor Golf and Hunt Club in Winchester. Holmes defeated John Daly 1-up in a "Bombs Away" event Sunday at Mahan Manor. Question: How was your third season on the PGA Tour?

Every day I get the opportunity to do something different. That's what makes this job so special year after year. That's why I thought today I would share the top 10 stories I covered in 2008. Most are on the list because they are unique and different from anything I had done before in my 35 years at The Advocate-Messenger. 1. Ryder Cup This was the one event I covered in 2008 that made the biggest impression. Maybe it was because I was overwhelmed with the patriotism.

Day 1 I was assigned to a camera man and pointer (remote satellite) and my responsibilities were basically to set up a tripod for these guys when needed at the green, drive the cart with our batteries and equipment from hole to hole, and to do whatever else was asked of me. Our assignment for the day was to film all on course interviews for NBC. We started at the range and went to No. 1 tee and watched all the foursomes tee off. The crowds...

I decided not to attend the Ryder Cup on Saturday. Too much sun and too much walking on Thursday and Friday took its toll on me. I did, however, enjoy watching the matches on television, especially since I'd become more familiar with some of the players and holes. Lenny Midden and I went back on Sunday. This time I was well prepared with a cap, sunscreen, binoculars, a map of the course, and the singles pairings. I also stopped at the golf shop to purchase a Ryder Cup radio, which I wish I had done on Friday.

If Kentucky golf coach Brian Craig is right, J.B. Holmes' play in the Ryder Cup is only the start of a meteoric rise for the Campbellsville golfer. "I am not surprised at all by what he did in the Ryder Cup," Craig said. "From his sophomore year (at Kentucky) on, I told everybody he would be a better pro golfer than college golfer. " Craig felt Holmes' enormous length off the tee - which dazzles everyone - was one reason. However, he also thought Holmes' skill with a 60-degree wedge in the thick rough found on most PGA Tour courses would be a huge benefit.

If Kentucky golf coach Brian Craig is right, J.B. Holmes' play in the Ryder Cup is only the start of a meteoric rise for the Campbellsville golfer. "I am not surprised at all by what he did in the Ryder Cup," Craig said. "From his sophomore year (at Kentucky) on, I told everybody he would be a better pro golfer than college golfer. " Craig felt Holmes' enormous length off the tee - which dazzles everyone - was one reason. However, he also thought Holmes' skill with a 60-degree wedge in the thick rough found on most PGA Tour courses would be a huge benefit.

Until J.B. Holmes missed a short birdie putt on the 15th hole, his family was "happy" with the way he was playing Sunday in the Ryder Cup. That miss at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, though, enabled Soren Hansen to tie their match with three holes to play. "We all kind of got unsettled after he missed that putt, but it was an awesome end to the day," said Danville's Aaron Rowland, Holmes' brother-in-law. Holmes birdied 16 and 17 to win his match and help the Americans win the Ryder Cup 16 1/2-11 1/2. Rowland and his wife, Amanda, stay outside the ropes to watch Holmes play.