Screenshot via Twitter.com
Birdies and the BlackBerry will be unable to coexist on the Celtic Manor course.
A pair of captains for this week’s Ryder Cup decided on Monday that the major tournament is worthy of a moment of Twitter silence. Corey Pavin (U.S.) and Colin Montgomerie (Europe) have instituted a ban on Twitter for all participating players for the entire week of play, removing an otherwise distracting tool from the competition.
“I think it’s important to focus on the Ryder Cup and playing the matches and just enjoying camaraderie with the team itself,” the captain told the AP.
Camaraderie without Twitter? #You’vegottobekidding.
Montgomerie took more of a discipline angle, citing athletes’ propensity to enter trouble when tweeting as a factor in his decision. The Scottish veteran referenced the case of English cricketer Kevin Pietersen, who landed in hot water last month for an outburst against his release from competition in the one-day and Twenty20 series against Pakistan.
Speaking of trouble, among the names subject to the player-generated policy is U.S. participant Tiger Woods. But if you’re one of the 83,000 individuals creeping on his account each and every day, you know by now that he’s not much of a tweeter. #Stopwastingyourtime.