A colletion of Ryder Cup thoughts

What a wild Sunday of golf. I collect some thoughts and share some half-baked ideas in this Monday morning post.

In 2021, USA demolished Europe at Whistling Straits by a score of 19-9. It seemed like a marker in the history of the Ryder Cup. Europe was outmatched in Wisconsin, and the domination would continue for years. The loss left Rory McIlroy in tears on the shore of Lake Michigan.

Flash forward to Rome, Europe held serve and won 16.5 to 11.5. A defiant Rory McIlory said winning an away Ryder Cup was one of the the hardest things to accomplish in all of sports. He proclaimed they were going to do it in two years’ time at Bethpage.

It was brash.

But it was focused.

And it was prophetic.

They arrived at Bethpage Black ready for a battle with the Americans at a notoriously hard course.

They arrived with 11 of the same 12 players from the Roman Rout.

The win was a breeze until it wasn’t.

Here are some observations and thoughts from the week.

😅 The Sunday performance helped save face for the Americans. They entertained and won some dramatic matches, including two incredible finishes on the 18th hole. However, f can’t, and shouldn’t, distract from the fact that the United State needs to figure out a way to play team golf.

For a long time, the recipe has been to survive the first four sessions and then dominate singles.

They didn’t survive Friday and Saturday and needed a major miracle to just extend the matches into the golden hour on Long Island.

There will probably be a lot of hand wringing about the captaincy and how the Americans prepare for this event. So many things feel like a surprise to the Americans during Ryder Cup week.

On Saturday evening, Keegan Bradley was asked about the possibility of having to put a player’s name into an envelope because Viktor Hovland might have to withdraw from his match.

Bradley seemed surprised. “I have to go figure this out now. I'm still learning what's going on. I don't know how that's going to end up. We'll see in a few minutes.”

As a guy who referenced the 28-3 Super Bowl comeback, you’d think he might have a little more Bill Belichick in him and a little less Grady Little.

🛳️ I believe a captain can swing one or two points over the course of the week. They can help win things on the margins. After Saturday, it seemed like Bradley’s poor performance would be overshadowed by the statistical European dominance. But then in the end, they lost by two points.

They threw two points away when Keegan and the Gang tossed out Collin Morikawa and Harris English in foursomes.

It was a horrendous choice on Friday.

On Saturday, it was unforgivable.

On Friday morning, the build-up to Bryson DeChambeau hitting the opening tee shot for America distracted from the main goal: winning the match.

That excitement lasted for ten minutes, and then DeChambeau and Justin Thomas got boatraced. The first hole was the only hole they won in the whole match.

This was an effort to chase the energy that Dechambeau delivered in Wisconsin when he drove the first green and drained the eagle putt. In 2023, Viktor Hovland chipped in on the first hole on Friday morning.

On the other side, Luke Donald spoke about the work he does on the margins. It might sound silly, but they switched out the bedding in the hotels. They replaced the soap the hotel provided in the showers. They covered the doors because they let in a little too much light.

😕 The United States needs to consider the leadership heading this endeavor. The Vice Captains for the USA didn’t have much Ryder Cup experience.

The rest of this post is for paid subscribers. They get full access to all my posts, bonus course review content, the ability to comment on posts, and more.

Subscribe to Supporter to read the rest.