Ryder Cup Recap

Well…this past week was certainly interesting. From my training to Bethpage, there’s a lot to discuss.

Let’s get the training out of the way.

I only completed one training session in this week. My schedule in the beginning of the week was hectic. On Monday, I went through a speed session. Tuesday and Wednesday offered no opportunity for any type of training, so I had time blocked off for Thursday and Friday with a round of golf on Saturday.

On Thursday, rather than getting in my scheduled training session, I spent seven hours in the emergency room. My blood pressure spiked to very high levels. Fortunately, it has returned to normal levels, and there were no other physical issues.

I am all clear to resume training this week.

Now, let’s talk about Bethpage and the Ryder Cup.

Where to begin.

For some reason, pundits felt the Europeans entered as underdogs. Looking at the teams, Europe clearly was the stronger and more experienced team. All but one player returned from the winning team from Rome two years ago. Equally important as their experience, most of the European players entered the match in great form. Because there was only one rookie on the team, Europe never had to expose Rasmus Hojgaard

The US team had four rookies on the team. Additionally, several members of the team with Ryder Cup experience entered the match in less than stellar form. Xander Schauffele has not had a good year after returning from an injury, although Xander ended up with a 3-1-0 record. Colin Morikawa has struggled most of the year, and his 0-2-1 record reflected his struggles. Combined with the four rookies, there was always potential for disaster. The rookies would be and were exposed in crucial matches in the first two days.

In conclusion, Europe was always the clear favorite.

I would name Luke Donald European Team Captain for 2027. He has been brilliant as their captain, and I would let him remain as captain if he wants to serve again.

Keegan Bradley should not have been named captain, as I said last week. This is not a knock on Keegan. He should have been one of the players. The captain needs to be a veteran player outside of his prime who the players know and respect. Europe has it with Luke Donald. Keegan would have been a better choice for 2029 or 2031.

This is a knock on Keegan. He needed to make adjustments after Day 1 on his groupings. Sending out Morikawa/English once was a mistake. According to Data Golf, they were statistically the worst pairing of 132 possible combinations for Captain Bradley. After getting crushed in foursomes Day 1, Bradley doubled down and sent them out as a pair again in Saturday foursomes. Once again, they got boat raced.

He also sent Russell Henley back out with Scottie Scheffler in Saturday foursomes. Henley looked very uncomfortable both Friday and Saturday. I would have swapped in JJ Spaun with Scheffler just to switch things up. Spaun looked comfortable from the outset. Henley may have been better suited to go in a fourball match Saturday afternoon.

Finally, Bradley messed up with course set up. Even he admitted he got it wrong. He had the rough cut down. The greens were slowed down and had been watered prior to the rains which drenched the course and kept it soft for entire Ryder Cup. By cutting the rough short, the accuracy of shorter hitters like Henley was negated. The big hitters swung freely and attacked the course. The soft, slower greens allowed for more aggressive approach shots. The Europeans prefer slower greens. They grew up on them. Faster, firmer greens, I believe, would have benefitted the Americans.

All that said, I was still watching the Sunday singles at 5:00 pm. Somehow, the Americans fought and held a glimmer of hope until Shane Lowry rolled in a birdie putt on the 18th to halve his match with Russell Henley. The historic lead Europe built felt, if only a little bit, like it could end up being the biggest collapse in Ryder Cup history. The Americans showed the heart I wanted to see starting Friday morning but never arrived until Sunday afternoon.

Two last quick thoughts.

Fans have gotten out of hand. It’s one thing to root and cheer and even heckle opposing players. It’s something beyond the pale when chants like, “F*&$ you Rory,” are started by an MC and echoed by fans. It’s not acceptable. Golf should be better. Good natured taunting and jeers have been a part of the Ryder Cup for some time now, but this year it went way over the line.

This one I have mixed feeling over. The Envelope Rule. Each captain places a name of a player into an envelope who will sit out if a player on the opposing team is unable to play due to injury in the singles matches. The result of the match is a draw with each team collecting a half point. I understand the spirit of the rule, but I have never liked it, even when it benefitted the US in the past. My solution is each team should have a substitute player in case of injury. The match should and needs to be played. In cases where there may be a second injury, the second match would be forfeited as is done in other sports.

Overall, I’m not surprised the Europeans won. I expected them to win. They were the better, more experienced team. Their system is established and proven to work. The US named a captain as a kneejerk reaction to his being snubbed for the previous Ryder Cup. Keegan was put into an impossible position, and, overall, did a decent job. On Sunday, the US players showed heart and fought valiantly, but the hole they dug for themselves was too deep.

As always, be grateful when you play. Be thankful for the privilege and opportunity to play this amazing game. Now, go golf!