LE GULF NATIONAL
Turns out the big blue monster is more of a white elephant.
With debate about the merits of Hampden continuing as the national football stadium still fresh, it’s a helpful comparison to explain just where the European Tour went wrong.
Big stands set back too far from the action automatically creates a disconnect. Too much open air dilutes the intensity of the noise being generated by the diehards who don’t need to be constantly whipped up by an annoying Frenchman chanting “Allez, Allez” into his microphone.
It all conspired to create a subdued atmosphere that didn’t come close to the electricity of Hazeltine or Gleneagles. And nowhere near the best of the lot – the modest, tight but brilliantly bonkers amphitheatre of Celtic Manor in 2010.
Sure, Tony Finau’s knees were still knocking when the last man in – as Jim Furyk’s final wild-card pick – became the first out at 7.10am.
The knowledge that the eyes of the world are upon you would be enough to make anyone nervous, never mind a rookie. But it could have been a heck of a lot more claustrophobic before he pumped an adrenalin-fuelled strike inches short of the water 200-odd yards up. Of course, the crowd can only have a limited influence on the outcome of any event. Ultimately it comes down to the athletes out there. And in a fascinating first session of fourballs that ebbed and flowed, the result looked remarkably comfortable for a USA team striving to end a 25-year run without a win on European soil. Fortunately for captain Thomas Bjorn, it wasn’t a repeat of the disastrous whitewash at Hazeltine that put predecessor Darren Clarke behind the eight ball from the start. For that he owes a debt of thanks to the skill and downright determination of Tommy Fleetwood and Francesco Molinari against Tiger Woods and “Captain America” Patrick Reed. Claiming these big scalps struck a chord of defiance as Fleetwood rattled off back-to-back birdies on the 15th and 16th before Molinari drove the last stake in their hearts for a 3&1 win. A sliver of hope had been salvaged from a morning that looked so bright for Bjorn only to turn on its head on a closing stretch of four holes known locally as the Loop of Doom.
At precisely 10.53am Europe moved into a commanding position, leading in three of the four matches.
Within 40 minutes that picture was upside down. Such is the wonderful, mad world of matchplay golf.
Much changed in the hours that followed but the scoreline endured.
In the inevitable post-mortem of the morning’s action, some will look back in disbelief at how it got away.
None more so than Justin Rose and Jon Rahm. From the moment the Spaniard encouraged the crowd to cheer through his first tee shot – now that is gutsy for a first-timer – he looked a guy relishing the occasion.
The pair seemed unstoppable, fist-pumping and chest-bumping their way around while leading by two for lengthy spells.
Which only made it sting all the more when a Brooks Koepka birdie at the 13th and an outrageously fortunate bounce off a railway sleeper on 16 set up Finau to level. Which brings us to the two critical errors that cost Europe. Rahm pushing his tee shot into the rough at 18, forcing him to hack out short of the water, gave Rose a decision to make.
He opted for the gutsy pin-seeking option and the splash gifted victory to the Americans. Yet it wasn’t the only unlikely comeback unfolding.
At first Paul Casey and Tyrrell Hatton could find no answer to Jordan Spieth, who shot five under through seven to go three up while Justin Thomas tagged along for the ride.
But a three-hole charge from the 11th levelled until Thomas clinched a birdie at 15 to stifle their resilience.
Unfortunately Rory McIlroy couldn’t find anything to plant a seed of doubt in the minds of Dustin Johnson and Rickie Fowler.
The only player without a birdie in the morning, the burden of carrying the out-of-sorts Northern Irishman proved too heavy for Thorbjorn Olesen.
Which only made Bjorn’s decision to send misfiring McIlroy back out for the foursomes appear a calculated risk. One that Rory rewarded.