The Ryder Cup debacle a U.S. failure from top down
So the Ryder Cup was last weekend, and it was great theater. It was emotional and energetic and engaging and entertaining.
And it was all of those things even with the Europeans delivering a tremendous tail-beating that started early and exposed a handful of truths that must be addressed before these two sides face off in two years in New York.
A lot of golfers held huge advantages in motivation and preparation in Europe’s team room. Rory was at his best. Viktor Hovland continued to be the best player on Earth. Several guys you never heard of — nevermind couldn’t pronounce their names — made fewer bad swings than the ö or ã or any of the other punctuations in their last names.
Still, the biggest edge for the folks across the pond was evident very early on.
Captain Luke Donald whipped counterpart Zach Johnson in leading the respective sides more than any European has dominated anyone in the Americas since Plymouth Rock. Wowser.
And for Johnson to claim the U.S. room was ‘together’ (laughable) and that he wouldn’t do anything differently (delusional) made me wonder if he watched the same three days of golf the rest of us did.
Plus, Johnson’s captains picks were so underperforming — only Brooks Koepka at 1-1-1 was a Johnson choice that did not have a losing record — you have to wonder if the U.S. side will make some systematic changes before these sides reconvene at Bethpage Black in 2025.
Makes you wonder if Johnson was willing to run the risk of adding LIV standout Koepka, then why did we have Rickie Fowler and Wyndham Clark — who went a combined 1-3-1 — instead of DJ or Bryson DeChambeau?
Second, unless he wins a major — yeah, it’s funny I know — Fowler’s legacy will be, in order, his sherbertcolored wardrobe, his internetfamous wife and conceding Sunday’s Ryder Cup-clincher to Tommy Fleetwood.
Next, I’m here for golf fans being regular sports fans and the emotions running hot at this event.
I’m also here for the invisible hat tip that became a rallying point in the U.S.’s desperate attempt to make history Saturday evening and Sunday.
Back story: Patrick Cantlay did not wear a hat Saturday,
and reports circulated that he refused the lid because the players were not paid for playing in the Ryder Cup. Cantlay adamantly denied the report; he said the hat did not fit. (Side note: As someone with an over-sized melon who switched to visors long ago, I understand Cantlay’s trepidation of walking out there with a golf version of yarmulke.)
But when social media exploded with the story, the European fans started waving their hats at Cantlay, who looked like one of the few Americans ready to match the Donald-inspired emotion and passion of the European side.
All of that leads us to a clear edge in motivation and production from Rory McIlory and his European mates. (Side question: Is McIlroy going to be him again, because he looked like a dude all weekend? Also, who is/was more popular at the height of his powers, Tiger in the U.S. or Rory in Europe?)
And it’s not that the Euros were more talented; they were more focused, more invested and, simply, more driven.
Whether that was a culture inspired by tradition or a specific culture engineered by Donald, the biggest takeaway from a one-sided weekend was evident — Europe wanted this way more than America did.