FRENCH TOAST
The Europeans travel to Paris in serious form ahead of the 42nd Ryder Cup. Is the major-champion heavy American ‘Dream Team’ about to walk into an ambush?
The Europeans travel to Paris in serious form ahead of the 42nd Ryder Cup. Is the major-champion heavy American ‘Dream Team’ about to walk into an ambush?
Le Golf National is set to become the first French golf course to host The Ryder Cup – and boy, has it been gifted with storylines.
While it’s safe to assume Jim Furyk will select Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson with two of his captain’s picks, who else will he name? Thomas Bjørn faces a similar dilemma with the European team. Will he call upon Sergio Garcia and Henrik Stenson? What about his fellow Dane in Thorbjørn Olesen?
Then there’s the pairings … While Patrick Reed and Jordan Spieth are likely to continue their successful partnership, who plays alongside Tiger? Could it be Bryson DeChambeau?
Will we be treated to another serving of the Rory vs. Reed showdown?
Will the in-form McIlroy, Francesco Molinari, Tommy Fleetwood and Justin Rose lead the Europeans to victory – or is the American team too strong?
How will the tournament compare to the 2016 Ryder Cup at Hazeltine? How will the course setup?
Combine all of this and it’s easy to see why The Ryder Cup is one of the most hotly anticipated events in world sport.
THE ROAD LESS TRAVELLED
The US team rightfully earnt favouritism since its impressive display at Hazeltine in 2016. But if Jim Furyk’s team is to successfully defend the Cup in Paris, it must turn the tide against recent history that suggests a travelling American team
is nowhere near the force it is at home.
With no American team victorious in Europe since Tom Watson’s side in 1993, Furyk has attempted to prepare as best he can for the difficult task by leading reconnaissance missions to Le Golf National. He has also acknowledged the advantage the European players possess from playing the layout annually and their domination in recent times prior to 2016.
“One thing that Europe’s done well is they play on courses where they hold European Tour events,” Furyk said. “Most of their players have access to courses that our players haven’t seen before.
“We have 25 years of scars to overcome. That being said, I will have a lot of young talent on my team. I’m anxious to see how they handle that challenge, and surely, Europe has handled those away matches far better in the last 25 years than we have. So we might have to take a page from their book and try to figure it out.”
No one is more aware of Europe’s dominance (particularly at home) than Furyk’s counterpart – with Bjørn a winner in all three appearances as a player, a successful captain’s assistant on three occasions and his lone taste of defeat coming in 2016. But the European leader, while happily accepting his side’s familiarity with Le Golf National is beneficial, has been quick to recognise the quality of the opposition and minimise the recent past as a factor.
“I believe obviously in any sport there’s a home advantage because the crowds are going to be bigger from your side; they are going to be behind you,” Bjørn said.
“We know this golf course well. That’s got to be something that we’re going to feel comfortable about. But when you bring 24 of the best players together against each other, you know, they can play any golf course in the world. They can stand up against adversity. They can stand up against anything, because that’s why they are the best players in the world.”
THE TEAMS
At the time of writing you could get 2/1 odds for either team to lift the 42nd Ryder Cup in Paris. But there was a time – not so long ago – when most pundits were ready to hand the coveted trophy to the United States.
IT’S HARD TO SAY TIGER WOODS WAS NEVER ON THE RADAR, BUT IT’S NICE TO SEE HIM PLAY WELL. I MEAN, IT’S A FEATHER IN OUR HAT AND A BONUS. – JIM FURYK
American players have captured most of the majors since their team’s dominant performance at the 2016 Ryder Cup. Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed have won on the biggest stages and contended numerous other times.
Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm both posted top-five finishes at Augusta National in April. But you still would’ve been hard pressed to find many people leaning towards the Europeans as Reed, nicknamed “Captain America”, slipped into the green jacket.
Then Tommy Fleetwood – the reigning Race to Dubai champion – flew home to finish runner-up to Koepka at the US Open. People started to take notice, but it still wasn’t enough to sway the popular vote.
Enter Francesco Molinari. The Italian’s success at The Open Championship became the catalyst that got bums o seats and hands scratching heads. Suddenly analysts were re-evaluating things. Could the Europeans defeat the Americans?
The form of Molinari, Fleetwood, Rahm, McIlroy, Paul Casey and Justin Rose has – at the time of going to press – coincided with the diminishing form of some key American players, including Spieth. Add figures like Alex Noren, Tyrrell Hatton and the more-than-likely return of Ian “Mr. Ryder Cup” Poulter to the equation and it’s easy to see why so many analysts are struggling to declare a favourite.
THE DECISIONS
Ryder Cup captaincy isn’t for the faint of heart. In addition to the meetings and media commitments, there is course scouting and most importantly a team to assemble. And with both teams possessing four captain’s picks for Paris, the role of captain might be more important than ever.
The two men charged with the job, Jim Furyk and Thomas Bjørn, both face difficult decisions with veterans outside the automatic selections in varying degrees of form and plenty of inform unproven youngsters banging on the door.
For Furyk, the task is particularly tough. Ryder Cup stalwarts and the best players of his own generation, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, both find themselves on the outside looking in. And while it is almost impossible to imagine Furyk leaving either out of the team, picking the veterans will mean casting aside promising players who are without the battle scars of multiple losses in Europe.
Woods’ recent good form suggests he would be a valuable addition rather than a liability – and his strong relationship with the young brigade led by the likes of Thomas and Rickie Fowler, which
will form the nucleus of the team, could prove invaluable and even be the key to improving his own mediocre record in the event. This means he will likely fill both the role of player and vice captain as he expressed a desire to do early in his latest return from injury – something Furyk would undoubtedly have been hoping for.
“It’s hard to say Tiger Woods was never on the radar, but it’s nice to see him play well,” Furyk said after The Open. “I mean, it’s a feather in our hat and a bonus.”
For his part, Mickelson sat only just outside the eight automatic selections at the time of going to print. And, again, like Woods, owns a strong relationship with much of the side. Unlike Woods though, Mickelson’s Ryder Cup record makes him an almost guaranteed choice when Furyk announces his picks on September 2, a month after the automatic qualifying concludes at the US PGA Championship.
Beyond Tiger and Phil, Furyk’s potential list of picks includes Bryson DeChambeau, Xander Schauele, Matt Kuchar, Tony Finau and Kevin Kisner among others if the automatic qualifiers remain the same. The American skipper has suggested that recent form and the opinions of the eight players that qualify will play a key role in who is selected.
“In the past, our captains have really relied on the top-eight players for their opinion,” Furyk said. “They’ve relied on the vice captains for their opinion, and I expect to do that again. I’ll collectively ask everyone and try to make the best decision I can from there.”
A player like DeChambeau poses an interesting conundrum for Furyk. The 24-year-old rests in ninth place on the standings prior to the US PGA Championship – but he remains one of the most polarising players on Tour. Still, there have been rumours that he could be a potential partner for Woods based on occasional practice rounds and a common golf ball sponsor.
Bjørn’s selection process is not quite as daunting. But it’s not straightforward either. Poulter was placed just beyond automatic qualification with four events remaining in the qualifying period.
Of more concern based on recent form – and further down the list – are recent major champions Sergio Garcia and Henrik Stenson.
Stenson has been battling an elbow injury since July and is well back of automatic qualifying via either the World or European points’ lists, which each provide four players for the team before captain’s picks are made.
Garcia, meanwhile, has struggled for consistency and form since the birth of his first child earlier in the year. One of his lone highlights of late, however, came at the event’s host course, where he was tied for eighth at the Open de France, surely boosting his chances and Bjørn’s confidence.
As one of the emotional leaders of past teams it is hard to imagine Garcia missing out. So Bjørn must weigh selecting one, two or three of the proven performers against selecting from the likes of Matthew Fitzpatrick, Rafa Cabrera Bello, Russell Knox and Olesen. The 47-year-old, like
OBVIOUSLY IN ANY SPORT THERE’S A HOME ADVANTAGE BECAUSE THE CROWDS ARE GOING TO BE BIGGER FROM YOUR SIDE ... – THOMAS BJØRN
Furyk, has suggested throughout the entire lead up that recent good play would be his main criteria.
“I’m a strong believer in form is a very key thing for The Ryder Cup,” Bjørn said. “I believe that people that play well from Wentworth all the way through to when The Ryder Cup matches start, they should be in that team. You want to have people that are excited about their golf, excited about where they are with their game.”
THE COURSE
The Albatros course at Le Golf National is located 45 minutes southwest of Paris and neighbours the city of Versailles. Designed on an old cornfield by Hubert Chesneau and Robert Van Hagge (in collaboration with Pierre Thevenin) the course opened in 1990 and – in addition to becoming the first French course to host The Ryder Cup – will welcome the 2024 Olympic Games.
The golfing world was given an insight into how the course will play during the Open de France in July, which was won by Noren who is poised to make his Ryder Cup debut. Alongside the Swede were the likes of Hatton, Jon Rahm, Fitzpatrick, Olesen, Knox, Poulter and Garcia – who each made the trip to Paris to try and earn places on the European team.
Then there was Thomas, who was completing his own reconnaissance mission and reiterated the need to find fairways around the notoriously difficult course.
“It’s a great test of golf, it’s all right in front of you,” said the World No.2 American, who finished tied-eighth. “There aren’t any tricks. It’s a good, hard, championship golf course. There’s not any blind shots or anything like that. You have to have total control of your ball. You have to hit it very straight. You have to be accurate and you have to work it against crosswinds to hold fairways.”
Plenty of people assumed the Europeans would want the fescue rough grown as long as possible between the Open de France and The Ryder Cup to offset the power hitting of the American team. But Bjørn quickly put those thoughts to rest, stating: “If I tricked it up from where it is now we would end up having no event because no one would want to play.”
“It’s a great golf course,” he added. “Does it
favour us or favour them? I’m not a strong a believer in that kind of scenario. It’s not a big driver’s golf course but we know that. There’s going to be a lot of irons. That’s the way the golf course has always been. That’s not my doing. That’s just the design of the course.”
The 6,703-metre layout is interesting. There are links-like bunkers, left and right doglegs, numerous water hazards, elevated greens and undulating fairways, which are nestled between raised ground to create the necessary atmosphere for stadium golf.
But it is the “Loop of Doom” – the stretch of holes between 15 and 18 – that will probably make Le Golf National so memorable. This closing quartet consists of some of the hardest holes on the course and is guaranteed to provide grandstand finishes to matches.
“I struggle to think of a better finish that you could have (than the final four holes) and you’ve got 24 of the best players in the world playing it,” Fleetwood said.
The Loop begins at the 365-metre 15th hole. This relatively short par-4 features an island green that should prove dicult to reach without first finding the fairway – which is easier said than done considering the driving zone is protected by water and thick rough.
The tricky 160-metre par-3 16th follows and could spell trouble for players, especially with a pin cut close to the water. While the lengthy 443-metre par-4 17th definitely requires something solid (and accurate) o the tee. But the 431-metre 18th is the pick of the bunch.
Originally designed as a three-shotter, this par-4 is guarded by water down the left and pot bunkers to the right. The tee shot will be essential to ensure players have the best approach into the island green, where the wind could wreak havoc.
“God, the 18th is hard,” Rahm said. “There’s not many finishing holes I’ve played that are harder than that one.”