IT ISN’T THE SAME OLD RYDER CUP ANYMORE

The criticism in the British press on what went wrong with Europe in the Ryder Cup in Wisconsin last week will soon subside and a new captain will be named. In the frame to fill the vacancy, and most likely at the top of the list, is Lee Westwood. Over time, my personal view of the Ryder Cup has changed from excitement to cringe worthy.

I would definitely not be a valued or sought-after member of any team room as hugging and saying “I love you guys” is really not in my nature.

Let’s take a step back and look at the matches for what they are now.

Gone are the days when the whole team flew back to Heathrow together, as 11 of the 12 members of the 2021 European team reside and own properties in the US.

Basically, all members of the European team play on the US PGA Tour, venturing over the pond to play in only a few big money European tournaments as they are required to play in a certain number of events to retain their European Tour membership.

Except for Bernd Wiesberger, the 11 European members of last week’s team, plus captain Padraig Harrington, have accumulated around US$305 million from winnings between them, by competing solely in American tournaments.

Add another £290 million from their combined career winnings in Europe and the overall amount is staggering.

Friends playing against friends doesn’t do much for me, especially when all of them have extremely affluent lifestyles.

Members of the US team including captain Steve Sricker have, so far, won $409 million with Dustin Johnson heading the tournament winnings tally with $73 million.

Out of Bounds: I know people say that money cannot buy you happiness, but I’d still feel a lot more comfortable crying in my new Aston Martin.