Ryder Cup Review

Apologies again for the absence of our typical after-action report on Monday morning.  Fortunately, it was a Ryder Cup that was, for all intents and purposes, settled by Saturday morning, so I would hope that the absence of our typical Weekend Wrap didn't impact the start of your week.

I think we'll deal with one over-arching issue that's on top of seemingly everyone's mind, then we'll dive in and deal with the usual mélange of specific players and issues on a more random basis.  This ESPN header is as good a lede as any:

Why the United States thinks this blowout win at the Ryder Cup is just the beginning

Here's the gist of Bob Harig's argument:

Perhaps the best thing for the Americans to take out of this is how bright things appear. While there are never guarantees -- ever -- at the Ryder Cup, the future looks incredibly promising.

Schauffele, Cantlay, Morikawa, Koepka, Finau, Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth should be mainstays for years to come. That doesn't include DeChambeau, who brings his own level of intrigue to the competition and -- as he showed Sunday by driving the first green -- can be a huge asset in the proper circumstances. And there's no reason to believe Johnson -- who went 5-0 -- will taper off anytime soon.

Then you look to Europe, with an incredible run that had seen that side win nine of the previous 12 Ryder Cup competitions. All of a sudden, it is showing some vulnerability. For years, the team relied on a succession of stalwarts, such as Seve Ballesteros, Nick Faldo and Bernhard Langer and Colin Montgomerie, who handed the reigns to Padraig Harrington and Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter and Justin Rose and many others.

But Westwood, 48, Poulter, 45, and Paul Casey, 44, have almost certainly played in their last Ryder Cup. Rose wasn't even chosen for this year's team. Sergio Garcia, while still incredibly viable, is 41. Henrik Stenson didn't make the team.

Hmmmm...where have I heard talk of an era of U.S. dominance before?  Obviously the Yanks outplayed the Euros all week, winning four of five sessions, some handily, and tying that fifth.  They also appear to have a depth of young talent that mitigates dependence on the fortunes of any individual or small group of players.  As a contrast, imagine Europe's prospects should Jon Rahm be injured or off form...

What I thought would be fun, would be to fire up the Wayback Machine and revisit that seminal 2017 article from Alan Shipnuck, then writing for Golf Magazine, in which he predicted this era of U.S. dominance.  The piece is good fun because Alan intentionally prods the Euro side, beginning with the header:

So long, Ryder Cup: As Euro stars fade away, the balance of power is shifting—fast

It should be noted that Alan sought to create a splash, recognizing that if he tempered his predictions with a lot of caveats it wouldn't be worth much.  But, at least in the short-term, the world that he saw failed to materialize:

The Ryder Cup is dead — you just don’t know it yet.

One of the greatest events in sport is on the verge of irrelevancy. The young, talented, hungry

golfers from the United States, benefiting from the cohesive leadership of the Task Force era, are going to roll to victory in 2018 in Paris. This will be the first American win on European soil in a quarter century and, coming on the heels of an overpowering U.S. win in ’16, will set the stage for a decade-plus of blowouts, sapping the intrigue out of the Ryder Cup. It’s going to get so lopsided that you can expect future Ryder Cups to have all the dramatic tension of…gasp!…the Presidents Cup.

Some American fans will no doubt revel in the domination, but this won’t be good for the Ryder Cup. It’s tough to care about a sporting event when the outcome is preordained. Yes, Europe enjoyed a dynasty from 2002–14 and the Ryder Cup survived, but there is a key difference: they were plucky underdogs, and the Stateside angst that followed each of those losses only served to heighten anticipation for the rematches. The fact is, the U.S. should win the Ryder Cup, owing to significant advantages in infrastructure, from the AJGA to the NCAA to the might of the PGA Tour, to say nothing of the biannual tune-up afforded by the Prez Cup. But Goliath repeatedly crushing David underfoot is a tough sell to the masses.

So, how did that 2018 prediction pan out?  Here's how it turned out for Alan personally:

Watch: Europe Ryder Cup stars hammer American journalist Alan Shipnuck for disastrous prediction

Rory McIlroy and Sergio Garcia reminded the Golf.com writer of his prediction that Team USA would “roll to victory”.

 So, was he off base?  Let's see how his arguments look four years removed, first as relates to the Euros:

More problematic for Europe is that the players who’ve carried the team for the last decade are on the verge of a last stand: Lee Westwood, if he makes the team, will be 45; Henrik Stenson will be 42; Ian Poulter, 42; Sergio Garcia, 38; Justin Rose, 38. Poulter didn’t even make the team in 2016, Westy was abysmal, and Stenson/Rose/Garcia buckled under the burden they were asked to carry at Hazeltine. (Rory McIlroy, 28, was electric for two days, but he, too, ran out of gas in singles.) After his Masters breakthrough, Danny Willett, 30, was expected by many to be a European stalwart, but he’s turned out to be a disappointment, to say the least, and at the moment seems highly doubtful to even make future European teams. Thomas Pieters, 25, was a revelation at the ’16 Cup but has been quite mediocre since. “Jon Rahm, 23, will undoubtedly be a handful, but it’s asking a lot for a rookie to be a savior. This applies to Tyrell Hatton, 26, Tommy Fleetwood, 26, and Alex Noren, 35, as well.

Project to 2020: Stenson, Rose, Garcia and Poulter will all be in their 40s. As they fade away, the balance of power shifts even more in favor of the U.S…

To me, he was more early than wrong.... Though his projections about the Americans should have them waving the caution flag:

What has changed so suddenly? Following the clueless reign of Tom Watson in 2014, the Ryder Cup Task Force reshaped the U.S. leadership structure, basically stealing the European model of grooming future captains and pooling the knowledge of past honchos. This played out at the 2017 President Cup, where the U.S. tested out new pairings — JT & Rickie! — under the watchful eye of Jim Furyk, who will face off against Euro captain Thomas Bjorn in Paris.

OK, all hail the Task Force... Really silly stuff, especially when you're touting Rickie in the same 'graph.  But if you use the adjective "clueless" on Tom Watson, what do you have left in inventory to describe Jim "Alas, Poor" Furyk's reign of error?

 But to me the most important bit is this ode to the depth of U.S. talent from a mere four years ago:

Meanwhile, just look at the big steps taken by the U.S. players since the last Ryder: Jordan Spieth, 24, won another major and reasserted himself as golf’s alpha male; Dustin Johnson, 33, spent almost all of 2017 at number one; Brooks Koepka, 27, won the U.S. Open. You know who has never even played in a Ryder Cup? Justin Thomas, 24, merely the reigning player of the year. Throw in Rickie Fowler, 28, and Patrick Reed, 27, and you have a rock-star core for the next decade or more — not to mention the fact that these guys will be augmented by wily vets (Phil! Kuch! Zach! Bubba! Sneds! Duf!) and some spicy young comers (Daniel Berger, Kevin Kisner).

Rickie!  Patrick!  Kooch!  Sneds!  Jordan is perhaps back from the dead, though the only one that really was a factor on the list was DJ.  Here's Daniel Rappaport on the same subject:

This is truly a new generation of Americans, and they have an edge that their preceding generation distinctly lacked. Guys like Matt Kuchar, Jim Furyk, Steve Stricker, Zach Johnson were all terrific players—but they’re all too damn nice for this competition. Team clashes begs for a combativeness that prior American rosters simply couldn’t muster. But those guys have since been replaced by Justin Thomas and Daniel Berger, who chugged beers at noon on Saturday. (Was it disrespectful? Sure, but that was the point). Replaced by Scottie Scheffler, who couldn’t care less who you are. By Patrick Cantlay, who doesn’t seem to miss a pressure putt. By Collin Morikawa, whose bright smile and even demeanor obscure a desire to bury you. The Europeans held the mental edge for a decade-plus, but no longer. This American side is chalk-full of alpha males with chips on their shoulders. It’s a dangerous, dangerous dynamic.

Steve Stricker deserves a ton of credit for eschewing experience and trusting the kids. This is the culmination of a youth movement that’s the product of Tiger Woods, smarter instruction, forward-thinking course-management strategies and the cauldron of college golf. The 20-somethings are more polished than they’ve ever been, but their golf maturity hasn’t come at the cost of that youthful ferocity. They are a force to be reckoned with.

I quite agree with the premise of Shipnuck, Rappaport and others, I just think we need to be reminded that we saw things exactly that way in 2016, yet 2018 failed to conform to our expectations.  What Alan saw as a core that the U.S. can now rely upon, proved to be an apparition.  I agree that the U.S. has a far deeper pool of talent, it's just silly to pretend that what we saw last weekend predicts the future...  Will Scottie Scheffler ever play in another Ryder Cup?  I suspect that's closer to a 50-50 proposition than recency bias allows us to contemplate.

But there's another factor that should be weighed at the same time.  I'll let Rory make the argument:

There is concern in some quarters that home wins are becoming too much the norm in the Ryder Cup. Europe have won once in the US since 2008. “It’s going to go more and more like that,”

says McIlroy. “It’s becoming tougher to win on the road as it becomes more partisan. You are not just playing the other team, you are playing the fans and especially this year where European fans cannot travel. That keeps it interesting in the sense that a road win feels much more meaningful.”

Pádraig Harrington, Europe’s captain, has floated the idea of a neutral course setup. “If you want away teams to have a better chance to win it’s a good idea but I do think there is such a thing as home advantage,” McIlroy says. “Most other sports have that so there is no reason that shouldn’t happen in the Ryder Cup.”

The Euros have always done a better job of using their right to set up the course to suit their talents more aggressively than the Americans, dating back at  least to the 17th hole at Valderama in 1997.   All I can say is, if you think the fairways were too narrow in Paris, just wait until we see what they do to Marco Simone.  Which, by the way, did not exactly draw races from its Euro Tour debut.

As I said in 2016, lose the triumphalism until you can win an away game.  Holding serve is necessary, but not sufficient.  Just a reminder that the U.S. has not won an away game since 1993, when their team was lead by.... the clueless Tom Watson.

Shall we dive in and pick some nits?  We'll draft on Shack, who has two freebie quadrilateral posts up on the event.  In the first, he analyzes each of the twelve singles matches:

Match 1 - Rory McIlroy defeats Xander Schauffele 3&2. McIlroy finally delivered a point with a bogey-free, five-birdie performance. Afterwards, he broke down and was already red-eyed and crying before Jimmy Roberts asked a question. He noted how “incredibly proud” he was to be part of the team, “extremely disappointed I haven’t contributed more to the team,” and said “the more I play this event, “it’s the best event in golf, bar none.” And then, in case anyone thought about cutting a Players Championship ad saying otherwise, punctuated his emotions with, “it’s the best.”

Third time was the charm for Rors.  There's no doubt that winning his singles match mitigated a dreadful week for the guy that was supposed to lead the Euros, but the issue of Rory's decline deserves more attention than can be paid here.  

This one did pick up on a weird vibe for sure:

Match 2 - Patrick Cantlay defeats Shane Lowry 4&2. Cantlay was seven-under in 16 holes, birdieing the 3rd through 6th along with the final three while not making a bogey. After conceding the last hole, Lowry delivered a chilly walking handshake for reasons unknown as of press time.

In general, the Euros did a fine job in dealing with the crowds, and Lowry himself was pleasantly optimistic in his Sunday pre-match interview.  But that was seriously pissed off Irishman that shook hands with Cantlay, which begs the question of why?

The bigger issue is to assess what kind of player Lowry is...  He had an OK week, though he was one of the very few Euros to show any form, but the guy has essentially disappeared since his breakthrough win at Portrush.  Europe doesn't have much depth of talent, so they can ill afford Lowry going full Willett.

You can sort through Geoff's thoughts on the other matches, I'd just add a reminder that a certain member of the core U.S. roster still has yet to win a Ryder or Prez Cup singles match:

Match 11 - Jordan Spieth and Tommy Fleetwood halve. Pride was at stake early into this one and both men delivered birdies, including at the 17th where matching 2’s sent this to the 18th. Spieth posted five birds to Fleetwood’s three. Spieth finishes the week with 1.5 points and an overall Ryder Cup record of 8-7-3. The match ended with a wonderful concession.

Jordan had little to show from the team portion of his week, and I found his play wildly inconsistent.   I know 2021 was a comeback year for him, though I don't take his participation in Rome for granted.

Geoff had some thoughts on the coverage as well:

“Frontloading” is the formula of opening a show with a couple of shots, taking an ad break, showing maybe three more shots, squeezing in another break and saying it’s done to make our later viewing experience better. But maybe we can just call an oversold Ryder Cup telecast “loaded”. Viewers were harrassed with the same grating ads on a virtual loop, but for those joining the Ryder Cup Sunday, the effect was jarring. A former MLB pitcher:

 

Pretty much.  I fortunately watched Sunday on tape, but it seemed that I had to fast forward way more often than is typical.  Geoff gives Rolex a call-out for its hour of commercial-free coverage, but that came far too early in the day and only made the resumption of "loading" all that more jarring.

He also has kind words for Paul Azinger, that I just don't get.  I thought perhaps Zinger had too much coffee on Sunday morning, not least of which was when he called Bryson "As American as apple pie".

Shack's second post picks winners and losers from the week, though he goes with the more nuanced, "Champions, Cut-makers and Pont Missers".  Shall we sample a couple of each?

Champions

Sergio Garcia - Getting paired with Jon Rahm in his prime will do wonders for anyone’s attitude, but Sergio looked to be having a blast, seemed to be making a clutch putt every time we checked in up and was in such a good place even on-site heckling could not induce a meltdown. He’s replaced Seve and Ollie as Spain’s greatest Ryder Cupper and has set himself for a Captaincy later this decade. Winning the Aon has its perks.

Meh!  My prediction for the week was that Europe's old guard would hit the wall, and that didn't exactly play out quite that clearly.  Sergio was the only one of the three to do anything the first two days, though he did have the only horse in the stable as his partner.  But Poults and Westwood won their single's matches, so more of a mixed bag for the troika.  Europe's real problem was the play of its automatic qualifiers... But are we so sure that we won't see Sergio in Rome?

💪 Bryson DeChambeau - The speed training and “wrecked hands” did not appear to hamper his game in any fatal way. The attitude seemed (mostly) great, he played the Brooks situation well and his delivery of 2.5 points included a singles win over all-time Ryder Cup points leader Garcia.

I'd have had him as a cut-maker...  Though driving that first green on Sunday was a statement, I'm just not sure what about.  No argument with this last one:

🦅 Drones and aerial views - Again proving essential to a golf broadcast, NBC finally went all

in and held shots long enough to give us perspectives that made viewing infinitely more satisfying. The higher aerial views opened the door for a graphic showing where each group was on course, while the birdseye drone perspective captured the scale and grandeur of the moment. This cinematic moment followed a match walking off 17 green to the 18th tee to set up what players faced.

No question, especially given a site as dramatic as Whistling Straits.

That middle category gets more interesting, though I again  think he's grading on a curve:

🤷 Hoodies - The millennial’s quarter-zip was worn through the matches by the cool kids or those clinging to their twenties. While to some the hoodie is to millennials what Sansabelts,

legwarmers and padded shoulders were to the 80s, they looked silly when high winds made made them a functional annoyance. The design seemed like a reject from the Skywalker Ranch studios. You know, something the Mandalorian would wear to cart Baby Yoda around in at a Fourth of July party. They’ll likely find a spot on the list of most unusual Ryder Cup uniforms, yet the hoodies sold out at $298, a bargain compared to Europe’s absurdly priced uniforms.

I'm deep into the "get off my lawn" stage of life, but it's an awful look that can actually get in the players' way in windy conditions.  Can we just agree, "never again"?

Shall we call out a few folks for their regrettable behavior?  Yeah, it's wat we do here at Unplayable Lies:

Point Missers

😡 Brooks Koepka - He blamed the media for misinterpreting comments suggesting he wasn’t all in on the Ryder Cup, then spent three days looking like he needed a siesta. Brooks couldn’t wait to break the huddle during those Bryson make-up hugs for the cameras, and rarely smiled in even the happiest moments. He spoke to rules officials in embarrassing fashion all when there was an unplayable lie option to allay your relatable injury concerns. Making a passionate case for free relief is fine but threatening the referees crossed a line. While that macho nonsense is adored in a country of fanboys attracted to rule-breakers, Brooks seemed in need of a vacation instead of looking like a guy just back from one.

I didn't think much of his play, either.  But that confrontation with the rules official was ugly, and he just exudes a Frat boy vibe that I find objectionable.

This one especially:

🍻 Justin Thomas - Saturday’s first tee shotgunning and half-full beer can slam won’t age well and will go down as one of the most obnoxious displays in Ryder Cup history. If nothing else, how about showing some respect for the course and matches to come, or waiting until you’ve actually secured the Cup? While the UK press and telecast did not spare you, NBC is now a PGA Tour partner and never aired it. And hey, your Q Rating with the hooligan crowd has never been higher. The bad news? European fans will be waiting if you make it to Rome.

I always thought JT to be an engaging personality, but recent months have not been kind.  Do give that link a click to see how the antics played among the Euros, but can we not agree that this isn't a good look?

Can't muster an argument against this guy's reaction:

In 2018 I ended up rooting for the Euros because our guys were such classless losers.... I suppose it's good news that our guys are now classless winners.... Maybe?

🇪🇺 European Uniforms - Oh they looked fine other than wearing Loro Piana burnt orange on Saturday. But it’s beyond embarrassing to promote such laughably overpriced clothing. When the American prices look modest, something’s amiss. But the European Team did win the Opening Ceremony style battle 7&6.

I actually found both teams' unis to be dreadful....Maybe I'll circle back on this in a later post, but i was more than just the hoodies.

One aspect that Shack only hints at was the whining about putts not conceded.  Talk about not having any class, but the Tour Confidential panel took a stab at this:

6. While this is nothing new in Ryder Cups and match play, Justin Thomas, Shane Lowry and Bryson DeChambeau created a stir this week when they demonstrably protested having to putt from less than a yard away from the hole. On Sunday, even the stoic Bernd Wiesberger got in on the act, though it appeared to be more tongue in cheek. Are these players right in their beef? Or should they finish out?

Zak: Anything outside 2 feet should be expected to be putted out. Weird things happen. Get over yourselves.

Bamberger: I’d say more like 6 inches.

Melton: Just putt everything out and put the entire controversy to bed. They don’t play with gimmes in normal events, so the disbelief at having to hole a shorty seems like manufactured beef.

Sens: I have a friend who has a car with a vanity plate that reads: “No Gimmes.” Vanity plates are silly. But that one gets it right.

Colgan: As a liberal putt-giver, the rules are pretty clear. If it’s not conceded, hit the putt and don’t whine about it (OK — maybe that’s an interpretation, but the point stands). That said, it wouldn’t have killed the amateur game (or the pace of play) to see a few generous pick-ups this week.

Marksbury: I am a staunch believer in the doctrine of Putt Everything Out. Even in my recreational rounds! Anyone can miss a shortie. (Me especially.) Gimmes should never be expected, especially in the pressure-cooker that is the Ryder Cup.

LKD: Push for whatever you can get. I’m a big fan of gamesmanship in match play, and part of that means lobbying. If they’re going to make you putt it, at least make it annoying for them!

 Mike Bamberger shuts this down effectively, but let's remember that JT was the guy that started this... 

Maybe we'll get to some more from that TC panel, but first let me link you to Dylan Dethier's column on things we wouldn't have seen on TV (a substitute for his usual Monday Finish feature).  This one I did see when I turned back to the live coverage late yesterday, but it was as memorable to me as to Dylan:

4. Fitzpatrick’s chunk

The most painful shot to watch all week was one of the last. Matthew Fitzpatrick was facing off against Daniel Berger in the final singles match, and the two were tied going to 18. The match meant something for Berger, who was hoping to win and give the U.S. team a Ryder Cup record of 19 points. The match meant more to Fitzpatrick, who was playing in his second Cup but had yet to record a single point. Even a tied match would count for some sort of moral victory.

Fitzpatrick hit a perfect tee shot, a tight draw down the left side of the 18th fairway. He had 197 yards left to the hole, about the same as Berger had from the right side of the fairway. Berger played to the middle of the green, safely 40 feet past the hole. Fitzpatrick followed, and at impact he — and the rest of the crowd — immediately knew it was no good. The sound was familiar and triggering to every golfer in attendance, the tempered thud of a chunk. He knew immediately, too, dropping his iron and sinking into a crouch, head in his hands. That was that. 1 up, Berger.

That was a tough moment.  Fitzpatrick should be a Euro stalwart, with a U.S. Amateur to certify his match-play props, but he's now had two disastrous Ryder Cups, including the home game in Paris.  That chunk was just painful to watch, notwithstanding that the event had been decided hours earlier.

Dylan's got more observations that might be of interest, but I'm going to circle back to the Tour Confidential gang and use that as an exit ramp.

1. Behind seven Sunday singles victories, the U.S. defeated Europe 19-9 at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin to win the Ryder Cup. Depth drove the U.S. victory — Scottie Scheffler, at 21, was the lowest-ranked American. Still, this has been the case in the Ryder Cups past, and this marks only the United States’ third victory since 2002 in the biennial event. What, then, was the difference this time around?

Sean Zak: All kinds of differences, really. No European fans. No antagonism from that side. Everything was comfortable for this American team. And these PGA Tour pros love comfort. Steve Stricker played an extremely safe hand of cards, and it worked well from the jump. Didn’t have to panic. This event is played out over three days, but it moves quickly. He kept things nice and slow for his entire squad.

Zephyr Melton: Sean is correct on all of the above, but at the end of the day, the U.S. just played better golf this week.

Josh Sens: All of the above, for sure. But let’s not forget the bookends of performance, the long game and the short game. The U.S. dominated the par-5s. And they putted beautifully. On the flip side, I lost count of how many times the Europeans missed short to mid-range putts at critical moments. Add those up over a week, and you get a lopsided score.

James Colgan: These things usually come down to putting, and it seemed like the Americans made just about every huge putt. There was a LOT more that went into it, obviously, but those clutch makes were what stuck out to me.

Jessica Marksbur: Echoing Josh and James. Team USA made seemingly everything, from long bombs to 6-foot knee-knockers. Whenever the Americans lose, it seems like the opposite is true, and they lip everything out while Europe pours them in. There’s no doubt that the Americans dominated with the flatstick this week, and it wasn’t even close.

Luke Kerr-Dineen: Blowouts like this don’t happen for one reason. There were lots of reasons the U.S. deservedly dominated this time around: The team was full of better players, who were more in-form coming in, played better this week and were perfectly captained by Steve Stricker. Europe had the inverse of all those things, and the result was a historic blowout.

Michael Bamberger: An unequal distribution of talent. Look at the Friday morning foursomes match-up, which set the tone. Look at the 12 Sunday matches, which ended it.

Better players played better than the other guys.  It doesn't always happen, but this year the Euro team felt historically weak.

2. Nearly every move Steve Stricker made this week turned out terrifically. His six captain’s picks all earned points. His decision to keep things light and reduce the week’s obligations gave off a more relaxed vibe. His choice to play foursomes first — a format the Americans have struggled in when compared to four-ball — led to a pair of 3-1 mornings. Nearly all of his pairings went off without a hitch. The captain may not be fiery, but the calm demeanor worked out. What, to you, stood out most with Stricker?

Zak: It’s easy to get caught up in the hoopla, but Stricker could never do that. He never has. He put his horses out there and had perhaps the best Ryder Cup team of all-time to mix and match pairings within. It’s not rocket science at that point.

Melton: Stricker has the perfect temperament for a successful U.S. captain. He doesn’t overthink things and doesn’t allow ego to get in the way for his teams. With this beatdown and the 2017 Presidents Cup domination to his name, he’s gotta be among the best U.S. captains of all-time at this point.

Sens: A lot of the guys talked about the looseness and camaraderie of the team. Some of that is just the nature of their personalities, but Stricker surely helped cultivate that. Or at least, didn’t detract or distract from that natural connection. When you have the kind of talent Stricker had on his roster, the best strategy is probably to just get out of the way.

Colgan: Seemed Stricker really knew his guys. Knew their strengths, their weaknesses, the things that made them tick. It was obvious in the pairing decisions, obvious in the team construction and, ultimately, obvious in the outcome.

Marksbury: Stricker is just one of those guys who is universally likeable. You could tell he had a genuine rapport with the team. Making these guys comfortable enough to do their jobs is probably a bigger deal than it seems, and his execution was flawless.

LKD: His ability to get the entire team to buy in. The entire team liked him on a personal level, and they went to bat for him because of it. They bought into the team unity he was trying to cultivate, which meant players played nice with each other. They took to the bench without any grumbling, accepted that foursomes may be the only format they play and didn’t complain when Stricker broke up winning pairings. They bought into everything he was doing, and that’s credit to Stricker. Though, to be fair, that’s a lot easier to do when you’re winning. …

Bamberger: Stricker, by his accounting, was managing the ’27 Yankees.

I don't think there was any telling strategic brilliance, but the guys wanted to play for him and he handled the awkward stuff (Brooksie v. Bryson) well enough.   But this is worth bearing in mind as well:

But this might be the telling detail:

I'm not sure that even Hal Sutton could screw that up...

3. On the other side, Padraig Harrington was the losing captain, so of course there will be second-guessing. How would you assess Harrington’s week? Additionally, looking bigger picture for Europe, its roster consisted of four players in their 40s, meaning significant turnover might be on the horizon. Meanwhile, the Americans fielded their youngest-ever team, with Dustin Johnson, at 38, their oldest player. Should there be cause for concern for the Euros?

Zak: Definitely. As Luke Kerr-Dineen spelled out for our site, there was a missing generation, it seemed, this week. Danny Willett, Matt Wallace, Francesco Molinari, Martin Kaymer as a player,

etc. That age group of players in their 30s doesn’t seem very deep with the Euros right now. Can it be filled in two years? Undoubtedly. That’s a long time from now.

Melton: There is tremendous cause for concern for the Euros. Their tried-and-true core is past its prime, and there doesn’t appear to be anyone in line to take the torch. Meanwhile, the U.S. has an embarrassment of riches in young talent, and the well won’t run dry for quite some time.

Sens: As Sean and Zephyr say, it was the Ryder Cup, Freaky Friday edition, with roles reversed. One team suddenly looked young and loose, the other tight and tired. The U.S. is stocked with young talent. If they keep playing like this in future Cups, they’ll be very tough to beat. But I doubt Team Europe is spiraling into panic mode and calling for the overnight formation of Task Forces. At least, I hope they’re not. They care, obviously, but the fact that they’ve always seemed to have this event in perspective is part of what has made them a likable bunch over the years. I loved what Harrington said about what he told his team: Look around. Listen to the noise. This is a reminder to you that you’re alive. That’s what this is all about.

Colgan: As far as I’m concerned, the Euros will still have Jon Rahm when they return to Rome in 2023, so it’s hard to say there’s too much concern. But depth could be an issue if no Hovland-type players develop in the next 24 months.

Marksbury: Harrington did the best job he could. Hindsight is 20/20, and you could probably second-guess his decision to continually pair Westwood and Fitzpatrick and sit Sergio Garcia in four-ball, but it is what it is. It’s easy to be hard on the Europeans given the whooping we just witnessed. But just think: If Rory McIlroy had been more of a factor in team play, things could have been a lot tighter, even with as well as Team USA played this week. Also, as Sean said, two years is forever in professional golf. Look at the turnaround Spieth has made over the past 18 months! Rory, Rahm, Viktor, Sergio. I expect them all to be a part of a formidable European side in Italy in two years. And given what we witnessed with the American contingent this week, we can look forward to some fun battles ahead.

LKD: Harrington made a series of mistakes throughout. He put far too much faith in the old guard (like playing Casey and Westwood more than Rory and Fleetwood through the first two rounds), not enough in others (like Lowry), stuck with the disastrous Westwood-Fitzpatrick alternate-shot pairing, made the controversial decision to bench Rory and broke up the Garcia-Rahm pairing when they were 1-1. Harrington wasn’t going to change the fact that the U.S. was the better team this week, but let’s not pretend that by extension, he was perfect.

Bamberger: No losing captain is, ever, anywhere, in anything. His captain’s picks didn’t work out. That can be said now because it’s over and the Europeans lost.

Of course there's concern...  Their roster projects to be even weaker in coming years, but who would we have suggested he put on the team in lieu of his three picks?   The alternatives, Robert McIntyre and Oliver Perez, were hardly game-changers, and those old-timers notched a few points.  If I were Sergio, I wouldn't be in a hurry for my inevitable captaincy...

4. Whistling Straits, with Pete Dye’s patented Dye-abolical twists and turns, delivered just that, with balls running into water and traps, and Jordan Spieth nearly running into Lake Michigan. Ahead of the event, there were also some whispers whether the links-style course would be more beneficial to the Europeans than the home team, but that, clearly, proved false. How would you rate the host site, and did it help the U.S. more, or less, than you expected entering the week?

Zak: It was a phenomenal match-play course. Tons of shot value littered throughout. Drivable holes, tidy little par-3s, etc. What helped the most is this course played with the wind up. St. Andrews is harmless with the wind down, too, just like Whistling was in 2015. But with the wind up, both courses can be treacherous. It definitely helped the U.S. team more. Playing second helps in match play.

Melton: From my spot on the couch, Whistling Straits seemed like a terrific venue for the Ryder Cup. Plenty of risk-reward out there, and enough flexibility to make for some really interesting shots (back pin on No. 12, for example). It sounds like it’s not the most walkable course for spectators, but that’s just a small ding on the report card.

Sens: Whistling Straits may look like a links, but it plays more like a parkland course. I don’t think that’s as fun as watching golf on bouncy grounds. But it was a fair test of golf. And an incredibly scenic one.

Colgan: It was certainly set up to the Americans’ favor, but that’s also how it works at the Ryder Cup, where the home team controls the setup. It’s hard to know how much the (delightfully terrifying) visuals played into the drama of tournament week, but there’s no questioning the setup made for terrific golf.

Marksbury: I absolutely loved it. It didn’t appear to favor any team in particular, though long-bombing Bryson certainly took advantage of some holes. It simply looked fearsome and treacherous. Every vista was eye candy for us at home, and I was grateful it wasn’t me facing some of those approaches to tucked pins.

Bamberger: You were missed, Jess. In person, you would love it only more.

LKD: Patrick Cantlay’s coach, GOLF Top 100 Teacher Jamie Mulligan, said it best: Whistling Straits is the perfect venue for this competition, because you can birdie every hole as easily as you can bogey it.

It's an odd place, one that I have trouble loving.  it's visually stunning for sure, so it plays well on TV.  But all those clips of guys slipping down slopes reminds of how challenging the site is for players and spectators.  I'm just glad no one got hurt and Jordan was able to stop before Lake Michigan.

5. Dustin Johnson was stellar, Jon Rahm proved he’s the best player in the world and several young players had big weeks in Wisconsin. Who was the week’s MVP, unsung hero and most disappointing player?

Zak: DJ is the obvious MVP. Very few people have ever gone 5-0. He did it, and he made it look so easy. His coach, Claude Harmon, said this was the best DJ has played this year. He’s probably right. Unsung hero: I’ll tab Scottie Scheffler. The kid beat down Jon Rahm on Sunday after helping usher Bryson DeChambeau around the course in two successful matches. Most disappointing has to be Rory McIlroy, who didn’t seem to have an ounce of energy until Sunday. I feel for the guy. He’s one of Europe’s horses, and as he told me late Sunday: “It’s just a sh—y week when you lose.”

Melton: MVP: DJ. Unsung hero: Scottie. Disappointing: Rory. Sean stole my answers.

Bamberger: I’ll have what she’s having, etc.

Sens: DJ won the most points, but he also didn’t play Europe’s toughest competition. So I’m not sold that he was the lock-solid MVP. Cantlay was ridiculously good but didn’t get to play in all five. He was part of the tone-setting that put the U.S. off to a great start. Scheffler knocking Rahm off definitely makes him the Goliath. And for sure Rory, when you consider how much they needed him and how little they got from him.

Colgan: Is it possible for a losing team member to be MVP? This thing wouldn’t be just a blowout, it would be a laugher if Jon Rahm wasn’t in the field for the Europeans. Unsung heroes (plural) were Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay, who staved off danger for the Americans on nearly a half-dozen occasions during the opening two days. And the biggest disappointment? Rory.

Marksbury: Nice work, guys. I’ll dare to be different and offer up a few other names. MVP: Justin Thomas. He came away with 2.5 points in four matches, and it was clear he was the primary emotional soul of the team. He was leading cheers in the gallery, was fired up, and his passion was infectious. Unsung hero goes to Bryson DeChambeau. Not only did he claim 2.5 points in three matches, DeChambeau injected incredible intrigue into every match he played. And his takedown of the seemingly untouchable Sergio Garcia in singles was impressive to witness. Biggest disappointment? It pains me to say it, because he’s the loveliest guy in the world, but as a seasoned veteran who had a good Tour season, I don’t think anyone expected Paul Casey to get skunked. Then again, he had to face DJ over and over. That couldn’t have been fun.

LKD: I know DJ went 5-0, but Rahm is the MVP. This European team was mostly a disaster and on its knees for the entirety of the competition. Jon Rahm dragged this team single-handedly forward. He’s the ultimate alpha, and the only reason he lost on Sunday was because he came up against a man who started with four consecutive birdies.

Rahm and DJ in a rout.  I didn't see DJ's week coming, but he's been such a big part of the U.S.'s underperformance in recent cups, that once the Euros saw him engaged, they had to know it was lights out.

 One last bit:

7. In a week full of them, what, to you, was your most memorable moment?

Zak: Bryson playing the 1st on Sunday — 340-yard carry, 41-footer for eagle — was one of the coolest things I’ve witnessed in a very long time. But I think Rory being brought to tears after winning the first point of the day is something I’ll be thinking about for a very long time.

Melton: Koepka’s kerfuffle with the referee in his group on Saturday was premium content.

Sens: Those are good calls above. But I’ll go with Tony Finau’s ear-cupping as he drained birdie after birdie in his opening match. And Shane Lowry’s celebration when he jarred that big putt on Saturday afternoon. Both examples of pure-hearted celebration that capture the spirit of the event.

Colgan: I’ll remember Patrick Cantlay ascending from mumbling choir boy to god-tier Euro killer. I’ll also remember when Scottie Scheffler won the tournament for the Americans on Saturday afternoon with his birdie on 17.

Bamberger: Rory’s tearful interview when it was over.

Marksbury: So many highlights for Team USA this week, but even though the result was a foregone conclusion, watching Collin Morikawa stick it on 17 to ensure the clinching half point was epic.

LKD: Well, considering my European team’s golf was mostly tragic, I’d say experiencing the local flair with my tour guide and Wisconsinite, Sean Zak. Each Wisconsin-themed adventure was better than the last: I’m a Brewers fan now, because I went to my first Brewers game where, at one point, they raced giant sausages; I tried cheese curds — those were delicious; I played Erin Hills, which was epic; I saw the Fonzi statue in Milwaukee, which was fun; I experienced my first Culver’s custard, which is definitely better than ordinary ice cream; I even bathed in ice-cold Lake Michigan, which was cold but also liberating. Wisconsin is, simply put, fantastic. Definitely a top five state. The only thing Wisconsin doesn’t seem to have? Vegetables. Somebody get me a salad.

Premium content?  More like premium assholery..... Shockingly, spellcheck has no problem with the word "assholery"... who knew it was actually a word?

That's it for now.  Catch you later in the week, though probably not tomorrow.

 

Go Time

As I stretch my fingers to blog, we're a mere 1 hour and 45 minutes from the opening tee shot.  I might watch just a little of it...

Session No. 1 - Foursomes:  Buckle in, it's a strong start:

 

Steve Stricker and Padraig Harrington announced their lineups for Friday’s morning session of foursomes (alternate shot) at the 43rd Ryder Cup. And both captains are leaning on their top players to draw first blood.

Leading the charge for the United States will be Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas. Boasting a combined four major victories, Spieth and Thomas were the rare duo to find success at the 2018 Ryder Cup, racking up a 3-1 record in Paris. They will be the first group Friday morning, facing the Spanish pair of Jon Rahm and Sergio Garcia.

No surprises here, though the captains are laying down some hefty bets.  For Padraig, the lure of pairing Spaniards must be irresistible, though there's a statistic I'd love the media to research.  What would you guess the won-lost record of all Spanish pairs to be over the years?  It's a hard number to recreate, the closest I can come is this item which note they won twelve points from fifteen matches played together.  The gamble here is that he quite obviously needs to ride Jon Rahm this week so, for it to pan out, Sergio must be the Sergio of old, as opposed to just plain old Sergio.

For Captain Stricker, the risk is Jordan in alternate shot.  I get that there was no way he was sitting this team in the opening session, but leading with Jordan in 2021 seems a very different calculation than in 2018 and prior.  

Dustin Johnson and Collin Morikawa will be the second group out for the Americans, where they will play Paul Casey and Viktor Hovland. Match No. 3 will see former Florida State teammates Brooks Koepka and Daniel Berger take on the English duo of Lee Westwood and Matt Fitzpatrick.

Folks are calling the first and final matches Appointment Television, and it's easy to see why.  But these middle matches could be where it all gets decided, as the alpha dogs have a way of offsetting each other.  I heard one talking head call Casey-Hovland the kind of pairing that has won Europe many of these matches, a grizzled veteran guiding a youngster through the process.  Of course, you could say the same about DJ-Morikawa, at least until you remember that it's DJ involved.

That third match seems to me the swing match, one in which I have no zero expectations.  I'm not sure any player is under more self-inflicted pressure than Brooks Koepka, and Stricker has given him the partner with whom he has the most personal comfort.  Combined with drawing what looks to be the weakest Euro foursomes team, and the kinda, sorta have to win, no?

Rounding out the morning session will be Olympic gold medalist Xander Schauffele and PGA Tour Player of the Year Patrick Cantlay against Rory McIlroy and Ian Poulter. Schauffele and Cantlay played together in all four team sessions at the 2019 Presidents Cup.

This to me is Captain Padraig blinking.  There was talk earlier in the week of Rory playing with Hovland, which I thought could be brilliant.  But take those comments about Casey-Hovland above and think what this pairing means.  Poulter should be guiding a youngster this week, but instead is apparently needed to babysit.... Rory.  I guess Wiesberger is on his own....

The Golf.com gang has been convened to dissect these matches:

The Ryder Cup, after a long, three-year wait, is finally here. And on Thursday, we got our matchups for Friday morning foursomes. First off are Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas for the Americans, against the Spanish duo of Jon Rahm and Sergio Garcia for the Europeans. The second match pits Dustin Johnson and Collin Morikawa for the U.S. against Paul Casey and Viktor Hovland from Europe. In match three, Americans Brooks Koepka and Daniel Berger meet Europe’s Lee Westwood and Matthew Fitzpatrick. And finally in the fourth match, Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele of the United States face Rory McIlroy and Ian Poulter of Europe. Two questions! Were there any surprises among the pairings? And which one are you looking forward to the most?

Sean Zak: Not surprised by anything, frankly. Bryson sitting foursomes is understandable. Europe trotting out veterans with younger players in the alternate shot (and potentially just for that session) is understandable. Tommy Fleetwood is the most in-form Euro not to play … so if Westwood and Fitzpatrick get spanked, that’s one team you could second-guess. But we’ve got four very intriguing matches regardless. Everyone will be following the first match, but the fourth is the really good one. Team Poulter/McIlroy can be savages in alternate shot, but they’re playing against the most in-form American team. That’s a doozy!

If we're gonna talk surprise at a guy riding the pine, to me it would be Tony Finau.  His game seems perfect for foursomes, and I'd be really shocked if he's not out in that format Saturday morning.  Same thought for Scottie Scheffler, though he ranks lower in status than Finau for obvious reasons.

Dylan Dethier: I was mildly surprised to see Westwood and Fitzpatrick out in the first session, but even that makes sense — they’re better suited to alternate shot than the demanding birdie-fest of afternoon fourball. These are eminently sensible pairings. They’ll be delightful to watch. The first and fourth matches are appointment viewing. Let’s get this thing going!

Both their games are a better fit for alternate shot than for fourballs.  I like it from Padraig's perspective, and I wouldn't be surprised to see them put the hurt to Brooksie, whose bluster hasn't been backed up for some time now.

Alan Bastable: That first match — JT/Spieth vs. Rahm/Sergio — is an absolute barn burner. Not hard to imagine those four ending the week with 15 points among them. No point is any more

important than any other point, of course, but a full point from either side in that match would be a big emotional lift for the other 10 players on their side. None of the pairings jump out at me as surprises, but I am perplexed by why Stricker chose to open with alt-shot, which historically has not been a good format for the Yanks. Asked about the decision Thursday evening, he said, “Stats have shown over the years that that’s a better format for us. Yeah, so we wanted to kind of stay with that plan and that’s what we’re doing.” Odd.

The foursomes-fourball numbers have ebbed and flowed over the years, it's actually only recently that the U.S. foursomes results have gone underwater.  But they started with foursomes at Hazeltine and I like the call here.  The other issue is that fourball matches take so damn long (they're planning for 5 hours and 15 minutes for them, so it creates a bit of havoc to play fourballs in the a.m. and turn around players for the afternoon session).

Luke Kerr-Dineen: Was a bit surprised to see Westwood and Fitzpatrick go out in the third spot, but the more I think about it, the more it makes sense: Fitzpatrick has a safe game for alternate shot, and both players almost certainly won’t play on Friday afternoon. Fleetwood sitting will raise a few eyebrows, but rumblings from the European team room suggest Rahm might be the only player to play all five matches — and that’s if he plays well. All of which is to say, everybody will have to sit at some point. As for the match I’m most looking forward to? DJ and Morikawa vs. Casey and Hovland. The latter pairing is straight out of the ‘How Europeans win Ryder Cups’ playbook: A trusted hand who knows the drill, whose job is to show the ropes to a talented upstart rookie. DJ and Morikawa, for their part, have had some lingering questions about their form coming in. Each player in that group has the potential to be a major factor for their respective teams — for better or for worse — and it’ll make the match itself a fantastic bellwether for how the contest will play out.

Yeah, DJ-Morikawa feels like a clunker to this observer....

Nick Piastowski: I’m mildly surprised that Tommy Fleetwood, after a dominant run in Paris, is sitting to start, and I’m a little disappointed that Bryson won’t try to pump it out there 400-plus on the opening tee shot. But there are solid matchups up and down the board. The one I’m looking forward to the most is the last one. The cool duo of Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay meets the fiery one of Ian Poulter and Rory McIlroy. Love it!

Really, Nick.  Then you must be shocked that Frankie Molinari, the guy that actually won five points in Paris, isn't on the team.   Paris was three years ago, and what happened there doesn't actually count this time.

James Colgan: The pairings were about what we expected, but I was a bit surprised by the cadence. Xander/Cantlay as Stricker’s “anchor” pairing could be dangerous for the Americans. Both are playing lights-out right now, but can’t help but wonder if you’d rather get your rookies (particularly only the pair of first-timers playing tomorrow) out earlier.

Yeah, their reputation seems a bit much for guys that went 2-2 at Royal Melbourne, but you really don't want to let Poulter get on any kind of a roll...

Jessica Marksbury: I’m a little surprised by the fact that, looking at the matchups, an American AM sweep seems feasible! Maybe I’m feeling a little rah-rah for the red, white and blue, but hear me out: The toughest match will for sure be the opener, with Rahm and Garcia likely to put up a really good fight. But my money’s on JT and Spieth to grind that one out. Then, DJ/Morikawa, Koepka/Berger and Cantlay/Schauffele? On paper, no European opponent seems up to snuff for those duos. LET’S GO. I’m loving Team USA’s prospects on Friday morning.

Gee, Jess, did you just say, "On paper"?  Have you perhaps not seen those twelve previous Ryder Cups, when no Euro seemed up to snuff?  I've long ago concluded that you're not a candidate for Mensa, but a basic knowledge of the history of this event might, yanno, be helpful.

Josh Sens: Nothing shocking in the pairings, though there were earlier signs that Hovland and McIlroy might go out together. I actually think Harrington’s decision makes more sense, as Rory has clearly gotten a thrill out of Poulter’s exploits in the past and the two are likely to feed nicely off each other. As for the match I’m most looking forward to? Bastable’s right. That first one stands to be a barn burner, but really, how can you not be pumped about them all.

We get to watch them all, so no need to pick amongst them.  As I note above, those middle two matches, call them the undercards if you will, could be the better harbinger of the week.  The alpha dogs might fight to something of a draw, but the question is always whether the greater U.S. depth is determinative.

James Colgan tries to break it down into four storylines:

1) Homegrown

It’s hard to think of a better opening match for Ryder Cup action than the one golf fans are going

to receive on Friday morning. Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth, who have an established history both as childhood friends and Ryder Cup teammates, look to form a rock-solid tandem for the Americans. In 2018, Thomas and Spieth were American bellcows, two of only three players who competed in all five sessions for the U.S. The two buddies combined for four of the U.S.’s 10.5 points in 2018, with Spieth finishing 3-2-0 to Thomas’ 4-1-0. It’s early to say whether either player will be leaned on in a similar capacity in 2021, but Stricker’s confidence in choosing the pair first is hard to overlook.

On the European side, Rahm and Garcia form a tandem that should give American fans nightmares on Thursday evening. The two Spaniards are a ballstriking force, and should give the shorter-hitting Spieth-Thomas pairing all they can handle off the tee.

Someone care to explain the header to me?  It's an appealing match, but Colgan hasn't added anything here.  If you want to storyboard it, tell me how Sergio plays...

2) Rookie/Vet

Hard to fault either Steve Stricker or Padraig Harrington for pairing their high-profile rookies with established veterans. For the Europeans, Viktor Hovland has all the shotmaking talent to make life miserable on his opponents, while Casey’s steady nature and four prior Ryder Cups should go a long way in easing his early nerves.

Across the bow, Morikawa and Johnson enter the tournament on down streaks after long seasons, but the Official World Golf Ranking tells us the 24-year-old rookie and 37-year-old vet are the two best players on the American side. From a distance, these two are overwhelming favorites to take their match. But the versions Stricker gets of these two will ultimately decide the match.

Here I think Colgan performed a valuable framing service, as both teams follow that superficial model.  he could have gone further, as the two rookies came out together and their careers can be compared at this early juncture, with the Yank obviously ahead by virtue of those two majors.  But as for grizzled vets?  I'd expect Casey to fill that role perfectly, and I similarly expect DJ to show up on the first tee.

3) Gentlemen vs. Floridamen

It’s difficult to think of two more likable players on the European side than Lee Westwood and Matt Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick is playing in his second Ryder Cup — but comes into Whistling

Straits a very different player from 2018 — while Westwood is in his 11th (!!!), tying Nick Faldo for the most starts all-time.

They’ll pair up against a pair of former Florida State teammates and longtime friends: Brooks Koepka and Daniel Berger. Berger is one of six U.S. rookies in the fold at Whistling Straits, while Koepka is hoping to stave off further injury in his first competitive action since withdrawing from the Tour Championship with injury.

If I had to pick one player as a bellwether for the week, it would have to be Koepka.   Maybe a little more on that below.

4) Heroes and Villains

Xander Schauffele has the unique distinction of entering his first Ryder Cup a bonafide American hero. Schauffele comes into Kohler riding high — only weeks removed from claiming gold for the U.S. at the Tokyo Olympics, and looking to make a dent in his first-ever Ryder Cup appearance. His partner, Patrick Cantlay, is fresh off his first-ever FedEx Cup after a heroic playoff win at the BMW Championship. Their opponents? Only two of Team Europe’s most-established villains.

Rory McIlroy (11-9-4) and Ian Poulter (14-6-2) have long been thorns in the Americans’ sides, and on Friday morning, they’ll once again have the opportunity to deflate one of the U.S.’s most crucial duos.

Villains?  Plural?  Rory was more Patrick Reed's bitch than a thorn, unless you go back to the Paleozoic Era of 2012-14.  It is a contrast in personalities, emotional vs. placid, and it will certainly be fun to see how that plays out.

Koepka Fatigue - What comes after tiresome?  It's an overused cliché, but Brooks Koepka very much needs to start speaking with his golf clubs, because the other way isn't working out so well for him.  

Everyone saw his comments about the Ryder Cup, but apparently it's all the result of dark forces:

If you’re wondering whether or not this made it back to Koepka, well, he removed all doubt just a couple questions later. Asked specifically about feedback from the interview.

“I never said it was negative,” Koepka said, stone-faced. His stoneface is among golf’s stoniest,

and he has a Tiger-like ability to hold a reporter’s gaze when their question has fired him up.

“Y’all spun it that way. I never said it was negative. I said it was different. Like I said, I’ve never played any of these team events. I didn’t play Walker Cup. Never played Junior Ryder Cup. Never played anything. I just said it’s different. That doesn’t mean it’s bad. Y’all spun it that way.”

It was clear from Koepka’s glances around the room that “y’all” meant the assembled reporters and also that we were serving as proxy for writers and bloggers and internet commenters worldwide.

It’s worth pointing out, in defense of the “y’all,” that Koepka was not misquoted. What seems more likely is that his remarks didn’t land the way he intended; they weren’t read the way he thought he had delivered them. This is the risk anytime a public figure speaks on the record. The disconnect between delivery and reception is also, ironically, something Koepka shares with rival-turned-frenemy Bryson DeChambeau.

And it seems to this observer that Dylan Dethier has caught a breakthrough case of a Stockholm Syndrome variant....  Apparently, quoting Brooks accurately is now a hate crime, at least to Brooks.

So, let's revisit what he said and see how it feels after his "clarification":

For virtually all of your career, you get to set the schedule and make the rules and be responsible for your own performance. How does that mesh with the Ryder Cup experience? Is it strange being on a team?

It’s different. It’s hectic. It’s a bit odd, if I’m honest. I don’t want to say it’s a bad week. We’re just so individualized, and everybody has their routine and a different way of doing things, and now, it’s like, OK, we have to have a meeting at this time or go do this or go do that. It’s the opposite of what happens during a major week. If I break down a major week, it’s so chill. You wouldn’t even believe me. I go to the course. I play nine holes. I go work out. Other than that, I’m sitting and watching TV, taking my mind off golf with relaxing stuff. The physical part, I can handle. The mental side, you have to be able to turn it off. Sometimes, the power comes from being able to turn it on. But for me, I get power from turning it off. That’s been a huge, huge thing for me that I really haven’t understood until the past five or six years of my career.

This is what I so love about our Brooksie.  Of course he's calling it a "Bad week" for him, though he'll hide behind the straw man.  This isn't the worst of his quote, because it's fair to talk about the changes in routine and the players' natural individualism.  But it's what's missing that's most incriminating, any sense of enjoyment of being part of a team, plus any sense that he'll make adjustments to improve.

But this to me is where he screws the pooch:

But, as you said, at a major, you’re only concerned about yourself. At the Ryder Cup, that dynamic is different.

It’s tough. There are times where I’m like, I won my match. I did my job. What do you want from me? I know how to take responsibility for the shots I hit every week. Now, somebody else hit a bad shot and left me in a bad spot, and I know this hole is a loss. That’s new, and you have to change the way you think about things. You go from an individual sport all the time to a team sport one week a year. It’s so far from my normal routine. I can barely see my [personal] team. It’s hard to even go to the gym. At the Presidents Cup in New York, we had to go to the gym at 5 a.m. to get it in. We went to the Equinox, and it was me, Dustin and Tiger, and we come back and go to a team meeting. Under regular conditions, I take naps a lot. I might take an hour, hour-and-a-half nap, or just chill on the couch and watch “SportsCenter,” before rounds, after rounds, whatever. There’s no time to do that at the Ryder Cup. There’s no time to decompress.

If you wanted to be cast as the worst teammate ever, what would you say differently than those first few lines?   So, when Captain Stricker goes to his players and asks, "Who do you want to play with?, how many do we think answered Brooks?  My guess is that Daniel Berger had that pairing locked up early...

The Envelope, Please - One bit I failed to get to earlier in the week is this legal document:

Inside the Ryder Cup Captains’ Agreement: 9 obscure rules you didn’t know existed

Shack has a running gag about cart drivers, but he might be surprised to learn that they're strickly controlled:

2. Golf-cart limit!

Per the agreement: Each team may only have up to a maximum of six (6) “Team Golf Cars.” All such carts must follow the agreed upon routing with no access to nine of the holes. Any cart/driver not abiding by such routing may be removed from use for the remainder of the week.

And this:

3. Stricker is prohibited from making any further course set-up tweaks

The course is long, the rough is light, and that’s how it will stay for the remainder of the week.

Per the agreement: It is recognized that the home side has the opportunity to influence and direct the set-up and preparation of the course for the Ryder Cup. It is hereby agreed that any such influence, direction and/or preparation will be limited to course architecture/course design, fairway widths, rough heights, green speed and firmness, and will conclude the Sunday prior to the matches. (Sept. 19)

Meaning, wait for it, that the Dye is cast...

Schedule News -  Your humble blogger has made a regrettable decision.  A gentleman that helped sponsor us into Fairview has a charity that we like to support as a way of expressing our thanks.  Accordingly, Employee No. 2 and I are playing at Quaker Ridge early Monday, unfortunately deferring my Ryder Cup wrap up post until Tuesday morning.   Management regrets any inconvenience this might entail, but I promise to be especially trenchant on Tuesday.  Enjoy!

Ryder Cup Thursday

 Did you feel that?  That's the landing gears being engaged as we start our controlled decent...

Scenes From Kohler - We'll get to the quasi-serious stuff quickly enough, but did you catch yesterday's first tee scene?  We'll let Shack set the scene:

The evidence arrived early Wednesday at Whistling Straits. Grown men of varied European descent and ages, clad in $5000 uniforms and five years removed from hearing unimaginable taunting, put on foam cheeseheads and then went all Waste Management Open and threw them to the crowd.

Incontrovertible proof that the Europeans are worried about fan behavior.

They should be.

The first tee stunt proved mildly adorable when the initial foursome emerged from the tunnel. The giveaway became a transparent ploy when group two arrived, and by the final foursome turned up, the intent was clear.

Padraig Harrington deemed it a “lighthearted” show of respect, having received the Packers blessing to use green and yellow in Wednesday’s uniforms. But the message was clear: please don’t yell on our backswings or call our wives trashy tramps—and look, we’re wearing your team colors too!

(This just in Wisconsin fans: you cannot buy the Loro Piana $2775 windbreaker in green and yellow. I know, I know, it’s such a deal.)

I assume this pandering would have been cancelled had the Packers not won Monday night, but Shack's reference to the Wasted seems a best case scenario.  Shack at least brings a little healthy skepticism to bear, conspicuously absent from this Golf Digest header:

Ryder Cup 2021: The European Team pulled an absolutely brilliant move to get the U.S. fans on their side

Ever since fans were allowed back at sporting events, there have been a number of not-so-great fan-player interactions that have grabbed plenty of headlines. With enough alcohol involved, we (unfortunately) expect more of the same this week at Whistling Straits, site of the Ryder Cup.

So far, though, that has not been the case, as the fine folks of Wisconsin have welcomed the European Team with open arms. Just ask Ian Poulter, arguably the most-hated European player of the last 15 years, who says the American fans have been "wishing him well."

Brilliant?  OK, grading on the curve isn't exactly a new thing, but do we think U.S. fans are now "on their side"?  

What they seem to be telling us now is that Midwestern Nice has its limitations, unless the Wisconsin version is more effective than the Minnesota Variant:

Regarding the libation-ingesting often associated with coarsening fan behavior, my informal, in disguise queries of on-site vendors to protect their lives, confirmed that beer sales will begin as soon as stands open.

This is odd since the last domestic Ryder Cup in 2016b was marred by selling beer at Hazeltine throughout the day. And that year we learned how coupling all day lubrication with only four groups on the course during Friday and Saturday sessions led to trouble. The otherwise kindly Minnesotans and other Americans took their buzzed ire at not getting to see much golf out on European Tour players and their loved ones. Rory McIlroy was especially targeted.

“They shouted stuff at him that you shouldn’t shout at anybody anywhere,” said Thomas Pieters, McIlroy’s partner in several matches. “Maybe that’s because they sell beer at 7 am and Americans can’t drink.”

The key bit to remember is in that middle 'graph, to wit, that on the first two days there are only four groups on the golf course, leaving folks bored and thirsty.  There are expressions of concern, most notably in this excerpt from the home-team captain, but no sense that a dollar in revenue would be forsaken to ensure the crowds remain under control:

It was a predictable perfect storm. The mostly-American crowds unleashed a mix of amped up patriotism and boorishness. Five years later the recipe for disaster is in place, albeit with what appears to be more seating sections and platforms set back enough where it’ll be tougher to harrass players.

The 2021 alcohol policy mentions no time restrictions. Just be ready to show ID if you look 30 or younger and keep your distance in line.

Wisconsin’s native son and Team USA Captain is hoping the “very nice and courteous” “salt-of-the-earth” fans will be different.

“These fans have been pent up for a long time and they're going to come out and get behind their team,” said Steve Stricker. “It's going to be loud, and we expect it to be loud, but again, we ask for people not to cross that line and be respectful of both sides.”

Two last thoughts on this subject.  First, Geoff is correct that the terrain is quite different from Hazeltine, I just don't know how that will affect things:

Since then a pandemic has coarsened fan behavior across all of sport. In the case of Whistling Straits, we’ve gone from Hazeltine’s walk-in-the-park inland stroll to a gargantuan faux-dunescape set in the middle of nowhere and forcing spectators to work harder to root their team on.

What could go wrong?

There are spots on the course that fans can't get to, so perhaps that proves to be a positive.  The other piece of optimism that I can throw out is the premise that, if fans misbehave this week, that they'll have to take action in advance of Bethpage 2025.  Because Poults and the other Euros have to know that those fans won't be "wishing them well".

Dylan Dethier and Luke Kerr-Dineen team up to post scraps from their notebooks of dubious merit, though not so dubious that we won't grab a few bits.  Did anyone notice the man in black:

There’s one coach in all black

This week’s Ryder Cup forces upon coaches some unusual clothing identities: GOLF Top 100

Teacher Jeff Smith, the born-and-bred American coach to Viktor Hovland, is decked out in all European gear. Fellow Top 100 Teacher, Northern Irishman Justin Parsons, is head-to-toe in red, white and blue as part of Harris English’s support team.

There’s only one exception to the rule: Legendary coach Pete Cowen, who’s dressed in his signature black. Why? Because he’s helping players on multiple teams: Brooks Koepka on the U.S., along with Rory McIlory and Ian Poulter on the European side.

There's more of this than most realize, including Ricky Elliott, Koepka's looper, who's an Ulsterman as well.  Not quite as crazy as the Solheim Cup, where in the final singles match one caddie was literally sleeping with the enemy....

But this should amuse:

Course comparison

What’s Whistling Straits like? When the wind is up, it begins to resemble another Pete Dye course known for hosting big-time events.

“It kind of has a Kiawah-ish feel off the tee,” Xander Schauffele said. “A lot of blind spots where you’re kind of aiming at a gorse bush or aiming kind of left center of a bunker.”

There are similarities, though to me the more notable fact is the stark difference.  At Whistling Straits everything is a bunker, whereas at Kiawah nothing is a bunker.  Got it?  Any lingering confusion should be addressed to DJ....  Ah, good times!

About Those Pairings - The very same Dylan Dethier informs us that clarity approaches:

Team USA’s Ryder Cup pairings are becoming clearer at Whistling Straits

 

But these kids have their own spin on postmodernism, as the relevant bits in the article are conveyerd by embedding the author's tweets:

Mixing pods today but it seems cemented that USA’s three marquee pairs will be Xander-Cantlay, DJ-Morikawa and Spieth-Thomas

— Dylan Dethier (@dylan_dethier) September 22, 2021

I'll admit that the DJ-Morikawa pairing seems to have come out of the blue....  And given that neither of them, despite their lofty accomplishments, has played very well in recent months, it's hard to expect too much.

Dylan pretty much agrees:

3. Dustin Johnson and Collin Morikawa

While these two have never paired up together — Morikawa hasn’t played on a U.S. Team, after all — they teamed up Tuesday and Wednesday and had back-to-back press conferences on Wednesday morning, too.

On paper, it seems like an interesting call to put Team USA’s two highest-ranked players together. But both Morikawa and Johnson enter this week in confusing form. Johnson has four top-10s mixed with two missed cuts in his last six starts and remains the second-ranked golfer in the world. Morikawa won the Open and finished T4 at the Olympics but tweaked his back and tweaked his swing and barely beat anybody in his last three starts.

At the 2018 Ryder Cup, Johnson played with Rickie Fowler and Brooks Koepka, going 1-3 in those matches. At the 2019 Presidents Cup, he played with Gary Woodland and Matt Kuchar, going 1-2 in those. He’ll have a new partner this time around.

Well, at the very least, DJ has all those positive vibes from Whistling Straits.... What?  Oh, well I'll at least suggest that he'll go all week without grounding his club in a bunker.  At least we have that going for us.

Shane Ryan devotes a column to a question pondered by many:

Ryder Cup 2021: Who's going to play with Bryson? We rank the prospects

 The countdown starts in dramatic fashion:

11. Brooks Koepka

Ahem. Let’s move on.

Yeah, let's, although who Koepka will be paired with is it's own interesting question.  I'd have DJ as No. 11, but let's move on...

This one will take you by surpsie, though:

2. Justin Thomas

Here was something weird on Tuesday: Despite being listed in a foursome with Spieth, Thomas,

and Scheffler—which led to the obvious conclusion that Spieth-JT and DeChambeau-Scheffler is how this will play out—Bryson and Thomas actually split off and played alone. It seemed odd when we saw it on the course, but the JT-DeChambeau pairing actually makes a ton of sense. Thomas is great on approach shots, making it a feasible alternate-shot pairing, but even in four-ball he's shown that he can win with multiple partners. If he gets along with DeChambeau well enough, why not?

Interesting... more because I think Spieth shouldn't play foursomes, which would require another partner for JT.

And the winner is...

1. Scottie Scheffler

This seemed like a very good idea from Stricker when the Tuesday practice pairings emerged, and it looks better the more you look at it. It doesn't remotely work for alternate shot, but let's forget that momentarily and focus on four-ball. Scheffler is one of the most consistent players on tour, with only two missed cuts in his last 20 events and a slew of top-10 and top-20 finishes. He was sixth in birdie percentage in 2021, to DeChambeau's third, which makes for some serious ham-and-egg potential if they get hot, and ensures that they'll heap a ton of pressure on their opponents.

There's some concern with throwing Scheffler into the fire with such a polarizing figure in his first Ryder Cup, but he's temperamentally calm, he'll have the crowd behind him, and he seems, at least on the surface, up for it. Plus, as the lowest-ranked captain's pick, there's no sense of entitlement there; if his role is to play with Bryson, he's more likely to embrace it than anyone else. This simply works, and everyone seems to know it.

To me the first question is whether you're going to play Bryson in Foursomes.  I'm not over the moon at the concept, but Strick might feel the need to play him in that format one of the days just to spread the workload.

The other factor to keep in mind is that three of the Par-3's are odd-numbered holes, so would you want Bryson bombing six or eight drives?

Oddly, I am unable to find anything at the major golf sites speculating about Euro pairings.  Earlier in the week there was a bit about about Rory perhaps being paired with Viktor Hovland, though late I saw a piece about keeping Rory with the emotional old-timers, specifically Poults and Sergio.  It's an interesting call for Captain Padraig, as Rory is supposed to be the Euro's No. 2 stud.  He should be the guy taking newcomers under his wings, as opposed to needing Ian Poulter to babysit him.  Stay tuned.

But Eamon Lynch has an interesting bit of speculation:

Lynch: Staged Brooks Koepka-Bryson DeChambeau video proves U.S. Ryder Cup team lacking proper focus

Let me indulge Eamon by excerpting his argument, though it's fairly silly:

Compare that with a video tweeted by Team USA on Tuesday evening. It was a stylistic piece of

auteurism with enough staccato camerawork and upbeat music to feel like homage to the opening credits of Miami Vice. Its 27 seconds showed Brooks Koepka walking across the range at Whistling Straits to briefly chat with Bryson DeChambeau, and while its intended audience and goal was just as obvious as the Europeans, the result was much less successful.

The video had the slick look (and viscous aftertaste) of corporate pandering, the type of hollow virtue-signaling beloved by companies who like to tout values they don’t actually practice. What it delivered was all the authenticity and warmth of a hostage tape, and rather than put to bed the tired narrative about the Brooks-Bryson feud, it merely served to remind folks of its existence. All it lacked was Saddam Hussein’s buffoonish spokesman “Comical Ali” denying reality.

Nothing to see here!

No feud, we’re united under the flag.

Move along everyone!

OK.  I agree it's not especially convincing, but it would seem to me to fit into that category of necessary, though its sufficiency remains an open question.

The Euros have always been better at the social media game, perhaps because they haven't had their funny bones surgically removed.  The piece of Euro agitprop garnering the biggest reaction is the Thomas Bjorn tattoo,  but you can find that one on your own.  Padraig is all in on that disgusting promise, so let that be a challenge to the Americans to make sure that score goes the wrong direction.

But the reference in the lede to the above excerpt is this, which is quite good:

On Tuesday, Harrington released a video designed to reinforce both pride and purpose among his team by illustrating just how small their merry band is. Only 164 men have ever played Ryder

Cup for Europe, a total dwarfed by the number of people who have summited Everest (5,780) or been in space (570). Each player was given a number representing his position on that continuum. Lee Westwood, who debuted in 1997, is No. 118. Rory Mcllroy is No. 144. All the way up to Bernd Wiesberger, the last qualifier for Harrington’s squad, at No. 164.

“I’m very, very proud to have that number for life. Everybody is buzzing,” Wiesberger said. “The individual aspect of the game that we have, but this week we all come together as 12. Everybody has their number and nobody can ever take it from them.”

Harrington’s video garnered widespread attention, but its intended audience was 12: the guys in Europe’s team room. The captain found his target and achieved his mission: team-building.

Advantage: Europe, who have this scrappy underdog bit down pat.  Does it mean anything?  We're about to find out...

About That Golf Course - We haven't discussed the course much, except to note that it's a hard place to create a birdie-fest, the prevailing set-up preference since Medinah went bad.

Golf.com convenes a panel of course raters, and they pick they're favorite holes specifically for match-play:

What are one or two of the best holes at Whistling Straits, particularly as it pertains to

match play? Any that you’re especially keen to watch this week?

Lewis: The short par-3 12th and the short par-5 16th. Most matches don’t reach 18. Dye is so good at designing scary par-3s that are not necessarily wildly long (cue the tape of Sawgrass 17). The 12th here is an oddly shaped green that is really a few greens kind of strung together, each of them pretty small. You are going to have to execute here, no doubt about it. The 16th comes at such a pivotal time in most matches and is within the capacity of every player in the field to reach it after a reasonable drive. Great fun.

Both are significant but for different reasons.  The tee shot at No. 12 in foursomes will be played by the best iron players, since it's the one Par-3 not on odd-numbered holes.  No. 16 is the one place they can score on the homestretch, but birdies might not be sufficient, at least in fourballs.

Pelliccione: The opening tee shot will be extremely critical for the Europeans. How will they handle the noise and pressure of 40,000-plus fans screaming down their necks? As for the Americans, will they live up to the expectations as the favorites or will our hearts be torn out again? There really is no better scene in golf than the opening tee shot of a Ryder Cup. Looking down the list, the next hole that stands out and could be a deciding factor in a match is the par-4 15th. Measuring a whopping 518 yards, this hole requires raw power off the tee, which gives the Americans a huge advantage. Expect captain Steve Stricker to split up his bombers to exploit the Europeans weakness.

Messix: I agree with Jeff on the 12th hole. Given the size and shape of the green along with the huge teeing ground, the hole can be quite difficult or a total pushover. Even though it may not see many matches, the finisher is a terrific hole and exceptionally difficult. It is quite possible we could see the finisher won with a score higher than par in a foursomes match.

That's fun, but here's my fave:

Whistling Straits’ Best Bunkers, Ranked

Look, it's a ridiculous golf course and hard to embrace for being so over-the-top.  But I had always been led to believe that there was no definitive count, though apparently I was misinformed:

Ahead of the 2010 PGA Championship, Golf Digest’s Ron Whitten fashioned a curious device out of a lamp and the handle of a garden hoe. No, he hadn’t gone insane. Alongside caddie Bob Palm, Whitten used the contraption to count the bunkers Pete Dye had built at Whistling Straits.

Host of three PGA Championships in the 21st century, the Straits Course is as visually intimidating as golf gets. The player is overwhelmed by mounds, fescue, a lake that looks like an ocean, and probably a few bottles of Spotted Cow. Scariest of all, though, are the bunkers.

In 2010, Whitten and Palm, with their homemade machine, counted 967 bunkers at the Straits Course. Most of these will be out of play at this week’s Ryder Cup, functioning mainly as hazards for clumsy spectators. But a handful could have a real impact on the action.

Has anyone counted the rakes?  But Will Knights of the Fried Egg ranks the top ten bunkers, the surprise being that this one only gets the silver:

2. Giant short right of No. 17 – The most intimidating par 3 at Whistling Straits has plenty of terrifying bunkers, but the beauty of this elevated one just short of the green is that it’s in play for every pin. Right pins will be concealed by its high lip, and left pins are tough to convince yourself to attack, and the bailout is toward the bunker. No one wants to be in there with the Ryder Cup on the line.

To me it's reminiscent of Big Nellie at Portrush, though that one (recreated on their ne 7th hole) is mostly out of play.  But apparently there's a nastier one to be found on the shores of Lake Michigan:

1. Nose on No. 6 – In the latest edition of The Fried Egg Podcast, Andy Johnson compared the 6th green to a pair of glasses. That would make the central bunker the nose. Not much bigger than a clawfoot tub, this bunker separates two distinct sections of the putting surface. While the hole is potentially drivable, anyone who ends up in the bunker could face an impossible up-and-down. We’ll probably witness an eagle 2 at some point on the 6th, but we could also see a player concede the hole from off the green. Shout-out Phil Mickelson.

Yowser!  It looks so tiny that it might well play like a links pot bunker, in which one might not be able to play towards the pin.  This looks like it might lend itself to all sorts of strategic plays, at least in fourballs.

About That Weather - Shack had posted this update as of yesterday:

About perfect, though those morning sessions will start cold.  Given that they'll play foursomes in the morning, that to me promises to be perhaps the most interesting bits, when the guys have to recalibrate yardages for low temps and that heavy wind.  Not sure that plays to the U.S. strength, but I do think the foursomes are always the more interesting format.

I'll be back with more tomorrow morning, most notable the first session pairings.