Weekend Wrap - Team Bonding Edition

It's not like I watched any of it, literally not a minute, but it's already an improvement over the last go.  Here's Geoff's take on the weekend:

Two years ago the United States Ryder Cup team began to fracture before a shot was struck, while the Europeans bonded ahead of a Rome showdown. Things unraveled from there, culminating in brats wanting to be paid and daring to suggest Ralph Lauren couldn’t make a hat big enough for (one) head.

How time, a $500,000 payment, and seemingly rational Captain can do to make the red-white-and-blue seem like worthy favorites.

The Americans are gelling, while the final week of stroke play tournament golf spawned legit questions about whether Europe is sending its best in-form team to Bethpage Black for the Ryder Cup. Yes, Alex Noren’s BMW PGA Championship win at Wentworth is more of an annoyance than a scandal. And while there are no signs that any of Europe’s stars plan to pass up Monday’s pre-Ryder Cup trip to Bethpage over Netflix back-end points, it’s quite a thing to see America coming headed to the matches minus first-world drama while Europe has to be wondering why they ended the points race before their tour’s flagship event.

The Noren bit is pretty funny, although there's no logistical way they could delay the captain's picks until eleven days before balls are in the air.  

Golf Digest proclaims this guy "Ryder Cup ready":

Guess what happened when Scottie Scheffler went to California to prepare for the Ryder Cup? He won another golf tournament

It’s not that Scottie Scheffler makes winning look easy. It’s never easy to win on the PGA Tour. What Scheffler has been doing so well the last four years as he has cemented his place as the No.

1 player in the world is produce a level of golf that makes winning always look possible.

The wins come as a product of that relentlessness.

He got another one on Sunday, his sixth victory of the year, at the Procore Championship, the ostensible warmup event to the upcoming Ryder Cup. With a five-under 67 on the North Course at Silverado Resort in Napa, Calif., Scheffler was able to overtake U.S. teammate Ben Griffin for a one-stroke victory.

Scheffler’s first win in the Golden State constitutes the 19th official tour title of his career, all of them coming since he broke through at the 2022 WM Phoenix Open. He also won the Olympic gold medal in 2024.

This to me is one of the more curious aspects of the event, to wit, that I have little idea what to expect from Scottie.   Yes, he dominates the Tour, yet he's not exactly been a force in this event.  Not to mention that the event has never been that kind to the top players in the game.  jack and Tiger, call your office.

This specifically evokes that dreadful Ryder Cup at the K Club, one in which Tiger won a WEGC in Ireland the week before, then noted the million reasons it was more important than the Ryder Cup.  What?  You thought the tone deafness of touring professionals on money issues started with Cantlay?

Here's Geoff's take on the week for the Euros:

Noren’s 12th DP World Tour title and second in the last three weeks came after defeating Adrian Saddier in a playoff to win his second BMW PGA. He won the tour’s flagship event in 2017 with a final round 62.

This time, the recently named fifth Vice Captain for Luke Donald’s squad shared the third round lead with France’s Adrian Saddier, who made four birdies coming home Sunday in the lousy weather to force the playoff with Noren. But the 43-year-old birdied the first hole of sudden death to become Sweden’s winningest player in DP World Tour history, moving ahead of Robert Karlsson and Henrik Stenson.

Aaron Rai and Patrick Reed shared third place on 16 under par, while Ryder Cuppers Matt Fitzpatrick, Tyrrell Hatton and Viktor Hovland were part of a six-way tie for fifth place. Other Ryder Cup notables: Jon Rahm (T13/-13), Rory McIlroy (-12/T20), Ludvig Aberg (-12/T20), Shane Lowry (-8/T46), Tommy Fleetwood (-8/T46), and Justin Rose (-6/T61).

Robert MacIntyre missed the 54-hole cut after rounds of 71-71-72, while Rasmus Hojgaard missed the 36-hole cut. Sepp Straka did not play.

The good news for Captain Donald: his first alternate and fifth banana-fetcher, Alex Noren, is in outstanding form! But it’s also awkward to have a VC beating the entire team less than two weeks before the matches at Bethpage where they will need plenty of fortune to win on enemy soil.

Maybe, if the events ends up a 14-all tie, Noren and Keegan Bradley will play off for the Cup?  

Decent weeks from Hovland and Aberg have to be a relied for Luke Donald, but there are still no shortage of question marks.   The T3 by P{Reed is also amusing, quite the contrast to Sergio turning into a tennis fan.... 

The Tour Confidential panel had some thoughts on the week as well:

The Ryder Cup is two weeks away, but 21 of the 24 players competing in it were playing over the weekend at the Procore Championship in Napa and the BMW PGA in England. From everything you read, heard and saw, what was your biggest takeaway from Ryder Cup training camp?

Zephyr Melton: Lots of Ryder Cuppers had their names on the first couple pages of the two leaderboards (Ben Griffin, Scottie Scheffler, J.J. Spaun, Russell Henley, Tyrrell Hatton, Viktor Hovland). Nice to see a bunch of them in fine form heading to Bethpage. Should make for some high-level golf in a couple of weeks.

Alan Bastable: I should hope they’re well-repped on the first two pages, especially at the Procore! No disrespect to the rest of the field but this is the kind of week in which the alphas should be throwing their weight around. I’ve been taken by the praise the U.S. players have been heaping upon Keegan Bradley, in terms of how he’s been communicating with his squad and keeping them on task; he seems to be pressing all the right buttons. We’ll see if that continues in the heat of battle.

Dylan Dethier: My biggest takeaway is that golf is hilarious; immediately after Europe selects its Ryder Cup team (and names him vice captain) Alex Noren wins two of his next three starts?! Including this week, where he beats the entire European team? You probably wouldn’t see an offensive coordinator beating out the QBs in a preseason game — but here we are. Also, both teams have now had ample time to bond and prep before Bethpage; there will be fingers pointed post-Ryder Cup but “carelessness” won’t be a valid accusation on either side.

Carelessness?   I've been laughing at least since 2014 that we need a Task Force™ to figure out how to get the twelve best players onto a Ryder Cup team, only to see said Task Force perform face plants.  Among their greatest hits are the use of guys like Phil and PReed in foursomes, not to mention Zach Johnson's focus on current form for his captain's picks, only to allow those hot players to cool off by not playing for over a month.

Whose Ryder Cup stock went up or down, both individually and as a team?

Melton: I’m not sure if you can put too much stock into one tournament, but if I had to pick I’d go with Team USA. Prior to Rome the Americans didn’t get many competitive reps, and it doomed them at Marco Simone. Their little “training camp” in Napa should serve them well in terms of keeping the competitive juices flowing.

Bastable: If there were any lingering questions about Ben Griffin, he answered them in Napa. On the flip side, Justin Thomas’s week might give Captain Bradley pause. JT made the cut by only one and closed with a rocky 75 that included two double bogeys. Not exactly the Ryder Cup springboard for which he would have been looking. On the Euro side, Matt Fitzpatrick, who finished T5 at Wentworth, is continuing to exhibit excellent form; I think he’ll be a problem for the Americans. And how ’bout P-Reed’s T3! He won’t be at Bethpage, but you can’t help but think Capt. America wasn’t playing with a little extra burn this week.

Dethier: Scottie Scheffler’s stock somehow keeps rising; this latest win felt like further proof that he makes golf simpler than the rest of the world. Other upward arrows? Ryder Cup rookies Ben Griffin, J.J. Spaun, and Cameron Young, who each finished in the top 10. On the flip side, Justin Thomas had an uncharacteristically poor week with his irons and his putter, which isn’t ideal (though also could easily not matter?) heading to the Ryder Cup. For the Euros I’m particularly excited by the idea of both Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Aberg heading to Bethpage in good form — they were a blast to watch last time around. Just not to play against…

I suspect it's more important that they played, rather than how they played.  Though it can't hurt for the young-uns to play well with our eyes on them.

Did the last week change your opinion on the Ryder Cup outcome two weeks from now?

Melton: Not even a little bit.

Bastable: Right. At this point, nothing short of Scottie Scheffler getting the shanks can change my opinion of how the week is going to unfold: tense slug fest until final singles match.

Dethier: Nah, whether it’s a sleepy week in wine country or one of the DP World Tour’s biggest events, it just doesn’t compare to what’ll await at Bethpage. The only thing that made me think twice: Ben Griffin’s missed putt on 18. Whether that was good experience putting under the gun or a sign of sketchiness to come? That remains to be seen.

Since I suspect that Griffin will have his mornings free, I won't overly obsess over that last bit.

Geoff has this upbeat take on the home team:

Only Xander Schauffele (new father), Bryson DeChambeau (not eligible to play), and vice captain Kevin Kisner (who knows/cares) were not in Napa for the Procore Championship won by Scottie Scheffler.

Last week’s unprecedented step of asking the Americans to schedule a pre-match start for the purpose of remaining sharp appears to have been a wild success. The entire USA team made the Procore cut while three Ryder rookies secured top 10 finishes (Ben Griffin, J.J. Spaun, Cameron Young.)

Stories have emerged from Silverado of lively practice rounds, continued praise for Keegan Bradley choosing to captain (when he could have easily picked himself), with claims of unprecedented unity thrown in. The captain was out watching golf instead of grinding on his own game. Unheard of stuff in the megalomaniacal world of American golf.

Even more remarkable: everyone believes the claims of unity this time around. Always helps to not have the likes of Mickelson and Reed around to mess things up.

Fair enough with that last bit, but that terrific penis filled Phil and PReeds big shoes last time, so until I see a hat on his head....

But if this doesn't make you laugh.....

Whatever heckling European players might face at the Ryder Cup in New York could be what they already have heard before, all because of virtual reality headsets that Rory McIlroy says can be adjusted to hear the harshest abuse.

Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald has said his European team will be prepared for the noise at Bethpage Black, the public course with the reputation for having among the rowdiest and at times obnoxious golf fans.

McIlroy told reporters after the BMW PGA Championship on Sunday that Donald handed players the VR equipment on Tuesday night after a team gathering. It allows players to visualize the course while adjusting the noise -- and insults -- from outside the ropes.

"It is just to simulate the sights and sounds and noise," McIlroy said. "That's the stuff that we are going to have to deal with. So it's better to try to desensitize yourself as much as possible before you get in there. You can get them to say whatever you want them to say.

"So you can go as close to the bone as you like."

And yet, Sergio still wanted another go with those fans.

Not a bad idea, though perhaps one I might not have shot my mouth off about, not that Rory and message control are acquainted.  Of course, with the ticket prices  set at "Gouge", we're not sure the ragers can even get in the door.

One last bit, and here I'm perhaps a little late to the party:

The 5 elements of a great match-play course

Assessing Cypress Point and Bethpage Black ahead of the Walker

and Ryder Cups

It's not like I had any worries about Cypress Point delivering the goods, but Bethpage?  And not the most promising start to the analysis:

LENGTH

Bethpage rates highly in this regard demanding length and precision with three par 4s measuring more than 500 yards (not counting the 484-yard 15th, the hardest hole in each of the three previous majors) and fairways that dogleg and pinch in landing zones. In fact, the Black combines the difficult driving aspects of the two previous European host clubs on which the U.S. team struggled: Le Golf National in France, where the narrow fairways demanded pure accuracy, and Marco Simone in Italy, which presented opportunities for power players to cut corners and aggressively shape big carries.

Length is the last thing I'd care about, but it does tee up some more gratuitous Task Force bashing.  Their big takeaway from Medinah is that home game Ryder Cups should be set up to be birdie-fests, which seems an awkward fit with the Black, no?

ADJUSTABILITY

The ability to keep players off balance hole to hole and day to day is essential to great match-play courses. Length adjustment through tee-marker placement introduces a range of landing zones, putting added emphasis on adaptation and decision-making. Part of the head-to-head calculus is selecting the correct club based on the standing of the match and what the opponent has just done—the wider the range of targets, the tougher the choices.

Adjustable setups also factor heavily in foursomes, where teammates alternate shots. Setups that irregularly alternate between very long and shorter holes require strategic forethought into pairings and the order of who hits the tee shots. If courses can mix these combinations up daily, the pairings become a puzzle.

Not sure we need the above, but you won't be surprised here: 

Because of the tee-box limitations at Bethpage, that course has less flexibility—its holes are designed to be long and difficult. The par 5s, Nos. 4 and 13, need to be as lengthy and challenging as they can be, but an intriguing option would be to move the markers as far forward as possible at holes like two and, especially, 18 to try to temp players into going for the green with carries of around 315 to 325 yards.

It only has the one setting....

GREAT GREENS

Putting is as important a component to winning holes as driving and iron play. It follows that great match-play courses should possess fascinating, challenging green contours. The only way to truly test the putting acumen of the best players is through a world-class set of rolling or sloping greens like at Augusta National or Oakmont, where two-putting can put as much strain on the psyche as hitting narrow fairways.

I've got bad news for you here, Tillie died before they shaped the greens....

Of all the courses in Golf Digest’s top 50, Bethpage (No. 38) likely has the least distinguished set of greens. Though tilted and not particularly large, they generally don’t possess significant internal contour (the 15th and 17th are exceptions) and offer as much pinnable area as any American major championship course. When players keep their approaches below the hole, they’ll face mostly straightforward, makeable putts.

That at least conforms to the wishes of the Ryder Cup Task Force....

AN INTIMIDATING START

Ryder Cup and Walker Cup players are already intensely nervous teeing off on the first hole of their matches, but the intimidation factor intensifies when the opening hole is a brute. Stadium seating surrounding the tee during the Ryder Cup dials up the pressure even more. Bethpage’s first hole certainly qualifies as intimidating as hitting the dogleg-right fairway from the elevated tee is a must—no one wants to begin a match playing out of the Black’s deep rough.

I don't think the opener is all that penal, though it might induce aggressive plays off the tee in fourballs.  

But this is a repudiation of our Task Force:

PENAL LATE

As fun as it is to see players and teams exchange birdies or even eagles, they should be asked to physically and emotionally handle the stress of power holes late in the round. The best match-play courses have plenty of tantalizing half-par holes that test calculated aggression, but they should also possess difficult, penal holes that occur in the heart of the second nine when the tension is highest and matches are often won or lost.

For the 2022 Presidents Cup at Quail Hollow, the PGA Tour adjusted the diabolical sequence of holes known as the Green Mile—holes 16, 17 and 18—so that they fell in the middle of the second nine to ensure the majority of groups would face them before matches were closed out. Bethpage needs no adjustment. Its 17th and 18th pose their own challenges, but they pale compared to the strain of the gauntlet of par 4s at 12, 15 and 16 sandwiched around the 13th, a tight 608-yard par 5. These holes have no problem extracting strokes and will provide a reckoning for many of the matches.

Just look at how Brooksie finished off that 2019 PGA, and you'll know we could see a Bataan death March as they come home.  But they've widened fairways and I'm sure they'll make it play  as easy as the Black can play for the big boys.

But, as good as it is, it just doesn't whisper "Match Play" in our ears.  It's just backbreaking hole after backbreaking hole, with none that make you ponder what the guys will do in  the different formats.  The course offers the hardest fairways to find in golf, so I expect the Ryder Cup to be about who can find the short grass.  And we know how that suited the U.S. in Paris and Rome....

Further Walker Cup Thoughts - Geoff just refuses to let go of his Cypress Point musings, and we thank him for that:

What The 50th Walker Cup Reinforced

Things we learned from the matches at Cypress Point.

Some is fairly obvious:

The yutes are smart. Gen Z’s finest took conservative approaches to several holes and often stuck with low-risk game plans. The format and team setting drove many of the decisions. It also never hurts to be able to hit an 8-iron from 178 instead of a 5-iron. But the 50th Walker Cup suggested that the next generation may be less inclined to bomb-and-gouge than the M’s. Maybe.

Golfers still can come in all shapes and sizes. If someone tries to tell you a golfer must be a certain height or build to reach an elite level, just point them to the 2025 Walker Cup team photos. The longest hitter at Cypress Point might have been the most height-challenged of the 20.

The key to that first bit is that the USGA put them on a golf course that gave them options.  That will be sorely missing in a couple of weeks.

Match play and big stages. It remains the edgiest and most compelling form of the sport. Attempts to create something “better,” more coveted-demo friendly, and or more “modern” never work. Match play creates intrigue without even trying, and in the silliest little ways. As with tennis, the tiniest mind games, petty grievances, passive-aggressive looks, annoying halves, and occasional refusal to concede a putt get magnified. Watching such competition from the fairways only heightens everyone’s appreciation for the quality of play and match dynamics.

But, isn't what Geoff is really extolling team match play.  We have to acknowledge that individual match play events are tough sledding....  Of course we should have one, but it's team match play that really rocks.

As for that big stage, Amen, Brother.  The USGA obviously has far greater options with the lower-profile Walker Cup, but the USGA has hit it out of the park with its venue choices.

This might draw some incoming:

Cypress Point has the best 18 holes ever intentionally created, and (right now) it’s not close.

Sorry, fine members of Pine Valley, but you’ve been too busy scratching backs to notice how things have been allowed to slide. Learn from CPC. Thanks to the gradual restoration efforts of the original 1928 design by Alister MacKenzie and Robert Hunter, there are no dull moments or nonsensical add-ons, missing bunkers, dated looks, or holes easily forgotten. The course is not excessively long or difficult and violates too many “rules” of design to list. Even with the ball flying absurd distances and very little wind, the Walker Cup’s firm, fast conditions and sound setup accentuated nearly all of the best features. Some of the extremes in green speed might have had the architects distancing themselves from the proceedings if not for the ball going too far and the course requiring some way of fighting back. The best amateurs in the world were asked to be precise with mostly approach wedge shots if they wanted a good birdie look instead of a stressful two-putt. The best fine line examples were found at subtle greens like the third, fifth, 13th, 14th, and 17th. Only one hole—No. 6—was negatively impacted by 21st Century fairway and green speeds.

It's the friggin' Sistine Chapel, so Duh!  But it's also sobering  to realize that Mackenzie was Marion Hollins' second choice....

You don’t need USGA greens and monochromatic turf to have dreamy conditions. Cypress Point does not have the modern substructure and therefore had retained nearly all of its original contours. Regaining shapes lost to time, mowing and flying sand would be much simpler as a result. The turf features too many varietals to mention, and while it benefits from generally light cart traffic, the many strains also show that mottled coloring and inconsistency can be elegant.

The ball goes too far and straight. Still. And will continue to past 2028. Worse, barring gale force winds, the thought of “flighting” a tee shot appears no longer necessary.

The Pacific Ocean certainly doesn't hurt....

But, while I'm going to read it along with you, I'm guessing that last 'graph will figure in this:

Preview: The 2068 Walker Cup

The matches turn up at Cypress Point and look different in a few ways since the 50th playing.

It's not bad enough that the USGA has announced a Walker Cup at Pine Valley outside my life expectancy, but Geoff needs to pile on with a return to CPC.

Captain Mason Howell greeted his 2068 Walker Cup squad at Cypress Point after each American player landed on the 16th fairway in red-white-and-blue adorned Robopods. But since each player—but 77-year-old mid-amateur Stewart Hagestad—is not yet of flying age, agents or managers for the 11 and 12-year-olds handled the flying to prevent a John Denver (too soon?).

Howell, the 61-year-old winner of three Masters tournaments who earned $1.2 billion on the PGA Tour, recently regained his amateur status after a longer-than-normal 3-week wait. He will lead his team against a Luke Poulter-helmed GB&I squad that arrived via the fully-electric, tiltrotor-equipped Concorde following stops in Florida and Arizona, where they picked up players stationed at Excel’s Aspiring Golfer Training Facilities. The Concorde carrying the 10-boy team landed at a nearby heliport before a short Robobus flight to the clubhouse.

In the pre-match press conference, Howell and Poulter reminisced about the 2025 matches won 17-9 by the USA.

“Remember how we used to look into a device for distances?” Howell laughed.

Players this week have been instructed to turn off brain chip inclinometers that send yardages to their Apple VisionPro contacts. Any player detected by the robot referees to be using slope-adjusted distances will face disqualification.

“That was top priority in the Captain’s Agreement,” said Poulter, who also revealed his 92-year-old father will be at the matches and serving as a spry, unofficial assistant. Ian Poulter is enjoying the benefits of successful Longevity Escape Velocity treatments that saw him recently win a Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia Tour stop at Crown Prince Wentworth.

Lots of playful shivs to be found within, but what is this 16th fairway he speaks of?

Longevity treatments were ruled conforming in 2059 under the USGA/R&A/PGA Tour of America/Augusta National Rules of Golf ©. The MRNA infusions allowed Hagestad to make his 12th Walker Cup team this week. He said he can once again remember details of his Cup-retaining putt in 2025. That’s no small feat for someone who has played 41 matches and is USA’s all-time points leader.

“Six years ago I could barely remember who I played, but it’s all come back like it was yesterday,” Hagestad said of the matches 43 years prior.

Poulter’s group of 11 and 12-year-olds will be looking to give GB&I a win for just the third time on U.S. soil. Even after several format tweaks designed to make the matches more competitive—while resisting calls to add other European nations— GB&I still has just two “away” wins.

“It’s tough these days to find ten quality players in their early teens since so many are turning professional before they leave the hospital,” Poulter said of the PGA Tour rule requiring an at-birth loyalty pledge or else face a suspension when the time comes to earn their keep.

Howell and Poulter also reminisced about the joys of playing in front of human beings who will not be present for Cypress Point’s third Walker Cup.

So, just like the Covid year?

You knew there would be distance jabs:

As for the golf course, the USGA lowered par on every hole since the last time matches were held at Cypress Point. Back then, par was 70 after the fifth and tenth holes were changed from par-5s to par-4s.

“We thought it was wild when they changed the par on those two holes, but now look,” said Poulter of the par-49 test that’s still played at 72 by Cypress Point members and guests using secret stashes of retro equipment. The odd state of affairs came about after successful lobbying by manufacturers led to President Donald Trump signing the “Distance Made (Mostly) In America” Executive Order on his way out of office. The order declared it illegal for any golfer to be in possession of pre-2028 golf equipment. While law enforcement has declined to enforce the order for decades and the Tiger Woods Persimmon Tour has continued on thanks to a special exemption, the Walker Cup will play the latest equipment to protect player contracts with manufacturers.

Maybe a bit too far out there to capture our fancy.....  But, yeah, the ball goes too damn far.  

I like the Tiger bit, though perhaps I shouldn't obsess over a Persimmon Tour that allows the players to use buggies?   

That will have to sate you for today.  We'll visit frequently between now and the 26th.  Have a great week.