Farmingdale, NY – The biggest attraction of the Ryder Cup is not the US, wild crowds, biennial rhythms of events, or the world-famous golf tracks that host it.
What makes it stand out from the major championships, PGA Tour schedules and the Olympics is because the individual sport that is golf (probably the most individual sport of all) undergoes a paradigm of shifting into team games under the Rider Cup banner.
Rules change for three days every two years. The game transcends itself and requires the collective skills and will of 12 men, not one, to enter the winner’s circle.
You’ve heard it all, but the cheers of European supporters roared across Long Island for a long time on Sunday night.
Europe beat US 15-13 as they collectively played hot golf as a team.
The US may have most of the best golfers on the planet, but once again, there were no best teams.
And for the ninth time of the turn of the century, with 12 renditions of this glorious golf celebration, Europe proved to be better again.
The only feather of the American hat was that this rider cup would not go out of control and become a legendary pimple.
There were at least some fights. For the Ryder Cup to be interesting, it took until Sunday, the fifth session and the last 12 matches – but before the Americans actually wanted to win the damn thing.
Prospered in 11 one-on-one matches, the United States unintentionally proved the point that its team was forced to re-learn every two years. The Ryder Cup is about groups, not individuals.
The Americans ultimately scored a singles record on Sunday, scoring 8.5 points and faced off head-to-head 6-1-5 on the final day of the competition. Match 12 was “enveloved” to reveal that Europe’s Victor Hofland was pulled out with a neck injury and Harris English was also sitting in the same way. Both sides admitted half points and pushed Europe from 12 to 5 before the first match of the day.
This is an aside. “The rules have to change,” he said Sunday night, US Captain Keegan Bradley, who is too pleased that his team has lost the opportunity to score all the points. “For anyone in the sports world in this room, it is clear that the rules need to be changed before the next Rider Cup.
What followed in the five-hour singles competition was an intriguing, thrilling, short-term…and hopeful thing. Xander Schauffle highlighted Jon Rahm and defeated him. Scotty Scheffler finally got off Schnidde with a slight topping of Laurie McIlroy. (Schaeffler entered Sunday as the first world No. 1 to start 0-4-0 with the Ryder Cup). Bryson DeDanbaugh tied the record, adding four sides to the match against Matt Fitzpatrick from the seven holes from round five.
With each match, the scoreboard flipped from grey to red. The 7-point margin before the opening tee suddenly fell to 3 as JJ span spiked through Cepstraca.
It was a comeback that fueled tens of thousands of US fans for a moment to flood the ground around the last four holes.
That hope vanished at 5:15pm on ET as Shane Laurie sank a 6-foot, 3-inch putt to lift Europe 14 points, earning the Ryder Cup hold and putting the visitors half a point away from the perfect victory.
In a moment before that, when the United States appeared to be passing the smallest needle in golf history, Russell Henry had a shot of his life: 128 yards from the fairway bunker on the left, and easily exploded in the air at least 100 feet from the pin, falling from less than 10 feet. However, Henry shortened his putt, which broke the door for Laurie.
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The Irish were shed tears. It took the team effort, but the big man finished his job. Rory didn’t even win the match. In fact, the only European to claim all points on Sunday was Rudig Åberg, who defeated Patrick Cantrey.
Sunday was a cor crown. Europe worked on Fridays and Saturdays. He won three of the first four sessions 3-1 (2.5-1.5 other), becoming the first visiting team to clean up foursome and fourball in modern Ryder Cup history. That was hardly a chance in the US
Putting in Europe was unrealistic. The Greens were so generous, and certainly Bethpage’s black roughness was far from its typical depth and hellish roughness. Those were the basic crimes of Bradley’s American captaincy.
Europe never made the US believe there was a chance to compete with their teams. Its psychological advantage is often seen in traditional team sports that prove a crucial Sunday when the US finally acquires its actions.
“This isn’t my fault,” Bradley said. “When you’re the leader of a team, coach, whatever you want to call it… when you lose, you’re responsible.”
There are important questions for the US to address. It’s how you choose a captain, how the captain handles Foursome and Fourball, and how you can make more informed decisions using the latest data.
If the Ryder Cup returns to real rivalry again, at the heart of this, we need to consider not only how the US builds its team, but also the psychological approach it takes in the weeks and months leading up to the Ryder Cup.
The next chance for Americans will be held in 2027 at Adale Manor, County Limerick, Ireland. The US has entered as an enemy more than Europe, and perhaps even weaker than Europe over the past three days.
That underdog status can only be fought through chemistry and true beliefs with each other.
Genuine teamwork is the essence of the Ryder Cup. That’s a requirement. The European side understands this on a basic level. That’s why blue and yellow people are regaining their trophies across the Atlantic. Meanwhile, the US is watching the other side celebrate and trying to remember what the feeling is.
