Graeme McDowell & Dan Hicks join 5 Clubs on Golf Channel

It was a Ryder Cup Recap show and host Gary Williams was joined by Graeme McDowell and Dan Hicks. Hicks got us started talking about the comeback and when it started to materialize but admitted that the night before preparation was done for topics to discuss on tv should the blowout continue and they needed to fill air time. McDowell, a Ryder Cup winner himself, discussed how Europe has been able to build on their success over the years and has been able to deliver with messaging, visuals, inspirations and more. He also talked about how tight it got Sunday but knew that Shane Lowry was built for the moment. Finally he talked about Rory McIlroy’s evolution on the Ryder Cup and how the team knew he was the future and nurtured him during his first appearance and how that has taken hold.

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[Music] and a very good Monday morning. Welcome into Five Clubs here on Golf Channel. Also on SiriusXM’s channel 92, that is PGA Tour Radio. Yesterday it was Rder Cup radio. The 45th RDER Cup is done. We’ve got plenty to get to on this Monday morning. I am coming to you from New York, not in the friendly confines of our studios of Five Clubs in Charlotte. But wherever we are, this program is always brought to you by Century Insurance right by you. They invest in golf in great ways. Their partnership with the USGA and the First T. And if you’ve got business insurance needs, they will meet them. If you’ve got grips, grip needs, Golf Pride is the answer. They are trusted by more players at every level than any other grip company in the world. And of course, Peter Malar, everything that I wear and everything you need. It is the fall season, so whatever your needs are, go to petermalar.com. They are the standard when it comes to apparel. Way beyond the golf course. Anything you need in your lifestyle, they’ve got you covered. All right, we’ve got an hour. That’s not enough time. It isn’t in the postcript of something of this magnitude because the build is so it’s so long to get to a RDER Cup two years. It it’s the perfect gap because it allows us uh enough time to kind of get our senses whatever the result is and the aftermath of it and then the captains are selected for the following RDER Cup. And for the fans of of the home team, you only get it once every four years. So it is perfect. So, we’ll do as much as we can in this hour, but it is going to be a discussion that will continue way beyond today. Uh, including having Brendan Young, Johnson Wagner with me tomorrow when I’m back in the studio in Charlotte. Dan Hicks will join me. He anchored the coverage all week on NBC. He is back uh in his home not far from Beth Page in the state of Connecticut. looking forward to getting his thoughts on, you know, what was a blowout and then became something that you’re going the unimaginable could happen. And I’m I’m curious for them internally what the NBC team was going to do if this thing was buttoned up at 3:45, which it very likely could have been, especially if you looked at the leaderboard in the first hour of coverage yesterday, just after noon, noon to 1:00, it was all blue, and you’re going, “This is going to be uh just an amount of time to to fill because the result is going to be decided.” You probably have three hours of golf still out there. that is utterly meaningless other than the cosmetics of somebody’s personal record. Also, Grant McDow will join me. He knows what it’s like to be on a winning team. Three and one as a player. He was also a vice captain on more than one occasion. He made the winning putt at Celtic Manor in 2010. He knows what it’s like to win on the road. He was part of that team, the miracle at Madina in 2012. So, I’m looking forward to getting his perspective. I know just following him on social media how locked in he was watching the RDER Cup from his home. So we had those two gentlemen who’s going to be joining me. But first my thoughts of which there are many and a lot of times uh when you are invested and you don’t get the result you want and it’s not about me getting the result that I wanted. Uh it it’s easy to start with criticism, but let’s just start just looking at at kind of how we got to where we got because uh people don’t necessarily need reminders on on how Europe built that lead. But if you look at how they did uh they dominated in a format they’ve been great at home, but they’ve not been great on the road. And that of course uh is forsomes. They got off to the great start on Friday morning winning three and one. Uh they they did it again on Saturday morning as well. And then obviously in four ball they won four of the five sessions. So that gave them that 11 and a half to four and a half lead going into Sunday’s singles. And you’re going could they possibly equal the margin that the United States put on them in 2021 at Wilson Straits. And I thought that was more likely than what we got. Certainly eight and a half three and a half for the United States on Sunday. This was not back end of the sheet after it had been decided in Europe with half the team already embibing alcoholic beverages. Uh guys were out there distracted and they lost points. That was not the case at all. This was in this this was in doubt legitimately obviously until Shane Lowry made the putt to have the match with Russell Henley. And starting with Europe and I and if you watch this show, if you’ve listened to me uh for years really, I I think the European Rder Cup team is is truly one of the great teams in global sports. And and it’s it’s a hard thing I I’m sure for some people to go, well, how can you make that claim? They they they do this once every two years. That actually amplifies the point that I’m trying to make it make, and that is they only do it once every two years. They don’t have OTAAS. They don’t have training camps. They they used to have something called the sevy trophy where a fair number of guys who either were likely to be on the team or wanted to be on the team would participate and allow them to kind of simulate the format and they would do that on the DP World Tour. It was an event and they still do it to a lesser degree but they don’t get together and they are not a team that plays a regular season. They don’t even have a postseason. They show up for a team competition which is akin to golf’s elite professional Super Bowl and they’ve now won 11 of 15. 11 of 15. Wrap your head around that. They’ve also done something that is beyond extraordinary since I think most people would agree since we’ve been living in a decade of blowouts with the home team winning by decided margins at home. They have now won Road Rider Cups in five straight decades. They won for the first time on American soil in 1987. They did it again in 1995 at Oakill. They did it again in 2004 in emphatic fashion at Oakland Hills. And then the miracle in Madina. They were getting blown out. And then they got the ray of light late on a Saturday with Luke Donald and Sergio Garcia beating Steve Stricker and Tiger Woods to make it 105. And then it was PZ PZ and Rory. And it was really PZ and Rory just shaking his head and smiling going, “I can’t believe what I’m watching.” and it was 106 and you’re going isn’t that nice you know that gives the the event just a modicum of momentum going to Sunday and and maybe the margin won’t be as grand as it will be and they created the lane for themselves on Sunday and now they’ve done it again in 2025 and it looked like it was going to be by a wide margin and then they had to hold on like grim death to win it and if they didn’t my gosh that the conversation would be decidedly different and I still think the conversation is going to be altered because the complexion of the result, the look of the result, and it’s it’s bonafide. It was 1513 and it and it also conjures up a a conversation because of something that had to be uh put in play because of the injury to Victor Hoblin, the envelope rule. There are plenty of people that have grown up, played golf, loved the RDER Cup, who have no idea what it is because it hasn’t had to be instituted or implemented or used since 1991. It’s a rule. It’s been in place, but the fact that it had to be used has a lot of people scratching in their heads. I’m not going to spend a lot of time on it. The rule is the rule. We have plenty of time to examine whether that rule should be should be altered or not. Luke Donald has now done something that only Tony Jacquellyn had done formally for the European side and that is win at home and then return as the captain and win on the road. And Tony Jaclyn was the first European Rder Cup captain to win on American soil. And he was the one who dug in and said, “You have to treat our players. Look at these guys. The guys on the American side, they’re better in depth. They dress better. They they have they have all the trappings of why it is that they’ve been dominated. If you’re going to add Europe, you know, let’s act like we belong. And they started to act like they belong in 1983 when they almost won at Palm Beach Gardens. And Luke Donald is the accidental captain because he was not offered the job initially. The job was given to Henrik Stenson for Rome and then live golf was created. And in the weirdest twist of fate, because life is not linear, live golf has oddly become one of the great weird things to benefit the system of Europe and the RDER Cup. I don’t know if Henrik Stenson would have been a good captain. I don’t know if he would have been a successful captain. The odds are that they likely would have won in Rome because the United States hadn’t won on foreign soil since 1993. But what he would have repeated, not likely. But Luke Donald was the captain in Rome. And he struck every chord that was right and proper and led them to such an emphatic victory that they said, “Why don’t you do it again?” And he said, “You know what? I’ll take it up.” And he did it again. And he did it on foreign soil and he did it at Beth Page. So, I have no earthly idea what would have happened with Henrik Sensson. I do know what happened with Luke Donald. And what I’m starting to believe is that Luke Donald might go for the three. That’s right, Pat Riley, you trademarked the term and he might be going for something that would be unimaginable, but it’s very plausible. And if you look at the team and the reason why the United States now has themselves a hell of a quandry, just four years removed from what transpired at Whistling Straits, because at that time, if you looked at the United States and the manner in which they blew out the European side and what proved to be the big pivot for Europe, it was also in a weird way kind of a pivot as well for the United States because all those players in 2021 for the US who appeared to kind of entrenched and we’re likely to represent the team going forward for the next two, three, four RDER Cups. And that’s a tricky thing because the presumption of form uh is is something that I would not weigh deeply into because you can just look from guys who were on the team in 2023 for the United States who are not there. Meanwhile, for Europe, they did something that had never been done before. They brought 11 of 12 to the following RDER Cup. No team on either side brought 11 guys. And if you look at this team and and the records that they produced, there were only two guys on this team at the end of the week who had losing records. Rasmus Hygard who went 0 and2 who played a modest amount. Rory continues to build on a wildly impressive Rder Cup record, not only individually, but he has now been on six winning RDER Cup teams in eight appearances, including now winning two road RDER Cups. He’s the one who laid the marker down in Rome and said, “We’re going to Beth Paige. We’re going to win.” Think about the totality of his year from completing the career grand slam, winning the players, winning at Pebble Beach, winning the Irish Open, and winning a Road Rider Cup. My gosh, the holidays at the Maroy household are going to be very satisfying. Tommy Fleetwood is becoming, not very quickly, but over the course of now his Rder Cup career, a bonafide European Rder Cup legend. Justin Rose thought there was no tread left on his tires four years ago and he goes to the RDER Cup and he becomes Ben Crrenshaw. He makes everything. Terrell Hatton, we said it in the runup, he is a colossal pain in every but everybody’s backside on the American side. And teaming with John Rom, they become a forsome’s firewall for Europe as has Rory and Fleetwood. And then you look at Shane Lowry, his half point and what he did in the closing stretch against Russell Henley is going to stand up for the test of time because if he doesn’t do what he did, that lane got so wide for the United States, it appeared that the unimaginable was likely. And Matt Fitzpatrick, who was the guy, if you go all the way back to Hazeline, he had one of those types of RDER Cups that reminded me a little bit of Bryson Dashambo’s debut in the RDER Cup. It was just weird and unfortunate and not good from the beginning. And so he brought in Adubia’s Rder Cup record and his ball striking uh was phenomenal. So they carried the 11 and a half to four and a half lead because team play. And one last thing about Forsomes and I I spoke to a lot of people uh on the property, tons of fans saying why did the United States start with forsomes? Because they’ve been very good in forsomes here. They’ve been awful over there. Similarly, Europe has been awful in portsomes over here over the last four RDER cups. The United States had outscored Europe 21 to1 in that format. Not this time around. And so over the last two RDER cups now in Forsomes, their record is downright atrocious. But they got to the session that historically has always been their strongest session. One because of depth. And two, because historically the Europe the the American players appear to be more comfortable just kind of going it alone which speaks to one of the quandries they have when it comes to this competition because four of the five sessions are team play in two different formats. But if we look at the sheet for Sunday and both sides did what was practically appropriate which was frontload for the American team. the only chance they had just to simply sustain and and kind of prolong the outcome was to put their best players out in front. And Justin Thomas really was not I I would say one of the best players. However, he proved to be um as good as you could possibly be going up against a guy who was virtually and truly unbeatable. That was Tommy Fleet who was 4-0. Cam Young was 3-1 as a rookie. He etches his name in terms of being another rookie. And here’s the other thing about rookies. I harped on this going into it. I have no misgivings about the United States having four rookies on the side for the last 25 years. Rookies are 73 59 and 31 for the United States. Another winning record overall for the four rookies. And that includes Russell Henley who did not have a winning point. He did get the one half. If you look at that and you’re going, “Wait a second, that that that’s unimaginable. That can’t be true. It is. The Europeans won one match on Sunday and they won the RDER Cup. You and I will sit here for as long as I’m allowed to keep doing this. And there’s never going to be another time that I am going to say that the winning Rder Cup team won one singles match and they won the RDER Cup. I promise you, I will never ever say that again. It can’t possibly happen again, but it happened yesterday because Cam Young and Justin Thomas and Bryson Dshambo who was five down through seven and flip the script. And one thing that is emphatically true with the exception of one guy is that five sessions is a very, very long road to hoe. It is a hell of a cart to carry to get all the way to the end and think you’re going to win your singles match. There were six players who played all five sessions for both sides. One guy won his singles match. One guy. It was the guy who was 0 and4 going into Sunday. Scotty Sheffler who beat Rory Maroy one up. Plenty more to get to. This is going to take a while. It’s going to take several days, maybe a couple of weeks because we bathe in this and there’s a lot of things that you can point to that you can be critical of on the American side. Understandably, we’re going to get to that as well, but Dan Hicks, who anchored the coverage for NBC, is going to join me. His perspective being in that booth starting Friday and it got out of hand early and it stayed that way until Saturday night. The perspective internally from the NBC broadcast team, the dynamics of doing this as opposed to a 72 whole stroke play event. and Grant McDow a little bit later on his view as somebody who won on the road, had a winning RDER Cup record, made a winning point, uh, made the winning putt in 2010. Looking forward to talking with him as well. Great to have you with us. It’s a Monday edition of Five Clubs, still here in New York. I’ll be back home tomorrow on Golf Channel and also channel 92 on SiriusXM’s PJ Tour Radio. Back with Dan Hicks right after this. [Music] back in on a Monday here on Five Clubs on Golf Channel. Also on PJ Tour Radio, that is channel 92 on SiriusXM. He anchored the coverage all week for NBC and he lives just across the border. He made it home uh and comfortably in that highback chair. This segment brought to you by Golf Pride. I’m speaking of course of Dan Hicks. Always kind to make some time. And Dan, uh, as somebody who, you know, does what you do, these are long days and and look, we work in the toy department. This is not breaking rocks. Uh, but I know you were exhausted last night, but the adrenaline of doing what you got to do, I bet you you still couldn’t fall asleep, could you? Yeah. Uh, Gary, thanks all. Thanks first of all for having me on. But, uh, yeah, I, uh, I got home, I got home last night at about 9:00, which is, uh, pretty good to be, uh, you know, doing what we do for work and not having to get on a plane. Just took the drive back and was exhausted. Uh, it’s a long week. It’s a great week, but there’s a lot going on. It’s this, it’s the biggest buildup to any golf tournament, right? I mean, it’s just three days. It’s not even as long as a 4 day 72 uh, stroke event. But, uh, I got in bed. I was absolutely so tired. fell right asleep and then I woke up and then I just kept thinking about everything that happened and I just kept going over the matches in my head and wondering to myself had if Shane Lowry had not made that putt against Russell Henley if he doesn’t make that putt this thing goes into another stratosphere of pressure on the Europeans of who knows what possibilities and I just kept kind of going over that thinking about the last match matches that were on the golf course after that and how close they were and how how how it all would have unfolded into one of the greatest comebacks in not just Ryder Cup history. Forget about that sports history. And then I kept thinking about Keegan Bradley’s 28-3 quarter reference to the Super Bowl back in 2017 when the Falcons had that lead over his Patriots. So all this stuff is just swirling in my mind. It ended up being a one of the most riveting RDER Cups that I’ve been a part of. It was my 16th and uh it was it was right up there uh as far as possibilities and the way it all unfolded. Yeah. You know, you got to the end. Let me take you back to Saturday night because as somebody who’s done zillions of of broadcasts um and and sometimes you you’re in a blowout situation and all of a sudden the fourth quarter of a football game becomes a talk show uh because a team is up by five touchdowns and what are you going to do? You’re not going to fake being animated about something that has already been decided. What was the internal conversation that you guys were having at 11 and a half, four and a half as you headed off the property? The internal conversation was what is Gary Williams doing? Because he can talk history in golf for uh for a while uh and and can kind of give us that kind of cushion of somebody that can fill for us. It’s the Phil thing, right, Gary? that you uh yes that you fear most in sports in a live sporting event. Um but yeah, I I I think that none of us were expecting that. And so I was I was I was actually writing down on a note card topics that I could hit with faxin and McGendley, mostly McGinley because we were corona, you know, it was a coronation already at seemingly at that point. So I was just writing down facts. Okay. the golf course setup which became an issue and that Keegan Bradley admitted he should have set up differently. Uh McInley was was telling us about that aspect of it well before we heard anything about it. Obviously it was a soft course and all of that, but McGinley was telling us, you know, you guys played right under right into our hands. He was talking about how they thought it was an advantage and a huge mistake by Team USA to set the golf course up like they did. So I had all these topics. Luke Donald, is he gonna go for number three? Is, you know, is that gonna happen? I mean, just a plethora of possibilities. So, you you get yourself prepared as much as you possibly can. And on the other other side of that, I was going to query facts on, you know, where does the American team go from here because it it did end up uh being another US loss. And this is not just uh you know, I called it I think I think what rang through my head when Shane Lowry made the putt was one of the biggest upsets on US oil. and I still believe that. But are these upsets anymore when you’re talking about a team that has won 11 of the last 15 Ryder Cups? Now, think about that. Um, this is uh this is this is pretty dominant as far as a Ryder Cup competition could be. So, I had all these topics going on in my head and in the end, the drama took care of a lot of that uh most of it. So, uh, I was I was very fortunate that, uh, and we were very fortunate at NBC that that we really had one of the great storylines coming down a stretch of a Ryder Cup that we’ve ever seen. Yeah. You know, last night, Dan, my analogy was, you know, there there’s that road that that they put under construction. You’re going, I can’t we can’t go on that road. And then all of a sudden, you’re going, “Wow, isn’t that interesting? There’s pavement down there and and the the lanes getting wider.” It was early blue. And then all of a sudden they turn onto the back and and Justin Thomas flipped his match despite the fact that Justin Rose played admirably, but Cam Young had a lead and the lane’s getting wider. So your Paul McInley had to be getting a little bit squeamish and and this thing is is really it’s on and like you said about Shane Lowry but but when did you sense that knowing that Ludvig Goldberg was likely to get the full point but after that the back end of the sheet was all red at that time when did you sense this lane is open after they won those you know I mean it was still early but after they won those uh those matches is at 18 with birdies. I mean, the US has been beat up. Uh, if you look at the if you look at the losses and things that haven’t gone their way, you got to take care of 17. You got to take care of business at 18 in Ryder Cups if you’re going to make a comeback like that. And you take a look at we were looking we had Gil the great Gil Caps who’s my researcher who sits next to me at all these big events. Uh, we were looking back at 2012 Madina remember the comeback by by Europe from 106 and they owned the 17th and 18th hole. So that’s when I began to think, okay, may they figured out here 17 and 18, the Cam Young birdie, and when Justin Thomas did his chest out birdie win at 18, I thought, this has the right momentum and right stuff. And then Bryson Dambo nearly pulled that out of the fire. So that that gave me further belief that when he when he pulled back in there against Fitzpatrick who was I think five up se with with the the first seven holes um that that’s when I started to believe it. It’s still, you know, a lot needed to go right for the US and and then and then when Shay Lowry gets up there, uh, and Henley’s in the bunker, right, and you’re thinking, “All right, it looks like it looks like Shane Lowry’s going to win this.” And eventually he did with his birdie. But when Henley hit that shot out of the bunker, that shot could have gone anywhere. That is one of the hardest shots. That bunker shot up up to the elevated green at 18. when that thing got on the back end there, I thought, “Okay, this is going to be the greatest comeback we’ve ever seen in sports.” Uh, and then Lowry hits that shot in there and uh and and holds it. And so, uh, it’s still, you know, I mean, I it was it’s, you know, it’s what you get into the business for, Gary. It’s uh just when you think just when you think you are going to be doing the filibuster of a blowout, uh, that is the magic of this business when it turns like that. and you can feel it and I sensed it. Uh, still wasn’t sure if it was going to go all the way to the end, but it sure was one hell of a ride. And um, like I said, 16 RDER Cups and this is uh, one of the most memorable ones uh, that I’ve ever been a part of. I I I thought of one thing when Russell Henley was over that putt. If he made it, he would have all of a sudden to you looked like Jason Leisak because it would have been it would have been fully on. I mean it it’s like analogy. I mean it just that’s the way it was. Look, I know how much uh gratitude you have to get to do what you do. the whole team. Like you said, it’s an awfully long week, but it’s such a rewarding week to to get to do it, to get to do it together. Thank you for getting up on a Monday. My pleasure, Gary. There is Dan Hicks, who anchored the coverage obviously on NBC. Uh Jason Leisac, for people are going, who’s that? He was the one in the anchor leg uh that that kept hope alive for for Michael Phelps and all the gold medals. uh which was one of the great comebacks him and Rowdy gains together. One of the great calls in the history of sports. All right, we’re going to take a quick break when we continue. Grant McDow, he knows what it’s like to win on the road. He knows what it’s like to make the winning putt. Uh like Shane Lowry, even though it wasn’t for the outright win, uh the retention of the cup equally as sweet. His view because I know he was locked in. It’s a Monday. It is Five Clubs Golf Channel and SiriusXM’s channel 92. Back with you and Graham McDow right after this. [Music] It is a Monday edition of Five Clubs. I’m still here in New York, not far from Beth Paige. Back in studio in Charlotte. Tomorrow, of course, uh you can watch as you are on Golf Channel. Listen as well, PJ Tour Radio, channel 92 on SiriusXM. This segment brought to Century Insurance right by you. if you’ve got business insurance needs, I promise you they will meet them. Joining me now, he knows what it’s like to win on the road. Uh, and it was in a comeback fashion. It was not in a holdon fashion as it was yesterday for Europe. What made a winning putt as well in 2010. Uh, he’s been in that system a long, long time. And I know he was locked in because he’s a fan of sports. I’m speaking of course of Grant McDow, my friend. Good morning. Good to see you. How you feeling? Doing great, Gary. Thanks for having me on. Yeah, it was uh it was quite the weekend of of golf and and like you say, I was locked in because yes, I am a sports fan and obviously I love the RDER Cup immensely and it was uh it was quite the spectacle. You know, I think this is more from American fans, but I know European fans are are curious as to why the team is so good at this as somebody who spent so many years inside the system. You made your debut in in 2008 as a player on the road. You played exceptionally well that week at Valhalla. When you got your baptism into the system and then you had more years and you saw players change, but certain things didn’t. What are the key elements to you as to why um they can transition from player to player, but there’s this sense of belief and success? Yeah. Yeah, I mean I was listening to um to Dan there in that previous uh segment and obviously, you know, he had to listen to Paul McInley talking through it all weekend and I thought it was quite, you know, funny having to listen to them going back and forth a little bit. But um you know, obviously Paul has been a big part of um you know, building this system and and and what is the system? I I suppose when you know when you’ve got the kind of record that Europe Europe have have started to lay down these last 11 RDER cups I you know it’s obviously you you can build something around success I mean obviously you know we famously the US team have gone back to the drawing board and a few times Europe have been lucky enough where the success has been consistent enough where they’ve been able to continue to build around kind of things like you know um you know what’s the message? there’s always like a message for the week and I, you know, to me my Ryder Cups that I’ve played in and vice captain in, you know, I always felt like the message was really strong. Um, playing for each other, playing for a bigger, you know, Ryder Cup European team. Um, just just everything that goes on behind the scenes, you know, at the team hotel in in the in the locker rooms, all the visuals, you know, savvy references. There’s just so many layers of inspiration, preparation, helping the players be the best they can be that week. Um, there’s just so much to it, you know, and I mean, obviously the the analytics and the recovery and, you know, there’s just, you know, obviously sport today at all levels. I mean, there’s just so much technology and so much research and study that goes into these things. But at the end of the day, right, I mean, I think you can layer as much around these teams uh as you can and sometimes they can just be outplayed. I was there uh as a vice captain at Whistling Straits in 21 and to me Podrick Harrington was the captain. Did a phenomenal job that week, built a great culture, had a great team room. I was in the in the team room for all the meetings. There was so much camaraderie among the players. um and they just simply got out played. And you know, I thought it was a really interesting nuance that this time round that the European team made a site visit last week. Um they they spent Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday at Vamp Page Black and then had the weekend off and a lot of the guys just hung out in Long Island, played golf. Um, the only thing I felt like we missed the Whistling Straits in 21 was more golf course prep because the practice rounds at Whistling, the wind direction was out of the wrong, it was in the wrong wind direction and then it flipped for the tournament and the guys hadn’t really seen the course in that wind direction. I felt like the US team had been they’ done a site visit a few weeks previous and they were ready for that win direction. And that was about the only thing that I walked away from whistling going. We got that wrong perhaps, but like you know the guys were on site last week, extra prep, spent the week there. Um I mean listen, the execution level was just unbelievable. The way they hold putts, I mean it was uh it was Friday and Saturday you just it was headscratching viewing. You’re like I just the level of play was just unbelievable. the um the circumstance that Shane Lowry found himself in, nobody can speak to it better than you and and because with you and Hunter Mayan in 2010 um you you can sense when all of a sudden everything seems to be falling on your shoulders. And I’m not saying that guys behind Shane could not have flipped matches, but um he was abundantly aware of the importance of trying to scratch out uh that half because there was red behind him. um the shots he hit Graham on 15, on 16, the part Putty made on 17, the second on 18, for the body and the mind to cooperate under those circumstances as somebody who’s been in that environment just like that. Um do you feel anything? Yeah, I mean, you know, there there was a touch of Celtic Manner in 2010, which I got to experience for for the guys in those back matches yesterday because there’s a certain disappointment when you have a type of lead like the guys had, and you see yourself at the bottom of the singles and you say, I’m probably going to miss all the fun tomorrow, but you know, obviously things quickly got out of hand yesterday. I mean, sort of that first hour it looked like there was blue on the board and then you hit two hours of golf where you’re just like as a sports fan, you’re watching it thinking to yourself, really, is this really happening right now? And, you know, I think Europe obviously had they had some street fighters at the bottom of of of the of the singles order. I, you know, I looked at, you know, Bobby McInire, Shane, and Terrell Hatton as the three guys that, you know, they really are street fighters. And, you know, I know Shane very well. I know what he’s capable of. I know how competitive he is um and how good he is, you know, and when I saw him shot hit that shot to 15 and I saw that look in his eye, recognize that that look uh from Wednesday practice runs over the years when you know he’s fighting to take a hundred off me uh you know, as much as he can, but um you know, he he you know, he he’s a guy that’s built for that type of situation. he’s a competitor and uh you know and I think you know obviously you’re incredibly nervous but you have to just lean on practice and preparation at that point there’s really the brain is moving so fast there’s really no room for swing thoughts there’s no room for any technicalities it’s really just pure instinct and pure ability and uh you know stiffs it on 15 stiffs it on 16 like you said great two putt on 17 and uh and then when Henley like Dan said there earlier when Henley hit that bunker shot on on 18, you’re like, “Oh my goodness.” And then Shane follows him in and makes that pot. And I mean, it was uh I was so happy for him. I was so happy for him. It was uh you know, incredible. I don’t know what it is about the Irish and the Ryder Cup. You know, we’ve had a lot of luck. We’ve hold a lot of key pots over the over the last few decades and and great to see Shane, you know, adding himself to that list of of great RER Cup history. But um you know I think the singles order you know I I felt Saturday afternoon was a really interesting strategy from Luke from the point of view of putting Rory straight back out there putting Ram straight back out there putting Fleetwood back out there kind of kind of keeping the pedal down and potentially gassing those guys for singles some as we know guys that played five times don’t have a great singles record. So then Rory loses, Ram loses, Fleetwood loses, you know, so you you take a risk, you potentially pay the price, but at the end of the day, it ended up being a calculation that was right on the mark. And, you know, Luke had great depth in the team and great kind of uh street fighters to put out there in in Shane and Terrell. And to me, Bobby Mack was another guy that, you know, if he needs to get it done, you know, he’s got a chance to get it done. So, it was really interesting to watch it all unfold. Um, I had the NFL kind of on another TV. I was thinking I was going to flip over to the NFL uh quite quickly yesterday afternoon, but the golf stayed on for much longer than expected. Yeah, your point about five sessions, six players played five sessions. One guy won his singles match with Scotty Sheffller. Uh, and and like you said about the the European side, Patrick Kentley lost his match to Ludvig Goberg. Uh Bryson scratched out the half. Back to Rory. Uh for people who don’t remember, you were his shepherd uh when he was baptized into this event in 2010. Uh again in 2012. When you look at him now and and everybody knows what he said before he had the first experience that he didn’t he didn’t get it. And then I was talking to K Montgomery the other night who was the captain of that team and and and you guys had Sevi on a conference call not where you could see him. Back then the technology was just a box and you heard his voice and he looked around the room and he saw men weeping and he said he didn’t have to hit a shot to know the depth that it got to people. Now here he is, Graham. He’s been on six winning teams twice now on the road was was the bullseye getting things said to him that were just beyond repugnant all week. What’s your view of where he is in terms of a Ryder Cup player? forget the other stuff because the other stuff he’s done everything. Just your view of him having been there at the beginning and now here he is. Yeah. Yeah. I remember 2010, you know, Rory had been quoted as saying that, you know, the Ryder Cup was nothing. It was just an exhibition match. Then all of a sudden, you know, he’s on his first European team and in 2010 and, you know, we could feel we could feel like he was the next superstar of European golf. and we felt like we had to protect them and there were a few things we did that week to protect them. I mean obviously the calli was was incredibly inspirational. Um I think we wore all we all wore uh Rory wigs one day on the first te in the practice round. You hear my dog barking out there. Sorry guys. That’s perfect. Yeah. roses on the first tea, you know, just really to try and take the spotlight away from any of the negativity that was surrounding him because we knew that he was the the the the leader to be of team Europe uh for the future and and obviously he has morphed into an incredible talisman for the European team. Uh what he obviously went through this week um you know with the crowds obviously had the target on his back. that he’s the best player in European golf. Um, you know, I thought the coverage, you know, I’m sure they were very smart with their with their boom mics and their audio because as a viewer, you couldn’t really hear or feel what was going on. You could see the players reacting to some of the things that were being said. Obviously, picked it up on social media that, you know, some of the things that that were being thrown in the direction of Rory, especially, um, which which is not what the RDER Cup’s supposed to be all about. You know, you’re supposed to cheer for your guys, you know, boo the other team if you want, but you know, choose your moments. You know, guys trying to get in over shots, tries guys trying to get into the routines and and shouting horrendous kind of things at that point. You know, this is sport. Let let let the best team win. Um, but no, I mean, Rory just continues to grow and be the complete player that we all thought he was going to be. you know, I was lucky enough to play alongside him in in, you know, his first couple of RDER Cups. It was pretty easy to play off his T-ball. Let’s just say that he was a great partner and you could just you could just tell you could tell how great this guy was going to be. But like, you know, you you said in the question, Gary, I mean, you see grown men cry when the RER Cup does amazing things to to to the best players in the world. You know, I see Scotty Sheffler with a tear in his eye yesterday. Bryson, you, you know, the emotions from both teams. Um, it’s a special tournament. I’m really, really happy in a funny way that it kind of got close to the wire yesterday because it really reminded people of what this event is to see an away team win. Uh, there’s just so many positives to take away from the weekend aside from the crowds and kind of potentially, you know, the the the the behavior level. Um, you know, as we move to Ireland in two years time, it’s uh it’s a special tournament. I love it. I I I miss being part of it and um you know, I I I loved every second of it this weekend. Last thing then along those lines, I asked Ian Poulter the same question last week. Are you optimistic that that there can be some type of resolution and a and a and a re-entry point? We know obviously with Ramen Hat and their lived guys, they’re they’re on the side, but all you guys who have been such a huge part of the success of the European Rider Cup team over the last couple of decades. Um, as far as being part of the Brain Trust going forward, are you optimistic starting in 27? I know how much you’d love to be at a Dare Manner. Yeah, I mean, listen, it goes without saying, you know, 2027 at Dare Manner, Ryder Cup in Ireland. Would I like to be part of that uh ecosystem? You know, absolutely. Um, no doubt about it. Um, am I optimistic? Uh, yes. I think I’m optimistic. I mean, you know, obviously it’s, uh, you know, way above my pay grade, uh, those conversations. But, um, you know, I’m optimistic that we can continue to, you know, put the world of golf back together again. I think that’s important for the fan. Um, you know, to see the best players in the world playing together as often as possible. um you know, RDER Cup Europe, you know, they certainly don’t seem like they’re missing myself and Pulzer and Westwood and Casey and and guys like that and Hendrickk Stenson. They they don’t appear to be missing us right now. So that that that certainly go goes goes against uh goes against reintegrating us back into the uh back into the RDER Cup teams. But um you know, listen, I think there’s so much there’s so much history and so much um you know, legendary kind of uh you know, shots that have been hit by those guys and and I and I feel like uh you know, just just for the healing of the game. It would be great to um to to to get everyone back, get the band back together and and make a make a run for three in a row at Ireland. It’s always great having a conversation. Good to see you, my friend. Thank you for doing this. You got it, Gary. Always great talking with you, Paul. Thank you. Grant McDow again, he had important moments. Uh, and he played on the road for the first time in 2008 at Balhalla. He played played exceptionally well and obviously makes the winning putt in 2010. We come back, some final thoughts. They’re not the final final thoughts. Just today on a Monday here Golf Channel, also PJ Tour Radio, channel 92 on SiriusXM. Back right after this. [Music] Final couple minutes on this Monday here of five clubs. This segment brought to you by Peter Malar. Petermalar.com uh is where you go for everything you could possibly need as the seasons change and you need to layer up. Uh they’ve got every answer for you. That is not just on the golf course. It is the number one lifestyle brand. That is why they have everything you could possibly need in your wardrobe. It is Peter Malar and petermalar.com. There’s so much more to get to and we will tomorrow. Johnson Wagner, Brennan Young are going to join me. I’ll be back in studio in Charlotte. There’s so many aspects to this particular RDER Cup uh that that you can chew on, think about and and starting with the captains themselves because as I started the program talking about Luke Donald being the accidental captain, he absolutely was because he was he was given the post after somebody else was was literally told to take a walk and that was Henrik Stenson. for King and Bradley. Uh there was not some public declaration that somebody else had been appointed the captain for the United States. But the appeal was made and it was a strong one to Tiger Woods to captain the team at Beth Page. But even before Tiger Woods, if you go back five years, if you go back to when they announced Beth Page as being the site for the 2025 RDER Cup, most people earmarked a couple of guys. And again, lots can change and a lot has changed in the last 10 years or even more since they made the choice to go to Beth Page. And there are people who are going to say it was it was a bad choice. I don’t know that it was a bad choice. I think there just a lot of bad actors uh that made their way onto that property and $750 is not a barrier to buffoonery as was evidenced these past couple of days. But Phil Mickelson was likely to be the captain for the United States. and Ian Poulter wanted the post and it seemed like that would have made a lot of sense and my gosh if it could have been any louder it likely would have been the Keegan Bradley and there are things we’ll talk about tomorrow and Wednesday and even beyond about things that he could have done and should have done. The bottom line is that whoever captains the United States in 2027 and I think that it’s likely that it’s Tiger but that doesn’t solve the problem. You know what the problem is? Europe. Europe’s the problem because I will say at the end what I said at the beginning in my life loving sports and seeing great teams they are among the great teams that I’ve ever seen and it’s only amplified by the fact that they don’t convene very often once every two years the faces may change but Graham McDall said the messaging the messaging is only as good as those who accept the messages and are touched by it. Europe is one hell of a team and the lion share of this crew gonna be at a dare manner in 2027. We’re back in studio tomorrow on a Tuesday. Have a great rest of your Monday. We’ll see you tomorrow.