Matt Adams continues to unpack what took place at the Ryder Cup. We grade every player on both teams and brake down what went right and what went wrong with 9x PGA Tour winner Jay Haas and European Golf Writer Michael McEwan.
Matt Adams continues to unpack what took place at the Ryder Cup. We grade every player on both teams and brake down what went right and what went wrong with 9x PGA Tour winner Jay Haas and European Golf Writer Michael McEwan.
14 Comments
I'll sort the US teams problem in one sentence. Their is no 'i' in team. You just don't get the difference in our mentality.
I don't blame the US players but they have grown up in a country where it is taught that it is the greatest place in the universe and therefore they are inately superior, by the way I lived and worked in the US for 20 years so I experienced this patronising behaviour 1st hand.
I don't want to offend anybody but at Brookline the late (god rest his soul) Payne Stewart said that the European Players were only fit to caddy for him and his teamates. That kind of arrogance is also a fuel, as well as being the perennial underdog.
Total World Rankings this time around US 153, Europe 360. It's always been the same and yet historically we have always punched above our weight.
Explain to me this if you will. Some say the greatest golfer of all time ( my vote would be for Jack Nicklaus) Tiger Woods, 8 Ryder Cups only won once playing record 13 wins 21 losses and 3 halved, surprisingly poor don't you you think?
The best part of all of this is I doubt you will ever accept your upbringing is your problem and Europe will continue over time to win alot more than it should.
US players have every opportunity to play on the DP event that is played at the Ryder Cup venue. US players took 5 weeks off. None of them would prepare that way for a major. The “reps are reps” comment from Zack Johnson was comical. Go watch the mood during the post tourney presser , lots of laughing and joking from the US team,they really don’t seem to care all that much about the Ryder cup,maybe they need a paycheque to care more?
It's less about "camaraderie" and more about a readiness among the European players to put their individual egos (and earning potential!) aside to contribute to a genuinely shared goal and be 100% committed to the team.
Stefan’s Grade: Z-. Unpardonable for talking to press during the match, causing the social media explosion. Persona non grata at any future event. Grade for oversized ego: A+
Sorry but what happened at whistling straights
Golf, being mainly an individual sport, is highly different in team competition. It's a Ryder Cup captain's duty to be a manager, counselor, motivator, and general flak catcher to forge this collection of individuals into a team. The team needs purpose, cohesion, and must imbue the idea into all that the team is the first consideration above any individual. They don't all have to like each other but there must be a common purpose instilled in each member above all.
This rather well describes the European team, they had a common outlook and a common purpose; any individual disagreements were sidelined to work for the common goal. Luke Donald must be commended as he forged a TEAM where there was no nonsense happening and each individual subsumed his ego for the team.
Zach Johnson, on the other hand, seemed rather sanguine about everything, like this was a frat boy trip, not instilling a common purpose to each member of the team and not caring a lot, sort of "it will work out somehow" as the official attitude. Then the publicity about Schauffle and Cantlay being PO'd about not getting paid for their play, Cantlay not wearing his USA cap in protest, and Brooks Koepka being given the silent treatment by the rest of his teammates. IMO, Zach should have channeled his inner Vince Lombardi, kicked a$$ and laid down the law for all to make this a team. If Cantlay and Schauffle had their noses out of joint, say adios to them and grab 2 more players who would be happy to play. Maybe, he should have had Brooks beat the living daylights out of someone from the snooty anti-LIV contingent and threaten a few others to make them fall in line. But, for Zach to ignore the issues which were clearly visible to even the most casual observer is shameful on his part and he should take the lion's share of blame for the US team's poor performance. Does anyone else thing that the US team looked like they were sleepwalking on Friday morning? Like, maybe, they had a keg party the night before and were still a bit hung over? And, the rally Friday afternoon to garner a whole 1 1/2 points? 🤣🤣🤣
IMO, the USA team was circling the drain already Friday afternoon and a 5 point deficit made the outcome inevitable. The crowning touch was Rickie Fowler running up a white flag, declining to putt his 10 footer and conceding Fleetwood's 3 footer on Sunday to hand the Cup to Europe on a silver platter. I'm angry about this abject surrender but maybe it's understandable. After this disastrous week, all any American wanted to do was get out of Dodge, er…Rome, in this case. Zach should be lucky that there probably won't be anyone waiting for his flight to arrive who might have a long rope and the knowledge of where a tall tree might be located.
I agree with Matt’s grading and reasoning exactly.
I think Justin Thomas was a good pick he is a fighter.
THANKS MATT you have the best golf show on YouTube.
Camaraderie is over played imo. Hooking the ball off the tee into heavy rough or fluffing a chip is nothing to do with the ‘laugh’ or lack of it you had with the guys the night before. The US team look to get along just fine.
Think course set up took the full wedge into for second shots out of play to some extent thus negating an American strength plus the rough was ridiculously punishing.
A lot of people forgetting that for a short spell on Sunday, US team looked like they could have pinched it. Small margins.
What happened to Jay haas microphone, the audio was really bad.
Michael McEwan, bravery and courage are the same thing.
Who really cares ??
macilroy grade a+ bollocks he was carrid in the dubbles by fits and tommy and beat a nobody in the singles a C is genorous