Patrick Cantlay planned his wedding around the Ryder Cup. When in Rome. Of his 12 USA teammates only one attended Monday’s ceremony.
It may be that the American team is as close as the Europeans, as they always claim. But that’s a hard sell when only Xander Schauffele held an invite.
The question of team unity, or rather the lack of it, is only one element in a long list of problems that beset the vanquished in Rome.
The LIV golf problem
Only one LIV player, five-time major winner Brooks Koepka, featured among Zach Johnson’s six captain’s picks. Johnson did not attend one LIV event, which was entirely political since he was representing the PGA of America, part of the establishment ranged against the Saudi-backed initiative.
Moreover, since the LIV exiles are not part of the golf ranking system, they had a reduced opportunity to make the team via the qualification system. Koepka was simply impossible to ignore after winning the PGA Championship in May.
Others like Dustin Johnson, who won all five matches at Whistling Straits two years ago, 2021 US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau, who has won twice in three outings on the LIV tour and shot a 59 at the Greenbrier before the picks were made, and Patrick Reed were never considered.
Instead Johnson chose Rickie Fowler, who was so poor he played only two losing matches, Jordan Spieth, who returned just half a point from four matches, Sam Burns, who lost twice in three matches and Collin Morikawa who lost three out of four. None justified their place on form alone. In total Johnson’s six picks won four matches, tied four and lost 12. Of the six points returned by the picks, Koepka won 1.5, or 25 per cent, in just three outings.
Preparation
Nine of the American team had not played since the end of the FedEx Cup five weeks prior. Koepka played the previous weekend in Chicago, whilst Justin Thomas and Max Homa both played in California two weeks earlier. Homa was the best performer for the US with three and half points and Thomas won twice in four matches.
Spieth felt inactivity was a key factor. “If you asked us when we would like to play the Ryder Cup relative to our schedule, I think we would probably say, give us a week after the Tour Championship or two weeks after and then go, instead of five. I’d like to feel pretty sharp going in. I did not have the opportunity to even play any events.
“If you look at how [Europe’s players] played at the BMW [at Wentworth], which is one of the bigger events of the year, and you had 10 of the 12 finish in the top 15 or something, they were in great form. They just were playing really good golf and then they carried it right into here. They stepped on us early, and then the crowd was able to get behind them. Their rookies were able to see that. It made it an easier transition for the rookies. All of a sudden, we were in a hole and had to try to fight back today.”
Planning
European captain Luke Donald did his homework. He had plans in place for every player, driven in part by data supplied by vice-captain Edoardo Molinari. He spoke with his vice-captains regularly to assess and refresh. This allowed him to formulate his pairings well in advance. The team room, motivational videos, specific drills in practice, all played a part in sharpening performance.
The European team looked ready from the outset, went to the first tee focused and driven by a sense of purpose lacking in the US team. The American players were ambushed on that first morning, losing all four matches and trailed by five points at the end of the day. It was not until the second afternoon that they won a session, but by then it was too late.
Captaincy
Zach Johnson was outthought and outmaneouvred at every turn by his counterpart Donald. His failure to consider LIV players left him underpowered. He overstated the importance of personal relationships, believing, for example, that the friendship between Burns and Scottie Scheffler would aid the team. It didn’t.
The idea that Fowler could play with anyone was based on his universal popularity but that ignored his poor form. Fowler proved neither use nor ornament.
He overplayed Spieth and underplayed Koepka, which made no sense. Koepka is a big match performer. Spieth has won once since his last major in 2017. Yes Koepka was part of that record foursomes defeat with Scheffler but that was an anomaly. He tied his first match alongside Scheffler and marmalised Europe’s stellar rookie Ludvig Aberg in the singles.
Team spirit
The Americans have tried to copy the European model by adopting the vice-captain to captain model and connecting better the players to the process. But there is no sense of legacy or being part of something greater than them.
The issue of pay, or not being paid, has been a tension in the American team for years. It resurfaced around the Patrick Cantlay hat issue. He denied his going capless had anything to do with it, but there is still resentment around an event that generates millions for the PGA of America, yet those at the centre of the product get nothing.
For the Europeans, the Ryder Cup is the favourite tournament they play. For the Americans it is just another event.
