2018 Ryder Cup Europe Defeats United States 17 1/2 To 10 1/2: Let The Excessive Celebrations And Second Guessing Begin

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Here we go! By week’s end Thomas Bjorn will be named to head the fix Brexit movement and Jim Furyk will have been detained by U.S. customs for having not made putts on an American team that succumbed to an energized European squad.

Beth Ann Nichols’ game story for Golfweek.

Either way, the 42nd Ryder Cup featured everything we could hope for—well maybe a little more controversy—but plenty of great golf, at a 4K friendly venue in the glorious country of France and happy Europeans for the next two years. Until you mention Brexit.

We have full coverage over at Golfweek. I filed this assessment of the venue, which I’m conflicted about given that the architecture is wretched in spots and the setup artificially infused. Still, it did what the Europeans promised it would do as far as raising the bar for Ryder Cup venues.

I also offered this take on the state of the USA Task Force, which isn’t looking so hot these days given this week’s performance by leaders of the Task Force.

Eamon Lynch also opines on the state of the USA buddy effort and like me, wonders if Jim Furyk was hampered by the buddy system that put him in the job.

Speaking of all this, we may have just seen Phil Mickelson’s Ryder Cup career wrap up in less than pretty fashion, writes Gerry Ahern.

Tiger had an 0-4 week and was barely awake in the post round presser. Dan Kilbridge wraps up his week. Let’s hope the man gets a nice vacation!

His post-round press conference answers:

It was not a good week for the USA Captain’s week according to Justin Ray.

Ian Poulter delivered…make room for another Ferrari!

The Singles Are Underway! Will This Be An Epic Comeback Or An Epic Rout?

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Or somewhere right in between? That seemed to be the prevailing view for our Golfweek Sunday singles predictions.

As I wrote for Golfweek, these 10-6 days are pretty ho-hum at this point. This is our fifth since 1999 and the setup would seem to set up nicely for America early, with some questions late.

Tiger, for his part, sounds very tired after the playoff run and quick turnaround to this event. His post-match interview with Todd Lewis:

The Europeans are feeling pretty frisky! They’ve got Molliwood graphics already.

This impromptu celebration broke out at a fan center Saturday night:


Poll: United States Trails 10-6, What Chance Do You Give Them To Come Back?

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We’ve seen four 10-6 scores since 1999, to have seen a team overcome the deficit (USA in 1999, Europe in 2012).

The 2018 USA Ryder Cup team trails Europe 10-6 heading into Sunday’s singles at Le Golf National. What do you think?

What chance do you give the 2018 U.S. Ryder Cup team to stage a comeback from 10-6?
 
pollcode.com free polls


Historic: The Numbers Say Europe Registered The Most Lopsided Session Win In The 18-Hole Era

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Session one of the 2018 Ryder Cup proved sensational even after all the hype, and Europe’s 5-3 lead came on the heels of an afternoon 4-0 foursomes session that will go down in history for its efficiency.

As Golfweek’s Rich Skyzinski figured out, it was the most lopsided session in the 18 hole era. Check out the numbers. It wasn’t even close!

Tactically, Thomas Bjorn was seen as having pulled all the right levers (Tait/Golfweek) while I defend Jim Furyk in this Golfweek column for getting everyone in the first day action. But going forward, he needs to tighten up the lineup, even if it means upsetting some big names. Phil Mickelson, that’s you, writes Beth Ann Nichols.

The Americans have played better in foursomes over the last five Ryder Cups, only trailing Europe by a point until Friday’s sweep. As Justin Ray noted, the alternate shot dominance on home soil has been stout.

We Have Session One Matches For The Ryder Cup And...Some Surprises

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The speculation is over! No more guessing who likes who most. We have Day One’s Four-ball matches set at the 2018 Ryder Cup!

The crew at Golfweek made their picks and I’m the only one who likes Europe’s chances, though in my Golfweek grades I was a tad harsh on Thomas Bjorn’s McIlroy/Olesen decision, not overly thrilled about the Koepka/Finau leadoff choice, but otherwise impressed at the curveballs the captains and their shuttle drivers threw our way.

Jeff Sherman’s evaluation, Las Vegas style:

My Golfweek assessment on video:

Americans: Figuring Out How To Follow The 2018 Ryder Cup On TV And Radio

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With the six-hour time difference for the East and nine-hours out west, too much of this spectacular Ryder Cup will be played in the wee hours.

Golf Channel handles Friday’s opening ceremony at 11 am ET, 8 am PT.

Television for the matches? That’s easy. Bill Speros at Golfweek with all of the Golf Channel (Friday) and NBC (Saturday/Sunday) air times, including match times.

For those unable to watch, PGA Tour Radio on Sirius/XM will have live coverage of the Ryder Cup radio broadcast. You can also listen to that broadcast here online.

For those of us onsite, radios are being sold to hear that broadcast. Miracles do still happen (take note other major events!).

(Almost) All Smiles At The Ryder Cup Gala Dinner!

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Looks like a mostly happy and dapper group of Americans at the Ryder Cup gala dinner last night.

The Palace of Versailles hosted the proceedings. Paulina is present too!

As Jason Crook notes, Dustin Johnson was relegated to Paulina photographer duties.

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Gala dinner at Versailles 🤵 #RyderCup #TeamEurope

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"How a TV argument led to David Duval’s new leadership role with Team USA"

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Good read here from Golf World’s Dave Shedloski on how David Duval is trading in his pancake for a cart this week at the Ryder Cup. Good news, his IFB will come in handy for the Vice Captain channel this week in France.

Duval’s late addition to the vast coaching squad stems from his on-air debate with Brandel Chamblee during the 2016 Ryder Cup. Chamblee questioned the effectiveness and play of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, and Captain Davis Love’s players took heart back at the team hotel.

“He comes in, tie untied, hanging around his neck, carrying his briefcase from the set,” Love said. “He launched into this very passionate speech, how playing in the Ryder Cup was one of the biggest accomplishments of his career. But it was more [about the fact that] the David Duval that they just saw defending them on TV had walked into the room and was still fired up. We asked him to come back and hang out with us every night.”

Also worth a chuckle is Shedloski’s review of Duval’s place in Ryder Cup history as one of the players wanting to see some form of compensation for players. He calls it an initiative now.

“I don’t know the exact numbers, but it’s probably over $20 million now going to designated charities. It’s made a difference,” Duval said by telephone from his home in Denver. “I’m happy to have been a part of that initiative. I don’t know if this is me coming full circle, if you will, but I can see how you might think that. There’s no doubt that there’s a different environment now, that players have a much greater role in the direction of the U.S. team.”

ShackHouse 78: Tiger Mania And The 2018 Ryder Cup Preview

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Bonjour from France as ShackHouse reviews Tiger’s 80th win, the world reaction to his comeback and then dives deep…deep into the 2018 Ryder Cup with some reflections on the venue, where the teams stand and a look at some fo the fun prop bets offered up.

As always, you can listen wherever podcasts are streamed or via your ShackHouse free subscription.

Or below:

Le Golf National Has No Shortage Of Water And Rough!

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The course setup for Le Golf National is distinctly retro.

As in, the loathsome injury-thick rough of the 70s, 80s and 90s that no one misses. Yes, the landing areas are generous enough at their widest spots—35 yards—but many of the holes feature water down one side, hack-out rough on the other side. The Forecaddie with details and photos.

Philosophically, I’m not sure how intentional the effect is to offset the Americans’ distance advantage off the tee, but like most, have my doubts. The strategy could backfire for Europe with players like Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy, who thrive off hitting driver.

As a spectacle, the rough off the fairways is trimmed enough that we should see some strategic dilemmas, but any more than 10 yards off the fairway will force automatic layups and take away some of risk-reward intrigue posed by Le Golf National’s plethora of water hazards.

Analytics! What Is Team USA Doing To End The 25 Year Drought?

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Golfweek asked me to look into what Team USA has planned to overcome a 25-year Ryder Cup winless drought in Europe.

Sending the strongest team top-to-bottom in a few decades is a good start. Yet as noted, home course advantage and local knowledge deficiencies have hurt the Americans, with another European Tour venue hosting this year.

So get ready stat geeks, the USA has even more analytics than last time! From Captain Furyk:

“We had an issue with winning there for a little while,” Furyk said. “We have got 2016 under our belt, but what we haven’t been able to do in ‘99, and then again in ‘08, was turn around and go in on European soil. I know Jason from Scouts has got a couple of ideas about that we’ve talked about. He’s sent me a couple e-mails regarding that and what he’s seen.”

That would be Jason Aquino, president of Scouts Consulting Group, who helped Davis Love prepare for the 2016 matches at Hazeltine and who Furyk said has helped the 2018 preparations go to “the next level.”

I can’t wait!

Bjorn: "I think sometimes it is forgotten how great Europe is"

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The 2018 Ryder Cup is hardly a matchup of drama-prone captains, a compliment to Thomas Bjorn and Jim Furyk’s general steadiness.

Though if one lead cart driver is capable of saying something incendiary, it will be Bjorn. If you want to know more about Europe’s leader this week and his career, check out Andrew Cotter’s European Tour podcast with Bjorn.

More recently, The Guardian’s Ewan Murray sat down with Bjorn to discuss all things Ryder Cup and Bjorn did his best to try and rally his continent.

“I think sometimes what is forgotten, in the political discussion, is how great this continent is,” Bjørn says. “From all the way down in Greece, to Iceland, there are so many great countries and so much natural common ground. It is such a small continent compared to the others but together we have so much history and so many great things going for us. I think that is forgotten a little bit in the political picture.

“It means a lot more to us as golfers because we grow up with the European Tour. The backbone of that tour is still our European events. It is part of the life we live. It has a meaning.”

He also goes on to discuss several things of note, including his falling out with former Captain Ian Woosnam.

But his decision to lean toward veterans with his picks will get the most scrutiny and he’s already pushing back:

“I think you’d have found if it was old pals there would be one or two others playing,” Bjørn says. “Some of the guys left out are very close to me and I was never scared of making tough decisions. Now, if people think I made these decisions on the back of them being pals then they don’t know me very well and that’s OK. That mostly comes from people who have no idea who I am, what I think and what I believe in.”

Bryson DeChambeau Buys A New Rubber In Advance Of Paris Ryder Cup

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Hey, I just copy and paste, remember that.

Alex Myers on Bryson DeChambeau revealing his big pre-Ryder Cup purchase for…team room table tennis.

"What I'm looking forward to most is the team atmosphere. I remember that at the Walker Cup, and that was like nothing else, and I know it'll live up to the same standard. Maybe even better, too. So a lot of ping-pong going on over there, I know that for me. I just actually bought a ping-pong paddle last night, another new one. I needed a new rubber, so..."

The only question: has he tested his new rubber on his launch monitors? With mist simulation?

For those not on The Twitter, DeChambeau was seen hitting shots with two launch monitors and some misting.

PGA Tour’s Sean Martin caught up with DeChambeau and Jonathan Wall talks to his team to understand what the FedExCup leader was doing.

Furyk On Ryder Cup, State Of The USGA

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Michael Bamberger covers a lot in this Golf.com interview of 2018 Ryder Cup Captain Jim Furyk, from the infamous 2014 press conference to this year’s team

But this diplomatic answer on the USGA is worth noting.

What’s your take on what’s going on with the USGA?

Well, they’ve made it so easy to pick on them. The greens at Chambers Bay [in 2015]. How they handled Dustin Johnson’s situation at Oakmont [in 2016]. Then, with that gal [Anna Nordqvist] that same summer, in the Women’s Open. That was a travesty. Some of the pin placements at Shinnecock, on Saturday, on 13, 15 and 18. Plus, they changed the course so much from the last time we were there. The anchored putting ban. Now the green maps. But it was the USGA that let putting get there, let the maps get there. Then they want to turn it back. So it’s tough. But what I think people don’t realize is that they’re trying. They’re trying to do what’s right for the game. I know [USGA CEO] Mike Davis. I like Mike. But I don’t have a good relationship or a bad relationship with the USGA. I just don’t have much of a relationship. I’m not trying to be critical of the USGA. They have the best interests of the game at heart. They really do.

European...Bonding! Bjorn Vows Revenge Over Team's Cryotherapy Prank

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You have to give credit to whoever cooked up the idea to put four European Ryder Cup team stars in a car and call Thomas Bjorn with a ridiculous request. (Kind of) Carpool Karaoke for golf!

First, the video if you didn’t see Rory’s post and award-winning performance requesting $20k cryotherapy units to help with team recovery and (Captain’s) weight loss.

According to this Sky Sports report, Captain Bjorn has now vowed revenge though it’s hard to picture an equally devious and as visible a response.