Home side had the better players but Pádraig Harrington didn’t help himself with his wildcards or partnershipsThe most fundamental and important, if boring, point. On paper, USA had the stronger Ryder Cup team by a considerable margin. If they played to their full potential, Europe would not have enough strength in depth to compete with them. And so it proved; there was not a single failure in the home team, justifying their heavy favouritism before a ball was struck. Sport would be a terribly dull place if expected outcomes based on talent level was the outcome all the time but in this case it was precisely what happened. Every USA player returned at least a point, three Europeans won none....
The Spanish wildcard, who for years feuded with the captain, broke Nick Faldo’s win record with a comeback for the agesRight about the time it was all as good as over, when the US fans at Whistling Straits were jeering the loudest, the wiseacres on social media were explaining where Europe had got it all wrong, just when your thumb was hovering over the TV remote, that was when it happened.Europe, already 6-2 down, were trailing in two of the Saturday morning foursome matches and all-square in the third. Their alpha pair, Sergio García and Jon Rahm, who had won the team’s only full point on the first day, had lost four of their first five holes on the second....
Freed from the psychic baggage of two decades of failure, the youngest team in Ryder Cup history are so far battering EuropeThe generational shift that defines Steve Stricker’s US team continued to pay off handsomely on Saturday morning as the Americans moved closer to winning back the Ryder Cup along the windy, western shores of Lake Michigan.The youngest team in Ryder Cup history – average age: 29 – continued its rampage on the Straits Course and their European foes, winning three of the morning’s foursomes matches to take a 9-3 stranglehold on the proceedings and move within 5½ points of reclaiming the title. The Americans, who became the first team in competition history to lead by six or more points...
The United States took the lead in front of eager home support but thankfully cries of ‘mashed potatoes’ stayed at homeNearly 50,000 mostly star-spangled spectators descended on Kohler on Friday morning, the quiet Wisconsin hamlet of 2,100 souls along the Sheboygan River that has become the focal point of the sporting world as the United States attempt to regain the Ryder Cup.The masses arrived as early as 3.30am, an hour and a half before the gates opened, nearly all of them angling for a coveted spot on the horseshoe-shaped grandstand encircling the first tee which filled to capacity in less than eight minutes. The cascading strains of Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline and staccato chants of “U-S-A! U-S-A!” that would resound...
American is trying to resolve his feud with teammate Brooks Koepka and is focused on regaining Ryder CupBryson DeChambeau arrived in Wisconsin with a lot to say. Rightly so, given he has avoided general media duties since the first week in August. DeChambeau’s comments then, about his refusal to receive a Covid vaccine, triggered the kind of controversy that has seemed never ending.After that particular rumpus he retreated. Now Ryder Cup commitments have dragged him back towards the podium. “This is a team event, I’m focused on helping Team USA to a victory and that’s honestly the reason why I’m here,” the Californian said when pressed on his recent silence. Continue reading...