With a seventh consecutive defeat on European soil, Team USA went on to disappoint fans and golf enthusiasts alike after the Europeans wiped the floor with a 16.5-11.5 victory over them to grab the coveted Ryder Cup in Rome last weekend.
The last time the Americans won the Ryder Cup in Europe was when Tom Watson led his team to victory in Belfast, way back in 1993. So, what went wrong for the Americans this year? Was it poor decision making on the part of captain Zach Johnson, or did the US team lack the competitive edge that it needed to come out victorious. We analyze the possibilities that could’ve contributed to their defeat.
The Captain’s Picks
When Johnson announced his Ryder Cup picks early in September, there was a long-drawn backlash, especially regarding the decision to take up Justin Thomas onto the team. Despite a disappointing display of form by Thomas this year missing cuts at three out of four majors, and making just two top 10 finishes since March, the two time major champion managed to secure 1.5 points in Rome, which was comparatively better than some of Johnson’s other picks: with Sam Burns, Jordan Spieth and Collin Morikawa all scoring 1 point, and Rickie Fowler scoring zilch citing health issues. Brooks Koepka, on the other hand, tied with Justin Thomas with his 1.5 points.
While Johnson’s picks for his team went on to perform poorly, golfers such as Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau, who had been on the winning teams in the previous Ryder Cups, were unceremoniously left out from Zach’s picks this year, leading many to believe that this was in fact a poor decision.
Poor Preparation
While each golfer on Team Europe was constantly on the green sharpening their skills up until early September owing to the BMW PGA Championship in Wentworth, 9 out of 12 American golfers seemed to be on a long drawn break since their last appearance at the Tour Championship in August. This led many to speculate that the Americans had a lack of competitive edge and preparation going into the Ryder Cup. But US Captain Zach Johnson confuted those claims claiming that his players were not undercooked, and they actually worked their tails off in the weeks leading up to the Ryder Cup. However 2014 Team Europe Captain Paul McGinley felt otherwise:
“In Paris in 2018, America were over-golfed and jaded. This time was the opposite, players hadn’t played in weeks. I only started to see fire from USA on Saturday afternoon but by then the horse had bolted. Europe were out of sight.”
Even Sir Nick Faldo backed this notion saying that such a lengthy break was not ideal going into the sport’s most competitive clash of the year.
The team was eventually left with Justin Thomas and Max Homa who competed at the Fortinet Championship a week before, and Brooks Koepka who played the LIV Golf event in Chicago, just 5 days prior to the Ryder Cup.
The Ryder Cup Pairings
With the European team completely thrashing the Americans in the foursomes with a 7-1 score, the US team only managed to grab a mere 5.5 points out of the total 16 points across foursomes and fourballs; a clear indication of poor pairings on the part of captain Zach Johnson.
Starting off the matches with Sam Burns and not using Koepka, Thomas and Spieth until the afternoon’s fourballs proved disastrous for the American team. Johnson’s consistent praise for his team seemed to be far-fetched when it came to their performance owing to the odd pairings that he devised for the play. He even admitted to his poor decision making after his team lost to the Europeans on Sunday:
“I maybe made some poor decisions… I’ll reflect at some point,”
Illness, Reports of Internal Conflicts and Overconfidence
What went on behind the scenes is a mystery. But constant reports of disagreements within the American camp especially with Patrick Cantlay’s alleged beef with some of his team members regarding Ryder Cup pay, and him not wearing his cap on the green, who can say what actually transpired in the team room. But a lack of team morale and spirit was evident in their play right from day 1, with a nightmarish start to the championship which was later atoned to poor health of some players.
While Johnson constantly denied claims of any internal conflict and responded to Cantlay going hatless due to his inability to find a cap that fit him, the rapport among the European team, on the other hand, was palpable given their phenomenal success and exceptional gameplay in the foursomes.
Some believe that overconfidence could also have contributed to the US team’s loss. Sir Nick Faldo opined,
“Whether America thought they could waltz over here because they are bigger and stronger, I don’t know, but they got a nasty shock. Europe were physically, technically and mentally prepared. They were ready.”
In the end, it seemed like if not one, but a combination of these factors might’ve led to the crushing defeat that USA witnessed in the Ryder Cup this year, and while American fans latch on to the hope of winning on European soil in the future, the curse of losing on European soil remains intact.
