Ryder Cup Opportunity Squandered

U.S. Team Captain Davis Love III: Mis-Judged Talent, Flawed Tactics

By George Burnette, FBG Co-Editor in Chief Davis Love’s 12-man Ryder Cup squad included eight Ryder Cup veterans and four rookies. Going into the Cup, the eight veterans’ Ryder Cup won-loss-halves record was 41-59-17. These are hardly the kinds of numbers that can or should exude confidence. Surprisingly, there were veterans among the veterans and relative neophytes among the veterans. In other words, of the eight veterans, three had competed in a minimum of 27 matches but the other five had competed in no more than 7 matches. So at the end of the day, among the 12, there were essentially 4 Ryder Cup virgins (the rookies), 5 who have had a sniff but only 3 who have actually been through the fire. These are hardly the kinds of numbers that can or should exude confidence. Prior to the start of the competition, discussions surrounding Tiger Woods’ 13-14-2 Ryder Cup record all suggested the same thing…the Ryder Cup is one setting in which Tiger has not dominated or particularly shone. But amongst the 3 U.S. Team vets he had by far the best record. Phil Mickelson’s record was a dismal 11-17-6 and Jim Furyk’s was even worse at 8-15-4. These numbers render any critical discussion about Love’s pairings, benchings and whatever other strategic machinations, moot because in the cauldron that is Ryder Cup, only stone-cold killers emerge victorious and there was only one such player on the U.S. squad. As our lone stone-cold killer goes…so goes the U.S. squad. I’m obviously referring to Tiger who is mired in a well documented slump (albeit a slump that 99% of pro golfers would trade their careers for). As golf has become increasingly popular the Ryder Cup has followed suit. And not unlike soccer’s World Cup, it was once an event that mattered much more to those outside the United States. As soccer has taken a foothold in the U.S. the World Cup has become increasingly more important to Yankees. The Ryder Cup has followed a similar path. It used to matter much more to those in Europe. But with golf’s new global appeal the U.S. golf community has awakened and taken notice. So, now that he Ryder Cup has our attention, what will it take for the U.S. to match the Euros’ intensity and fervor for the bi-annual tilt? The European team approaches the event with the tenacity and fanaticism of….well…..a World Cup contending Soccer team. Our players, however, see it as part of the Silly Season that they would likely pass on if not for fear of being deemed unpatriotic. Heck, our Olympic basketball players used to do it all the time until we started getting our butts kicked by countries that seemingly just adopted the game. We went into the 4th quarter with a 10-6 lead and the choke-fest began. All of a sudden, every one of our singles players felt the pressure of a having 2-stroke lead while making the turn at Augusta on Sunday. The European players felt pressure too but when you’re David it feels normal to play like your life is at stake. When your Goliath you play like the sun is gonna come up tomorrow and you will be there to soak up the rays. That’s the difference and that’s what we have to address. For FBG George Burnette/Co-Editor in Chief