Musings: U.S. needs strong Ryder Cup showing

The 37th Ryder Cup matches get underway this week at Louisville’s Valhalla Country Club, and as Americans who are used to dominance on the world stage, we have to ask ourselves: What happened? The European side has won five of the last six Ryder Cups, with only the 1999 Miracle at Brookline interrupting Europe’s ascendancy. The last two Cups have provided twin 18½ to 9½ embarrassments.

What’s the explanation? After all, since 1997, we’ve had Tiger Woods on our side. That should be akin to taking Michael Jordan in his prime to every Olympic basketball event. But it hasn’t worked out that way. Since Woods has been a part of the U.S. Ryder Cup team, the Americans have gone 1–4 in the event. And Woods won’t be at Valhalla this week.

But we shouldn’t have to rely on one guy, should we? After all, we’ve got the World’s No. 2 player, Phil Mickelson — Scottie Pippen to Woods’ Jordan. Mickelson has a more accomplished resume than anyone Europe can throw at us. Lefty has 34 career PGA Tour wins; the European team as a whole has 14.

You might argue that the members of the European team don’t play regularly in America. Okay, let’s look at the majors, where the Euros do manage to appear. The European side has a total of three majors, all of them belonging to Padraig Harrington. The U.S. side, even without Woods, has six — three for Mickelson and one apiece for Jim Furyk, Justin Leonard and Ben Curtis.

Let’s look at the world rankings. Both teams bring six players to Valhalla who are currently ranked in the top 20 in the world. Every player on both teams is safely within the top 60 in the world. The average world ranking on the European side is 22.2; on the American side, 24.8.

Bottom line: I simply don’t buy the thinking that the European team is vastly superior on paper to the American side, nor has it ever been.

But I can’t deny that Europe has owned this event of late. So what’s the reason? I think it boils down to something as elementary as desire. The Europeans simply have wanted it more. While Tiger and the other Americans (aside from Kenny Perry, of course) build their careers around major championships, the Europeans have treated the Cup as a major in and of itself.

Everyone knows that Jack Nicklaus won 18 majors, but no one can name his Ryder Cup record. I’ll bet, though, that there are plenty of European golf fans who know Colin Montgomerie’s career Ryder Cup ledger (20–9–7, in case you’re wondering).

Padraig Harrington has a sensible take on the phenomenon: “Obviously, in Europe, we feel a little bit like the country cousins. The Ryder Cup is a way for the European Tour to prove itself. I think that's why we've played well over the years. We've come out with that goal of getting out there and really trying to prove ourselves and play above ourselves and win. … I still think as a tour, we have a point to prove every time the Ryder Cup comes around, that the European Tour is a strong tour and can stand on its own footing against the U.S. tour.”

Perhaps it’s time for the Americans to adopt that attitude. Clearly, it’s the U.S. team with something to prove this time. I think they can do it.

Seve’s Legacy

In the process of capturing the imagination of golf fans worldwide, Seve Ballesteros forged a remarkable record. But for all his individual accomplishments, the real impact of his charisma can be felt most readily in the phenomenal growth of interest in the Ryder Cup.

In all, Ballesteros won five majors, adding two Masters titles to his three British Opens, while collecting 65 titles worldwide. His magical short game led him to six European Tour Vardon trophies for low scoring average.

But in assessing Ballesteros’ career, we can’t overlook his larger impact on golf. Seve was more than a great player. He was Europe’s version of Arnold Palmer, putting a sport on his back and selling it to an entire continent. Almost single handedly, Seve made the Ryder Cup an event, transforming a low-key, American-dominated series of exhibitions into one of the greatest spectacles in sports. Seve posted a Ryder Cup record of 20–12–5, leading Europe to his pairing with Jose Maria Olazabal, known as the “Spanish Armada,” was nearly unbeatable, posting a record of 11–2–2.

It was Seve’s emergence that helped to spearhead the most significant format change in Ryder Cup history: the 1979 expansion of the Great Britain team to include all of Europe. That year, the United States won a dramatic victory, but as captain Billy Casper said at the time, “The gap is closing quickly.”

Now there’s a gap in the other direction. Since 1985, the European side has won eight of 11 Ryder Cups.

As the 1990s wore on, Ballesteros lost the ability to overcome his wildness with his magic around the green. His deft putter left him. But his charisma didn’t. Seve’s finest hour may have come not with a golf club in hand, but a walkie-talkie. Because of his legacy and influence, the Ryder Cup was held for the first time on mainland Europe in 1997, at Spain’s Valderrama Golf Club. As non-playing captain, Seve was the fire that ignited the European team against a heavily favored American team. Ballesteros, one of the greatest match-play golfers in history, willed his team to an historic win without firing a shot.

Valhalla Country Club

The host team is in charge of course setup, which could favor the American side. The U.S. team has several bombers, so look for the fairways to widen as the distances from the tee approach 300 yards. But the team does include a few straighter, shorter hitters, which might negate the advantage. The course setup has presented a test for U.S. captain Paul Azinger: Do we approximate a U.S. Open, with penal rough, or a PGA Championship, friendlier to the bombers? “There's a little something inside me that says either one could work,” Azinger told Golf World. “It's really interesting when you look at the history of the U.S. Open and PGA Championship, and it seems like the more difficult it is, the better off — the more Americans show up. But at the same time, I think that when you’ve got a bunch of guys coming in and playing well, you want to give them a chance to play golf.”

The Signature Hole: No. 13 — 352 Yards, Par 4

Valhalla’s signature hole is also the course’s shortest par 4. It features a green that sits atop huge boulders and is virtually surrounded by water. Players will hit a long iron to the right center of this fairway, which lies some 70 feet below the tee, to set up a short iron or wedge second shot. The fairway is bordered by five menacing bunkers to the left, one large bunker to the right, and thick bluegrass rough. Players missing the fairway will find it tough to hold the island green. Spectators will be rewarded with a flurry of birdies — but also plenty of bogeys.

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