Ryder Cup a Distraction Not An Excuse for 7 Years of Losing

Maybe I am just a kill joy or maybe there is something really sad about the Ryder Cup. The biennial humiliation of the Americans is beginning to lose its lustre (and not just because I backed the US). The same journalists who trot out an endless series of nauseating US made quotes, 'No I in Team', about team jump gleefully on the bandwagon of the US are not a team. They also talk as though there is something wrong with this in an individual sport - wouldn't we rather actually be the big dogs in golf?

I actually think neither side comes out well if you want to go down that route of psychology and probably the Europeans come out worst i.e. a truly successful golfer wins or at least contends in majors year after year well Monty has if you stretch it? Garcia if you stretch it further and Olazabal used to. Casey, Westwood, Rose all led majors and decided not to do it for years it seems. Donald holds out some hope and maybe Tiger can see how he felt trying to play with him in the last group at the PGA now. Darren Clarke has been the great white whale because like Casey he won a million dollar/pound match play tournament once but even he led the Masters and promptly choked never to return to the leaderboard at a major, for a long time at least.

One wonders given the US are competitive with a better team than Europe in the President's Cup if whilst they are too polite to say it but they find the Ryder Cup far too over blown and turn up because they are expected to. Maybe the types of course chosen are unlike the target golf they are used to - the K Club held out hope before it was deluged.

Equally all their captains seem blinded by their stars and despite his showing near complete contempt for the tournament 2 years ago Phil Mickelson got to play all 4 rounds for half a point. Whereas in the President's Cup there are more matches so less selection is involved as 6 pairs play days 1 and 2 and 5 pairs day 3 and 4 and all play singles. Lehman kept tying up Furyk with a misfiring Woods. As the furore when Rafa drops Gerrard, SAF does not drop Rooney and McLaren Rio and Lampard you wonder if Lehman realises it is better to lose doing nothing than try something like drop "Phil" or Tiggs or try to step up his combinations.

As for the Europeans if they are indeed the champions of team golf why is it they lack the stones to put that on the line individually in majors. Why are they so craven that their game falls apart at the top of a leaderboard - so much so it is years before they even dare get into contention again. It could be even worse maybe they are better golfers and the world rankings too skewed to North America and the Majors. Maybe they are even more craven than they appear. I do not have a positive view of their triumphalism every 2 years followed by 2 years of gutlessness excused by their media friends because they plainly beat opponents who cannot give them a game.

This is no longer an underdog triumph. There are no excuses for 'our boys' to hide behind but then again that has been true for 20 years now. It is now 7 years since a European won a major. No one else cares, not sure outside of GB, NI, Eire and Spain Europe even cares, it's time to win what counts in the real world of golf. In the real world of Golf in the 21st century Europe trails South Africa, Fiji and the US. Todd Hamilton and Ben Curtis lead Europe. So you did well in a Ryder Cup, big deal.

Only a Ranieri or a Benitez would seem to offer the USA hope in future - that and a massive singles comeback - a knowledge of golf and star names would probably count against them so not a problem they are football managers - just someone would have to stop Claudio trying to change the teams once the matches started....

Disagree, well whatever, opinions are like 'rseholes everyone SHOULD have one. They key point is that it is an illustration that in even a team event where people essentially play as individual team and motivation is all important. Applied to football it is a further illustration managers should avoid stars in their eyes.