Ryder Cup

[SpankyMcFarland]

That's the thing with the team event.... it depends on the entirety of the team, not just Tiger and Phil.

I don't see that the motivation is on the Euro side... have there been some comments from the U.S. side that would make you think that?

I like the tournament. It's quite interesting. A friend and I like the format and use it when we play. That way you don't even look or care about your score until after the match. What matters is how many holes you won and whether he's buying the beer!

In 2004, Mickelson showed up with a new driver, a Callaway, he had just switched to and sprayed the ball all over the place. He was playing with Tiger and they did not look like a team at all. Harrington and Montgomerie beat them that day. Rory McIlroy made a few jokes about the incident last year.

http://www.sportinglife.com/golf/news/article/585/9486274/new-driver-is-improvement-mcilroy

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/17/sports/golf/a-puzzling-change-for-mickelson.html?_r=0

The passion of the Euro players just looks a lot higher. Apart from a few guys like Bubba Watson, the Yanks have often looked like they are just phoning it in. To me anyway. I am very biased in these matters.

Edited September 16, 2015 by SpankyMcFarland

[Wilber]

I don't know about motivation but I think the Americans would be getting really tired of being beat so their motivation should be high. The difference between match and stroke play is huge.

[SpankyMcFarland]

You'd think the European team would have a much harder time working together but that has not been the case.

[SpankyMcFarland]

golf is not a team game. You play the course. Nothing that your buddy does makes any difference to what you do, which is try to get the wee ball in the hole. Your buddy or captain has no influnce on that.

In what SPECIFIC way?

Ever notice how doubles tennis players talk to each other so often after points? This is more about morale than strategy. If you are playing with somebody who is genuinely supporting you in every shot, it makes a big difference. Ballesteros and Olazabal were exemplary in that regard. I imagine playing with Mickelson must be a pain. You could imagine him criticizing your play afterwards.

In alternate stroke, there may be particular strengths or weaknesses you'll want to factor in e.g. if your partner has a poor bunker record, you'll play safe on the greens.

Edited April 6, 2016 by SpankyMcFarland

[Wilber]

If you look at the 2014 results, the Americans led the four ball sessions (best ball) and the Europeans dominated the foursomes (alternate shot). The Europeans had a slight one point advantage in singles so if you take out the foursomes, the Americans would have won by a half point. This tells me that teamwork is an important part of Ryder Cup. The captain has a big impact when it comes to his picks who will complete the team and how he puts his pairings together. I think that in recent years the European captains have been more thorough and savvy in this regard.