Team events in golf are a rare bird, and the Ryder Cup soars miles above all the wannabes and knockoffs in terms of fervor and flavour.
Players are immersed in the pride of country and continent, wrapped in the corresponding colours, and so are the fans. The Atlantic Ocean is the line of demarcation and allegiances are as obvious as the cities listed on spectator birth certificates.
Which brings us to Steve Elling and John McAuley, writers at The National who hail from the United States and Northern Ireland, respectively, and have covered the game on both sides of the Pond. Here are their admittedly stilted, irreverent and jingoistic reasons why the other guy’s side has no chance to win as play begins on Friday at Gleneagles in Scotland.
Poulter will regress
Of all the suppositions that support the American cause, this is all but etched in cement: Flamboyant Ian Poulter cannot possibly keep up his Ryder Cup pace. The Englishman has an incomprehensible record of 12-3-0, the best winning percentage in European history for a player with multiple appearances. Yet Poulter has had a forgettable season, has not won in nearly two years and last contended at the DP World Championship in Dubai in November. Remember, Sergio Garcia was 14-4-2 at one point, and is twice the player that Poulter is, but skidded to a 2-4-2 mark at the last two Ryders. Pugnacious Poulter’s reign of terror ends, here and now.
Grand slam experience
The Ryder Cup features suffocating pressure like no other event, and some of the game's greats have coughed up fur balls under duress. Really, the only individual equivalent is playing at the majors. Six of the 12 American players have won at least one grand slam event, compared to four on the Euro side. True, the 2004 European team had zero major winners and drilled the Yanks by a record score. Fluke city. Plus, those matches were played in Detroit, where plenty of lemons have been produced lately.
You had one job
Literacy does not mean much at the Ryder Cup, but we can bet that American rookies Jordan Spieth and Jimmy Walker were annoyed and inspired when they walked onto the practice tee this week to learn that their names had been misspelled by their Scottish hosts on the personalised placards placed in their hitting areas. The Yanks escaped similar embarrassment when Rickie Fowler shaved “USA” into his haircut this week. After all, had it been Bubba Watson, he would have misspelled it – then blamed the barber.
Favourites come up short
Troves of data will be heaped upon television viewers this week. Some qualifies as historic, some as hysteric, since team rosters change every year and player form can be transformed overnight. Yes, the Yanks have not won in Europe since 1993. However, only four of the past 11 pre-event favourites have won overall. Forget the rest of the minutiae – that is the most encouraging stat of the week for the road-weary Yanks. Face it, with one win over the past 15 years, the Yanks are overdue.
History can repeat itself
Paul McGinley, a longtime Ryder assistant with the weakest professional resume of any captain in event history, recruited former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson to speak to his players on Tuesday. "I was in a trance and didn't take my eyes off him," Rory McIlroy said. This should make his eyes bulge, too: Anybody recall what happened last season when United put a vastly less-heralded man in charge of the side? Exactly.
Prediction United States 14.5, Europe 13.5
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