The 2018 Ryder Cup at Le Golf National (MERGED)

[Golfer4Life]

My vote is that Woods should never be the captain of this team. Just not an inspiring team guy

 

Or Phil! Yawn!

[Saskwatch]

Congrats to team Europe. They absolutely dominated. Unfortunately a handful of star players for the US didn’t have a great week at all. That’s golf.

 

*waits patiently for the first “Can a 4 handicap beat team USA at the Ryder Cup” thread*

 

 

 

[Darth Putter]

Phil should be forced to take that case to Ian and hand that trophy over himself.

[bscinstnct]

Would like to see the Euros all go out together for a massive french dinner.

 

And post pics of the food!

 

(But no aspic dishes)

 

 

Mmmm, love those in butter n garlic.

 

Tasty morsels.

[redfirebird08]

Bad week for the American team, but there were a few silver linings:

• Looks like Justin Thomas is a very talented American in his prime who actually cares about this event, unlike a couple of other very talented Americans in their prime 15+ years ago.
  
• Looks like the Thomas/Spieth pairing could be a very good one for a long, long time.
  
• Tony Finau really stepped it up. He is one of the guys that drives it "crooked" and yet he played very well this week compared to so many others on the team.
  
• Webb Simpson redeemed himself this week. Guess we will see if he can make the team in the future but I don't think anyone will view him as a big weak spot next time if he does make it.
  

[One Putter]

Cant Jimmy Roberts just go away.......

Literally the worst voice in broadcasting. Ever.

[Darth Putter]

Of course Phil will now fly to Silverado and post a top 5 finish in next week's Safeway Open.

[PumaAttack]

Yes!!!

 

Love it. Every pundit said it would be 17-11 USA. Haha.

 

 

[Darth Putter]

Bad week for the American team, but there were a few silver linings:

• Looks like Justin Thomas is a very talented American in his prime who actually cares about this event, unlike a couple of other very talented Americans in their prime 15+ years ago.
  
• Looks like the Thomas/Spieth pairing could be a very good one for a long, long time.
  
• Tony Finau really stepped it up. He is one of the guys that drives it "crooked" and yet he played very well this week compared to so many others on the team.
  
• Webb Simpson redeemed himself this week. Guess we will see if he can make the team in the future but I don't think anyone will view him as a big weak spot next time if he does make it.
  

 

I think the poster PGARox kept going on this year about just wanting young guys on the team. He may be right.

 

Make Jordan the Captain, have him pick 10 friends and Patrick Reed and there is the US team.

[hybrid25]

To all of you who said the United States had a chance yesterday, couldn't have been more wrong. When you have the likes of Phil Mickelson in the Ryder Cup, especially after he's been playing so poorly, you know you don't have a chance.

[mukster]

Isn't there great excitement and expectations for two 0-4 Ryder Cup players in a $9M match coming up?

[redfirebird08]

Bad week for the American team, but there were a few silver linings:

• Looks like Justin Thomas is a very talented American in his prime who actually cares about this event, unlike a couple of other very talented Americans in their prime 15+ years ago.
  
• Looks like the Thomas/Spieth pairing could be a very good one for a long, long time.
  
• Tony Finau really stepped it up. He is one of the guys that drives it "crooked" and yet he played very well this week compared to so many others on the team.
  
• Webb Simpson redeemed himself this week. Guess we will see if he can make the team in the future but I don't think anyone will view him as a big weak spot next time if he does make it.
  

 

I think the poster PGARox kept going on this year about just wanting young guys on the team. He may be right.

 

Make Jordan the Captain, have him pick 10 friends and Patrick Reed and there is the US team.

 

Only problem is I think Jordan's insistence on splitting from Reed helped cause the problems on this team. It caused the breakup of Thomas/Fowler and the breakup of Johnson/Koepka. Reed losing Spieth seemed to kill his mojo and he played like absolute crap in those two matches with Tiger. Then he goes out there today on his own and plays like a boss. Go figure.

[Fischputza]

One of the most annoying things I hear every two years is American team spirit/chemistry doesn't match that of the Euros. I think that's b.s. Since the Belfry in '85, the Euros have just played better, plain and simple.

 

Yeah, about that European chemistry

 

 

Winning solves everything.

 

Faldo is a ******..great player, but a ******

[CC17]

My vote is that Woods should never be the captain of this team. Just not an inspiring team guy

 

He was/is an only child after all.

[Bunkersarebigcups]

Just Cudos to Bjorn for picking Sergio. And well done Sergio, what a way to end a crappy year!

 

And what a performance Molinari put out this week. 5 rounds and never in danger. Crazy good golf!

[Fischputza]

Tiger and Phil could start for Germany in the Eurovison Song Contest....zero Points :taunt:

[youdamantiger]

Can we stop awarding the captainship to the loser generation of Ryder Cuppers? That would include Furyk, Phil, and Tiger. If it means giving it to Azinger every year then so be it. When you get sick of Azinger there's always Freddie.

 

Can someone explain why Azinger was not the captain a second time, after his success? Maybe he didn't want it, but I doubt it

 

Oh for pod's sake. Let's not mythologize Azinger and the "pod system." If Azinger were the captain this year and put the players in pods, flocks, herds, ganders, whatever the hell he wanted we still would've lost. Maybe not by as much because I don't think he would have sent Phil out in alternate shot, but we still would've taken the 'L.' Azinger probably was given the opportunity to captain again but didn't want it. As it stands he has the inflated reputation among US golf fans of being the greatest captain in Ryder Cup history. He probably didn't want to potentially tarnish his legacy. How is Azinger being the captain going to magically make Patrick Reed keep his ball dry? Coaches matter very much in sports like basketball and football, where every play is strategically mapped out and every player knows exactly where he's supposed to go and what he's supposed to do. But even during team competitions like this one golf is an individual sport. The only strategizing going on is between player and caddie and, occasionally, player and teammate. US Ryder Cup captains get way too much of the credit when we win and way too much of the blame when we lose.

[ib0o0]

Got a thought here.. the USA team likes playing golf with each other...the boy band gang and all. But the euro players LOVE beating Americans. They absolutely thrive on that thrill alone.

 

As much as some may not want to admit it, that is the biggest difference in this event. Everything else adds a little or subtracts a little. I wouldn't be surprised if the EU players collectively over the years feels like the US players don't necessarily respect their game (whether true or not) with the exception of a couple of guys and they take great pleasure in this event.

 

The fact that only JT showed up during the French Open tells how little Americans respect Europeans or the Ryder cup on EU soil.

[CC17]

Can we stop awarding the captainship to the loser generation of Ryder Cuppers? That would include Furyk, Phil, and Tiger. If it means giving it to Azinger every year then so be it. When you get sick of Azinger there's always Freddie.

 

Can someone explain why Azinger was not the captain a second time, after his success? Maybe he didn't want it, but I doubt it

 

How is Azinger being the captain going to magically make Patrick Reed keep his ball dry?

 

At lease he would've sat Reed and Phil more.

[redfirebird08]

Can we stop awarding the captainship to the loser generation of Ryder Cuppers? That would include Furyk, Phil, and Tiger. If it means giving it to Azinger every year then so be it. When you get sick of Azinger there's always Freddie.

 

Can someone explain why Azinger was not the captain a second time, after his success? Maybe he didn't want it, but I doubt it

 

Oh for pod's sake. Let's not mythologize Azinger and the "pod system." If Azinger were the captain this year and put the players in pods, flocks, herds, ganders, whatever the hell he wanted we still would've lost. Maybe not by as much because I don't think he would have sent Phil out in alternate shot, but we still would've taken the 'L.' Azinger probably was given the opportunity to captain again but didn't want it. As it stands he has the inflated reputation among US golf fans of being the greatest captain in Ryder Cup history. He probably didn't want to potentially tarnish his legacy. How is Azinger being the captain going to magically make Patrick Reed keep his ball dry? Coaches matter very much in sports like basketball and football, where every play is strategically mapped out and every player knows exactly where he's supposed to go and what he's supposed to do. But even during team competitions like this one golf is an individual sport. The only strategizing going on is between player and caddie and, occasionally, player and teammate. US Ryder Cup captains get way too much of the credit when we win and way too much of the blame when we lose.

 

In the case of the current team, driving accuracy was extremely important. Furyk is #10 on Tour in this category. He should have picked himself instead of Phil. And he could have picked someone like Horschel, Stanley, Zach Johnson, or Keegan Bradley instead of Tiger. Hindsight is 20/20 of course, lol

[MarkFromTheUK]

Poor old Phil. Was he supposed to turn down the captains pick? He may have had a shocker, but there were still 15 1/2 points lost elsewhere.

[Darth Putter]

New US Ryder Cup records

 

Jim Furyk still 10-20-4, but his wily plan to put Tiger and Phil on the team so he'd no longer have the most losses worked

 

Tiger Woods 13-21-3 tied for the most losses ever with Neil Coles and Christy O'Connor Sr UNTIL...

 

Phil Mickelson 18-22-7 at least he's #4 in US wins, but Phil finally is #1 at something

 

 

Dustin Johnson has the next most US matches plunging to a 7-9 record. He has never been in a draw in 16 matches.

 

Rickie Fowler is now 3-7-5 with a losing record in all three formats

 

Jordan Spieth actually moves up to 7-5-2, but is 0-3 in singles

 

Bubba Watson falls to 4-10 and is 0-4 in singles

 

Patrick Reed had a bad week, but is still 7-3-2 overall and 3-0 in singles

 

Webb Simpson now 4-4-1

 

Brooks Koepka 4-3-1

 

Justin Thomas debuts with a great 4-1 record. He's won more Ryder Cup points in his career than Johnny Miller

 

Tony Finau was a good Captain's pick coming in at 2-1

 

Bryson DeChambeau goes 0-3, I suspect he's going to be on a lot of these teams so he's going to need to improve.

[JonnyKrasnodar]

Poor old Phil. Was he supposed to turn down the captains pick? He may have had a shocker, but there were still 15 1/2 points lost elsewhere.

 

That's the thing though he was never going to turn it down, even if it meant an in form player potentially coming in and doing a job. At least our guys have the decency and strength to say "No I'm not playing well" as Westwood did when interviewed at Made in Denmark a few weeks ago.

 

Phil looked as if he didn't even care. Which is fine. Nobody likes getting pumped every other year but at least have the balls to say as much.

[youdamantiger]

Bad week for the American team, but there were a few silver linings:

• Looks like Justin Thomas is a very talented American in his prime who actually cares about this event, unlike a couple of other very talented Americans in their prime 15+ years ago.
  
• Looks like the Thomas/Spieth pairing could be a very good one for a long, long time.
  
• Tony Finau really stepped it up. He is one of the guys that drives it "crooked" and yet he played very well this week compared to so many others on the team.
  
• Webb Simpson redeemed himself this week. Guess we will see if he can make the team in the future but I don't think anyone will view him as a big weak spot next time if he does make it.
  

 

I think the poster PGARox kept going on this year about just wanting young guys on the team. He may be right.

 

Make Jordan the Captain, have him pick 10 friends and Patrick Reed and there is the US team.

 

Only problem is I think Jordan's insistence on splitting from Reed helped cause the problems on this team. It caused the breakup of Thomas/Fowler and the breakup of Johnson/Koepka. Reed losing Spieth seemed to kill his mojo and he played like absolute crap in those two matches with Tiger. Then he goes out there today on his own and plays like a boss. Go figure.

 

I keep reading this but Furyk didn't have to put Fowler with DJ, thereby breaking up DJ and Koepka. A better fit would have been Fowler with Finau. Yeah he broke up two good teams but it doesn't necessarily follow that that should cause the breakup of a third. He should have left DJ/Koepka alone and shopped Fowler around to one of the rookies. Eh, it's all just Monday morning quarterbacking though. I think we were destined to get trashed no matter who was matched with whom.

[Bloom]

French Open on this course every year... when was it announced as Ryder Cup venue? How many of the Americans Team bothered to go and play it over the last couple of years?

 

Some American stars lost to players the average US golf fan couldn’t pick out of a police line up!

 

There you go.... some issues are self inflicted

I loved the course for a Ryder Cup. All the water meant that you were never out of it as you knew the guy you were chasing had a chance of giving a hole away buy dunking one. Would love to see more played here.

 

Not sure why everyone is so upset over the choice of course and course set up? Everyone knew the venue in advance, everyone knew how the course was playing and everyone played the same course. I don't really see a huge advantage for the Euro's...it's not like these guys play here every weekend. I think many are forgetting that in this day and age, a lot of the players on the Euro team live in the US and had to deal with the same schedule and jet lag that the US members did.

 

(Also like how JT was the only American to go over to play the French Open and he ended up having the best Ryder Cup for US)

[redfirebird08]

Bad week for the American team, but there were a few silver linings:

• Looks like Justin Thomas is a very talented American in his prime who actually cares about this event, unlike a couple of other very talented Americans in their prime 15+ years ago.
  
• Looks like the Thomas/Spieth pairing could be a very good one for a long, long time.
  
• Tony Finau really stepped it up. He is one of the guys that drives it "crooked" and yet he played very well this week compared to so many others on the team.
  
• Webb Simpson redeemed himself this week. Guess we will see if he can make the team in the future but I don't think anyone will view him as a big weak spot next time if he does make it.
  

 

I think the poster PGARox kept going on this year about just wanting young guys on the team. He may be right.

 

Make Jordan the Captain, have him pick 10 friends and Patrick Reed and there is the US team.

 

Only problem is I think Jordan's insistence on splitting from Reed helped cause the problems on this team. It caused the breakup of Thomas/Fowler and the breakup of Johnson/Koepka. Reed losing Spieth seemed to kill his mojo and he played like absolute crap in those two matches with Tiger. Then he goes out there today on his own and plays like a boss. Go figure.

 

I keep reading this but Furyk didn't have to put Fowler with DJ, thereby breaking up DJ and Koepka. A better fit would have been Fowler with Finau. Yeah he broke up two good teams but it doesn't necessarily follow that that should cause the breakup of a third. He should have left DJ/Koepka alone and shopped Fowler around to one of the rookies. Eh, it's all just Monday morning quarterbacking though. I think we were destined to get trashed no matter who was matched with whom.

 

I agree, Fowler and Finau would have been a good fit. Both nice guys that should be able to fit with anyone on the team. I guess Fowler wanted DJ and Furyk gave him what he wanted. It will be interesting to see how things play out moving forward. They need to figure out something with Reed. He is a lone wolf but he was awesome with Spieth. They need to find someone else that can give him the same mojo. Clearly Tiger wasn't able to do it.

[Cwebb]

 

Only problem is I think Jordan's insistence on splitting from Reed helped cause the problems on this team. It caused the breakup of Thomas/Fowler and the breakup of Johnson/Koepka. Reed losing Spieth seemed to kill his mojo and he played like absolute crap in those two matches with Tiger. Then he goes out there today on his own and plays like a boss. Go figure.

 

I keep reading this but Furyk didn't have to put Fowler with DJ, thereby breaking up DJ and Koepka. A better fit would have been Fowler with Finau. Yeah he broke up two good teams but it doesn't necessarily follow that that should cause the breakup of a third. He should have left DJ/Koepka alone and shopped Fowler around to one of the rookies. Eh, it's all just Monday morning quarterbacking though. I think we were destined to get trashed no matter who was matched with whom.

 

The problem starts with the fact that Woods doesn't pair well with anyone. So the captain has to "manufacture" whoever he thinks can make the best of a pairing with him. In this case they picked Reed

[Retsdon]

 

 

Bryson DeChambeau goes 0-3, I suspect he's going to be on a lot of these teams so he's going to need to improve.

 

I thought Bryson was unlucky. And he showed a lot of guts taking Noren down 18. He can hold his head up.

[Darth Putter]

Got a thought here.. the USA team likes playing golf with each other...the boy band gang and all. But the euro players LOVE beating Americans. They absolutely thrive on that thrill alone.

 

As much as some may not want to admit it, that is the biggest difference in this event. Everything else adds a little or subtracts a little. I wouldn't be surprised if the EU players collectively over the years feels like the US players don't necessarily respect their game (whether true or not) with the exception of a couple of guys and they take great pleasure in this event.

 

The fact that only JT showed up during the French Open tells how little Americans respect Europeans or the Ryder cup on EU soil.

 

With no Ryder Cup carrot to keep the stars at home, how much will these stars even play in Europe in 2019?

 

Tommy Fleetwood is probably checking out Florida real estate listings already. As he said in February, "The next stage in my career would be to win on the PGA Tour. If you want to be one of the world's best players, you have to do it in America." https://www.telegraph.co.uk/golf/2018/02/14/tommy-fleetwood-starts-bid-break-america-best-have-do/

[youdamantiger]

Bad week for the American team, but there were a few silver linings:

• Looks like Justin Thomas is a very talented American in his prime who actually cares about this event, unlike a couple of other very talented Americans in their prime 15+ years ago.
  
• Looks like the Thomas/Spieth pairing could be a very good one for a long, long time.
  
• Tony Finau really stepped it up. He is one of the guys that drives it "crooked" and yet he played very well this week compared to so many others on the team.
  
• Webb Simpson redeemed himself this week. Guess we will see if he can make the team in the future but I don't think anyone will view him as a big weak spot next time if he does make it.
  

 

I think the poster PGARox kept going on this year about just wanting young guys on the team. He may be right.

 

Make Jordan the Captain, have him pick 10 friends and Patrick Reed and there is the US team.

 

Only problem is I think Jordan's insistence on splitting from Reed helped cause the problems on this team. It caused the breakup of Thomas/Fowler and the breakup of Johnson/Koepka. Reed losing Spieth seemed to kill his mojo and he played like absolute crap in those two matches with Tiger. Then he goes out there today on his own and plays like a boss. Go figure.

 

I keep reading this but Furyk didn't have to put Fowler with DJ, thereby breaking up DJ and Koepka. A better fit would have been Fowler with Finau. Yeah he broke up two good teams but it doesn't necessarily follow that that should cause the breakup of a third. He should have left DJ/Koepka alone and shopped Fowler around to one of the rookies. Eh, it's all just Monday morning quarterbacking though. I think we were destined to get trashed no matter who was matched with whom.

 

I agree, Fowler and Finau would have been a good fit. Both nice guys that should be able to fit with anyone on the team. I guess Fowler wanted DJ and Furyk gave him what he wanted. It will be interesting to see how things play out moving forward. They need to figure out something with Reed. He is a lone wolf but he was awesome with Spieth. They need to find someone else that can give him the same mojo. Clearly Tiger wasn't able to do it.

 

Yeah, assuming he's going to be making the team for the next ten years or so, Reed is going to need to find a home. It's obvious he rubbed Spieth the wrong way. It was probably Reed autographing Spieth's neck a couple months ago that did it. You could tell Jordan was seething about that but didn't want to lose it in front of all those kids. Lol.