Fears that the biennial clash between the US and Europe had been irrevocably damaged by the 2022 exodus to Saudi-backed LIV Golf, have been allayed – for now at least.
Martyn Herman – The toxic feud that consumed golf since the last Ryder Cup in 2021 means some familiar faces will be missing when the 44th edition of the contest begins in Rome on Friday.
Thankfully, fears that the biennial clash between the US and Europe had been irrevocably damaged by the 2022 exodus to Saudi-backed LIV Golf, have been allayed – for now at least.
If anything, the troubles of the past 18 months have served to raise excitement levels for the three-day duel at the Marco Simone Golf & Country Club just outside the ancient city.
After all the talk of Saudi millions and players turning their back on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour for pots of gold, all that matters when the first ball is struck on Friday will be the pride and passion of a dozen players from each continent battling for a trophy measuring a mere 17 inches.
Team Europe 💙#TeamEurope pic.twitter.com/Kmte0ajtHm
— Ryder Cup Europe (@RyderCupEurope) September 26, 2023
“The Ryder Cup is pure, pure sport, with all the other stuff kind of taken out. The Ryder Cup will always be above all that stuff,” said England’s Luke Donald, who replaced Henrik Stenson as captain after the Swede joined LIV Golf.
That is not to say it will be all sweetness and light in the first match on Europe since the hosts won in Paris in 2018.
Respect between Donald and his US counterpart Zach Johnson is clear, as it is between players on both sides.
But there are wounds to heal and historic scores to settle.
Worst defeat
Europe suffered their worst defeat at Whistling Straits two years ago – a 19-9 drubbing that left some of their players, including talisman Rory McIlroy, in tears.
Meanwhile, the high-powered US team are trying to put to bed the idea that the Americans do not really fancy it much on European soil, having not won away for 30 years.
The COVID-19 pandemic meant the 2020 clash was postponed for a year and hardly any European fans were present at Whistling Straits as Padraig Harrington’s team succumbed meekly in a whooping and hollering mass of stars and stripes.
It will be a different story in Rome with around 45,000 fans expected each day, the majority of them backing Donald’s dozen.
“Having that support, it picks up your energy as a player and you can feed off it,” Donald, who was part of three victorious European teams as a player, said on Monday.
“It was certainly lacking a lot because of COVID two years ago, hopefully that is something that will be in our favour.”
New Page
This week’s match feels very much like a new page for Europe. Ryder Cup icons Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter are all absent having resigned from the DP World Tour after joining the breakaway LIV Golf.
The 43-year-old Justin Rose returns after missing out in Whistling Straits while world number two Rory McIlroy, third-ranked Jon Rahm and number four Viktor Hovland will be expected to shoulder a lot of the burden for Europe.
Donald’s six picks include crowd favourite Tommy Fleetwood and former Open champion Shane Lowry, but all eyes will be on Sweden’s debutant Ludvig Aberg who only turned pro in June and is the first Ryder Cup player not to have contested a major.
Aberg is one of four European rookies while Johnson’s team also contains four first-timers, although Brian Harman won the Open at rainy Royal Liverpool in July, Wyndham Clark triumphed at this year’s US Open and Max Homa is the world number seven.
Five-time major winner Brooks Koepka, one of Johnson’s six captain’s picks, is the only player from either side who played LIV Golf.
Others who defected such as Dustin Johnson, Bryson Dechambeau, Patrick Reed and Phil Mickelson will presumably be watching from afar, even if a peace of sorts has broken out between the rival organisations in recent months.
Even without those big guns, the US team still looks stronger on paper, with 15 combined majors to Europe’s nine and an average ranking of about 12 compared to Europe’s 30.
But the dynamics of Ryder Cup golf usually means the form guides can be shredded once battle commences on Friday.
Reuters
