The two-year wait for the Ryder Cup is over. The Americans remain confident after their thrashing of Europe in 2021 at Whistling Straits.
Tommy Fleetwood of England recalled how much it burned to see the Americans celebrate, speaking as if he could still smell the smoke from Xander Schauffele’s victory cigar mixed with the spray of champagne.
“It’s really wild,” Scheffler said of the six straight road losses with teams that were stacked with Hall of Fame players like Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, major champions like Love, Spieth and Dustin Johnson. “Such great players. Just proves how difficult it is. But we’ve got a lot of fresh blood on the team this year. Only a handful of guys have played over there. I like our chances. Ignorance is bliss.
“Just the mere fact that when you come to a hostile, foreign environment, it’s hard,” U.S. captain Zach Johnson said. “I don’t know why we haven’t . What I do know is that 2023 will be an opportunity of a lifetime, and that will be my message.”, which is nothing new. The U.S. team typically looks great on paper, suspect on European grass. All 12 of the Americans are among the top 25 in the world ranking. Three of them won majors this year.
McIlroy was still a teenager in Northern Ireland the last time Europe truly owned the Ryder Cup in the mid-2000s. Starting with 2008, the home team has won every Ryder Cup except for the “Miracle at Medinah” in 2012, when Europe staged an improbable comeback. The PGA Tour has suspended players who joined the rival LIV circuit. The PGA of America runs the Ryder Cup — not the tour — though the only access to Ryder Cup points for Americans was the majors. That’s where Koepka thrives. He finished just outside the top six automatic qualifiers, and no one was surprised when Johnson used one of his six captain’s picks on him.
Masters champion Jon Rahm wanted his fellow Spaniard on the team. Garcia made a last-minute effort, telling the European tour he would pay all his sanctions for joining LIV and play as many tournaments as needed. The tour told him he could not be reinstated until next year.