George White | |
Golf with George
October 1st, 2007
George has been a journalist for close to 40 years. He wrote sports for the Houston Chronicle for 19 years and the Orlando Sentinel for 7 years. In 1994 he was one of the first people hired at the Golf Channel, were he started a career as an on-air talent, then moved over as one of the first writers of Golf Central and then their website. White retired from the Golf Channel after 12 years at the end of 2006. He will be writing a column for GolfObserver.
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GolfObserver editors
Why can't the American's do the same at the Ryder Cup?
So the question becomes more and more glaring, one in which there just has to be an answer: is there really that big a difference in the European Ryder Cuppers and the Presidents Cup Internationals?
Photo: © Caryn Levy/WireImage |
| The USA team seems to find the Presidents Cup a lot easier to win than the Ryder Cup. |
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Why is it that the Americans always cuff around the Internationals, yet seem so thoroughly embarrassed when they do another pratfall at the hands of the Europeans?
Europe has had the Americans tied totally in knots the last 14 years of Ryder Cup play. Only a history-making Sunday comeback in 1999, when the U.S. scored 8 ½ points out of a possible 12, kept the Yanks from a long uninterrupted string of six consecutive losses. During those last six Ryder Cups, Europe has plastered the U.S. five times, the last two times by record margins of nine points each.
Alas, the Presidents Cup has been just as thoroughly a Red-White-and Blue parade. The opponent can choose its team anywhere but Europe … all of Australia, all of South Africa, all of South America, all the Pacific Rim and all the ships at sea. And yet, these unfortunate gents have been totally outclassed. Those same Americans, who have piddled around in frustration while the Euros have scored at will in the Ryder Cup, have been almost impossible to beat when they play the Internationals.
They’ve played the Presidents Cup seven times, and the U.S. has lost but one, with one match fought to a draw. Sunday evening there they were again, the Americans rolling up a 19 ½ - 14 ½ win over the Internationals.
It would be such a sweet, simple conclusion to say the Euros are that much better than the Internationals. Then we could neatly tidy up the loose ends and readily explain one team’s dominance over another, while the third team has had such a struggle. We could praise Europe’s excellence, wonder why America doesn’t do better, and tut-tut the Internationals for their incompetence.
But it isn’t nearly as simple as that. If the Internationals were to mix it up with the Europeans, as a matter of fact, there would be a lot of pundits who would predict an International win.
Photo: © Andrew Redington/Getty Images & Caryn Levy/WireImage |
| Is the players from European that much better than the players from the International team? |
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Let’s take the 2006 European squad – the one which so completely outclassed the Americans – and compare it to the 2007 International team. OK, do you think Sergio Garcia is better than Ernie Els? Is Colin Montgomerie better than Vijay Singh? Would you say that Luke Donald is better than Adam Scott, that Paul Casey is better than K.J. Choi, Padraig Harrington that much better than, say, Geoff Oglvie? There just isn’t that much difference in Europeans Robert Karlsson, Henrik Stensen, Paul McGinley and David Howell, and Internationals Angel Cabrera, Mike Weir, Rory Sabbatini and Trevor Immelman.
Photo: © Streeter Lecka/GettyImages |
| Tiger Woods has a winning 13-11-1 record at the Presidents Cup but in the Ryder Cup he has a losing 10-13-2 record. |
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Which all is a long, roundabout way of asking this question – could somebody, anybody, please explain what is going on in America? Just don’t ask the people who should logically have the answers – the Americans.
Tiger Wood mumbled something about the Americans getting off to poor starts and how difficult it is mount comebacks in the Ryder Cup. But if they have gotten off to poor starts the last six Ryder Cups, then they have obviously been routed.
Jim Furyk was totally honest – he doesn’t know what’s going on here. “I don't have an answer for you. Just like going out in foursomes this week and winning ten and a half of 11 points - it's just I've got no answer,” he said.
Then Furyk thought for a moment and tried again. He realized what he was about to say sounded lame, sounded trite, whatever. But it was only tangible difference he could detect, and he detects it every year when the U.S. plays the Internationals – and not when the U.S. plays the Europeans.
“I think our atmosphere - you all see it, I'm sure you all feel it; I see it and I feel it, that we're a little bit more loose this week,” he began. “I think we have a little bit more fun and enjoy it this week. Why that translates over into our play, I'm not sure.
Photo: © Scott Halleran/GettyImages/ |
| Jim Furyk has a 13-8-2 winning records in the Presidents Cup but in the Ryder Cup is 6-12-2. |
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“I go to the Ryder Cups thinking that I'm going to loosen up and I'm going to enjoy the week - and I'm always a little bit tighter. I have fun, but I'm always a little tighter there than I am at a Presidents Cup.
“You know, I've got no answer. I mean, the team we beat, what I'd like to say is the team that we beat (the Internationals) is one hell of a team, from top to bottom, 12 guys that are all very, very solid players. You all said that they look better on paper than we do, and you know, that's true.
”But I'll tell you, it seems like we pull together, we have a hell of a time, and we're loose for these weeks at the Presidents Cup and we tend to get more.
I have no answer for you why that would be, but it sure is fun to ride it while we're here.”
It’s asking an awfully lot to make us believe that this is something that has been ongoing for the past 10 or 12 years, this attitude thing. But maybe there’s something to it. For the last decade, America has been playing the Europeans with a sense of misplaced urgency, of certain doom. That, for sure, is the wrong attitude. But trying to kick it is the same as trying to kick a cocaine habit. It can be done, certainly, but there’s no denying that it will be extremely difficult.
And on the other hand, maybe the Americans don’t feel as intimidated by the Internationals. And maybe, just maybe, the Internationals begin the matches several points behind because they have some unforeseen forboding of impending disaster. And it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy - America is generally going to win against the Internationals because the Yanks have been doing it so long – and Europe is going to prevail against America for the same reason.
Is this the reason why? I honestly don’t know, but there is some unforeseen force at work here. When the U.S. goes against Europe, all the bad luck, karma, unlucky bounces or whatever seem to hop on America’s shoulders. And when the U.S. plays the Internationals, whatever must be done to achieve victory – will be done.
And, to break that pattern will require much more than a great effort. For unspeakable reasons, this is the way the sport is, and for the foreseeable future, the way it will always be.
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