It was the most incredible week. From arriving Tuesday morning, heading straight to Valhalla and getting the chance to walk the fairways with Anthony Kim and Ben Curtis, to standing by the green as Furyk shook the hand of Miguel Angel Jimenez and America brought the Cup back to the states.
Led by Boo Weekley riding his driver like a horse, and Anthony Kim being so into his match that he began walking to the 15th tee box, not realizing he had beaten Sergio Garcia, the 6 rookie players on Paul Azinger’s team brought an excitement never before seen by an American in Ryder Cup play.
It is important to note that every American team has a good time. Are there players that would prefer not to be a part of the Ryder Cup? I would assume so. After a long, arduous season, it can’t be the easy thing playing an exhibition every single year. Especially knowing that there are still more Tour events to be played. Tour players always enjoy their chance for guy time. I don’t know many that don’t, but past Ryder Cup teams seem to leave that camaraderie in the clubhouse. The moment American teams hit the fairways it became serious golf- sometimes too serious; sometimes putting too much pressure on them.
That changed in 2008- that was the genius of Azinger’s approach. “This is an exhibition of a game,” he would say, and he is right. For the first time, American’s made fun of the event. It wasn’t, finally, just another Tour week. It was their vacation. And whether Phil, Justin, Stewart or Jim ever imagined the Cup that way, it did not matter. Azinger put this team in the hands of the rookies, said, “Go have a good time,” and they did. He became infectious. Even Mickelson was smiling and pumping, and while he has now gone winless in his last four singles matches, Phil seemed to enjoy this event.
Azinger’s plan was simple- Form three sets of four players. The Southern Boys: Perry, Holmes, Weekley and throwing in Furyk as their leader; the aggressive group: Kim, Mickelson, Leonard and Mahan; the quiet group: Campbell, Curtis, Stricker and Cink. He kept them together the entire week. Giving each team ownership of their group. Even when Campbell and Cink had a tough day Friday, Azinger stuck with them on Saturday, pairing them in afternoon four-ball.
So did all this make a difference in the points scored by the Americans? Did it have cause and effect on the final outcome? The easy answer is no. What made the difference was putting. The Americans made more birdies than the Europeans. The harder answer is yes. Being more relaxed and having faith in your teammates made them looser and more open to making putts. For the first time, the Americans had more fun than their counterparts.
There are other reasons for the Americans win.
- Faldo – By not choosing Clarke or Monty, he left his team in the hands of a 28 year old young man so full of passion for the Ryder Cup that it became his most important tournament. It was just too much. Want to know what the Americans have felt for the last ten years? Look at Sergio Garcia because he had that look all week. Tension, pressure, trying too hard to win.
- Faldo – I really think he got outfoxed by Azinger in the singles matches. Back-loading was a mistake, but I really believe he thought Azinger would do the same with his two point lead.
- Harrington – if there is one I feel bad for, it is Padrig Harrington. No matter how hard he tried, he could not find his game. The weight of 3 majors in 13 months raised its head and said no more for this body.
- Westwood – I will never understand Lee’s comments following the Cup. This is a really nice guy. Whether he allowed the Clarke issue into his body, whether this sickness was more of a factor than believed, Westwood was “out of sorts” for this Cup, and it showed.
- The course set-up – I think this was the biggest factor in the Americans win. Knowing the lack of experience on his team, Azinger chose to make this a putting contest. There were only two difficult holes on the course. The vast majority of pins were in very easy spots. Did this give the American team an advantage? No. What it did was even the playing field to just one part of the game- putting, and that worked. It helped immensely in keeping the Americans loose. With Azinger’s massive drives, not worrying where they were headed, and knowing that most second shots were to easy pins, our team relaxed.
So those are my thoughts about why we won. All of that aside, if I could grant one sporting wish to each of you, it would be a trip to Wales in 2010. Being at a Ryder Cup is something incredibly special; the Ryder Cup brings all facets of the sport into one ring and for three days drains all the energy from your body. From running hole to hole, to screaming for your team, the joking with the fans from the other side, watching the scoreboards because things change every five minutes, there is nothing like it.
