It is not much of a stretch to say the only real difference between the European Ryder Cup team that captain Luke Donald will take to Bethpage Black later this month and the one that dominated the Americans two years ago at Rome will be the team outfits (assuming those don’t get run back as well).
With the announcement this week of Donald’s six captain’s picks – Shane Lowry, Jon Rahm, Sepp Straka, Ludvig Åberg, Viktor Hovland and Matt Fitzpatrick – joining the six automatic qualifiers led by Rory McIlroy, there was no real drama. The only roster difference from two years ago is switching out Højgaards, Rasmus replacing twin brother Nicolai this time.
The real difference is trading the outskirts of Rome for the outskirts of New York City, going from Marco Simone Golf and Country Club to rugged and rowdy Bethpage Black for an event in which the home team has won eight of the last nine.
It’s as stark an environmental change as it sounds.
“It’s a different animal. It’s a different challenge. Obviously having the chance to do it again doesn’t mean we’re going to do the same things we did in Rome. That’s about implementing new techniques. I’ve really tried to look hard at exactly what this will require,” Donald said this week.
“I’m very aware that we have lost three of the last four away Ryder Cups by significant margins, and it’s a tough challenge. It’s a tough environment. But I’ve tried everything I can to give our team the best opportunity.”
Donald is operating from a position of strength considering the talent at his disposal and their familiarity with one another, easing any potential stress about team bonding, which the Europeans have long leaned on in the Ryder Cup. As many of them did two years ago, the Europeans will play their way into Bethpage with most of the team teeing it up in the BMW PGA Championship outside London next week.
That will be followed by a two-day team visit to Bethpage, giving them a chance to reacquaint themselves with the burly layout before the crowds and the noise arrive.
“We showed how important it was the last time,” Lowry said. “I think we got together and we did our trip to Rome. Then when we arrived in Rome for the Ryder Cup, it felt like we had never been apart. It felt like we just sort of floated into the week and cruised into the week.”
The Americans, led by world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, are listed as slight favorites and will have what is sure to be a raucous crowd in its corner when the matches begin Sept. 26. Lowry believes he and his European team – all but one of whom has played in the Ryder Cup – will be ready for what’s to come.
Among the American takeaways from the loss in Rome was the sense that players weren’t as competitively sharp as they might have been, most of them having taken a month off from tournament play before the Ryder Cup. Consequently, 10 of the 12 Americans will play in the Procore Championship in Napa, California, next week (LIV Golf competitor Bryson DeChambeau is not eligible and Xander Schauffele is not playing).
Similar to how U.S. captain Keegan Bradley saw Cameron Young and Sam Burns play well late in the process to secure their spots on the team, Fitzpatrick did likewise, responding to a not-so-subtle nudge from Donald earlier in the summer.
“I challenged Matt to go play the last two events in Europe and getting to the last group on Sunday (at the Betfred British Masters and Omega European Masters) the last two weeks, I think just showed us everything that Matt has. He’s playing tremendous golf right now, six top-10s I think in his last eight starts, and really, really impressive to see how much his game has come along trying to make this team,” Donald said.
In May, Fitzpatrick was ranked 85th in the world and this week sits 29th.
“I had a conversation with Luke and said to him, ‘Listen, I know I’ve been playing well but I’m thinking that I need to manage my schedule here from an energy standpoint. I might miss the British Masters and play Switzerland. It just gives me an extra week of kind of rest,” Fitzpatrick said.
“He asked me to commit to the British Masters (two weeks ago). That was important to him, and obviously that’s important and that’s something that I want to make sure that I’m doing the right thing as well. … It was obviously the right thing to do.”
The Americans, led by world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, are listed as slight favorites and will have what is sure to be a raucous crowd in its corner when the matches begin Sept. 26. Lowry believes he and his European team – all but one of whom has played in the Ryder Cup – will be ready for what’s to come.
The Europeans have mastered the art of embracing the underdog role and will lean on that again at Bethpage.
“I think no team is going to really go in as favorites for an away Ryder Cup. I think it’s a hard thing to do,” Lowry said.
“But I think we’ll put in the work and we’ll put in the preparation over the next few weeks, and even though we might not go in as favorites, I’m sure that we’re going to believe that we’ll be able to do it.”