- Europe’s Ryder Cup victory celebration.
- Luke Donald’s winning strategies.
- US team’s postmortem analysis.
After Tommy Fleetwood secured Europe’s Ryder Cup victory, the Marco Simone Country Club witnessed a brief period of delightful chaos. The crowd on the 18th course requested a song from Rory McIlroy. He then led a chant of ‘Raise your hands!’ to the tune of the Cranberries’ song Zombie. Afterward, he dashed 100 meters to bearhug Shane Lowry, even though his teammate was still in play. It was a typical afternoon.
Before long, tens of thousands of spectators also breached the steel ring surrounding the final green to celebrate. At least three individuals ended up in a shelter. Meanwhile, Luke Donald’s group was exchanging high-fives, embraces, jokes, and enjoying beer and champagne.
However, these moments of jubilation and happiness were among the few unplanned occurrences in Europe’s Ryder Cup preparations. This victory had been months in the making. And it was one in which Donald excelled in the ABCs – analytics, banter, and a culture that everyone embraced. McIlroy clarified that he was not seeking vengeance; it was about redemption and showcasing our abilities.
Donald had been urging his players from the beginning to prioritize the team, engage the crowd with a swift start, and consider the bigger picture. Earlier in the week, each participant had received a two-minute motivational video created by their family members to reinforce this message.
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We are united by a culture and a generation of players who came before us,” Justin Rose stated. “Luke has made his stance very clear. A strong pairing on the European team doesn’t necessarily mean playing alongside your best friend; it involves representing something greater than oneself.”
McIlroy pointed out a pivotal moment that occurred last month when the team “gathered around a fire pit and got to know each other very well” during a trip to the Marco Simone.
“That was an incredible experience,” he said. “I thought I had known these men for a long time, but I recently discovered something new about them. I believe that truly strengthened our team spirit. However, we also enjoy poking fun at each other. We have a humorous disposition.”
This was evident when asked about their record on the first hole, which they had won ten times compared to the United States team’s four victories. Rose jokingly remarked, “It’s called playing for a hundred dollars in practice.”
Donald interjected, “As a team, we knew that getting off to a fast start was crucial.”
Rose added, “By the way, Rory still hasn’t paid me – sorry, Luke.”
Tommy Fleetwood then chimed in. “Rory actually never settles his debts,” he declared. “Can I just say that? Rory never makes a payment.”
McIlroy responded with a smile, “I didn’t win the FedEx Cup this year.”
Afterwards, Donald also lauded Edoardo “Dodo” Molinari’s statistical analysis, which had instilled confidence in his competitors. Donald stated, “Dodo is of immense significance.”
“The sport of golf has become highly driven by statistics. It was about instilling confidence in them so that when they stood on the tee on Friday, they anticipated victory for the following reasons:”
Rose agreed, saying, “No stone was left unturned in this regard. This week, we received a wealth of valuable information in advance, which kept us all relatively calm.”
While Europe celebrated, the United States team commenced their postmortem. Unlike at Gleneagles in 2014 and Paris in 2018, where Phil Mickelson and Patrick Reed aired grievances publicly, this time there was no such airing of grievances.
“I believe this was the closest-knit team I’ve ever been on,” Brooks Koepka said. “We have a fantastic group of men. This week, [the European team] simply made a lot more putts and chip-ins. We fought valiantly, and I wouldn’t have wanted to do it with any other group of men.”
This sentiment was shared by Justin Thomas, who stated that the team had bonded by watching college football games at 5 a.m. “We all truly got along,” he declared. “We were one.”
Not everyone agreed with US captain Zach Johnson’s assertion that he would not alter his team’s preparation. Jordan Spieth suggested that some members of the U.S. team might have been underprepared after five weeks without a tournament.
Reflecting on his team’s dismal 612-112 start, Spieth said, “It’s incredibly challenging to recover from such a massive deficit in an away game.” If you were to ask us when we’d prefer to play the Ryder Cup in relation to our schedule, we’d likely request two weeks after the Tour Championship rather than five.
Spieth acknowledged that Europe had been the superior team. “They got off to a strong start, which allowed the crowd to rally behind them. Their newcomers quickly adapted to this. It made the transition smoother for them. In an instant, we found ourselves in a pit.”
