Le Coupe Ryder 2018

[ursus arctos]

It’s increasingly difficult for US Tour players to excel in Europe, especially when courses are set up the way Le Golf National was.

Which is great, in my opinion.

[Hot Pepsi]

The US may have players who can win there. They might just not be the same ones that win on the PGA tour.

Or maybe none of it matters and who gives a shit.

[ursus arctos]

It is becoming increasingly unlikely, because the divergence between US courses and the European courses likely to be used for the Ryder Cup is growing, and thereby encouraging the development of different skills. And this year's set up of the course will now become a model for Europeans going forward.

[Hot Pepsi]

So option B, then.

[San Bernardhinault]

Of course, if Americans came and played on the European tour for a couple of months, they might learn something.

It's not like Jon Rahm and Justin Rose don't play for many weeks in the US.

One interesting thing about this Ryder Cup is that I've long felt that lots of the US players are basically interchangeable 6 foot 2 skinny dudes who hit the ball the same, but they have one distinguishing feature like a silly hat or some scruffy stubble or they take forever over their shots (or a red shirt on Sundays or they play left handed). This time out, some of them seemed to demonstrate that they weren't identikit and maybe had a personality that wasn't moulded in some Stanford lab to make them as inoffensive as possible to rich old dudes who watch golf and might buy products advertised during the broadcast. I might actually notice that Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth aren't the same person in the future. Still, the European players are a much more diverse bunch (even if the only interesting thing about Tommy Fleetwood is his hair), and that makes me happy for a European win.

[ursus arctos]

Well yes, but there are zero incentives for them to do so, and the whole golf industrial complex here encourages them not to.

It would be like Brett Kavanaugh having decided to do a LLM at College of Bruges.

[San Bernardhinault]

Isn't it a bit harsh on Brett Kavanaugh, comparing him to US golfers?

[ad hoc]

An ignoramus writes: What in the course set up was European as opposed to American? I get the difference between links golf and non links golf, but what was the key here? Something about the length of the rough or something? Thanks

Also are there highlights available online does anyone know. Most sporting events these days have legal and officially released highlights reels for the general public, but I'm buggered if I can locate this.

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

The fairways weren't 100 yards wide for one thing. Bunkers were proper (deep) hazards not pretty features. And yes, the rough was rough, not just slightly longer grass. Also, it was proper windy most days - a lot of PGA tour golf is played in California in winter, then Florida and Georgia in spring, and the midwest in summer, and they invariably seem to be playing in benign sunny weather. That said, several Europeans - Rose, Casey, McIlroy, Hatton, Rahm - spend almost all their time on the American tour not ours too.

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

Interesting to note that the only American who began his career in Europe, Brooks Koepka, has won the last two US Opens. The USGA traditionally sets its courses up like this too.

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

I've only just realised that Molinari became the first player in history (1975 I think they went to the current format) to win 5 matches out of 5. Best player in the world at the moment? No question.

[Ray de Galles]

I read that he was the first European, which led me to assuming an American had already done it.

[Kevin S]

Wiki has five points for Larry Nelson in 1979 and says 'his record of 9–3–1 is one of the best since the event became USA v Europe in 1979; it had been a perfect 9–0–0 after the first two events.'

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

Ah yes this is right - Larry Nelson also won 5 out of 5 in 1979. 4 of his 5 wins came against Seve Ballesteros, the very player we changed to Europe to make sure was in the team!

[ad hoc]

Sergio couldn't beat me.

Furyk should have picked you

[ad hoc]

Picture number 20 of this lot looks like subbuteo golf has been invented https://www.theguardian.com/sport/ga...P=share_btn_tw

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

2020 captains next to mull over. "Next in line" for Europe should be Padraig Harrington (with Lee Westwood to follow him). On the American side I'm less sure - David Duval maybe, unless they jump straight to Lefty?

[ursus arctos]

There's a lot of noise here for Mickelson, in part because it is thought that he will be a disruptive influence if he is not on the team (which he certainly won't be) nor captain.

They are such a bunch of divas.

ad hoc, that shot by Jenkins is very tilt shift. The USPGA has highlights here, but I don't know if they are geo-restricted.

[Ray de Galles]

Each individual day’s BBC highlights are on the iPlayer too, with the same caveat about geo-restricting. I presumed ad hoc knew about tilt-shift (or fake tilt shift which I think the Guardian shot is) as everyone has it on the Instagram effects now. It’s a wonderful photo though, as are many from the same collection.

[ad hoc]

Tilt shift is new to me (and Instagram somewhere I never visit).

Thanks for the links. Sadly both unavailable to me though I did find some earlier from some other US source

[Gangster Octopus]

Tilt shift on OTF...

[Ray de Galles]

Okay then a Rogin day by day quiz to lead us into it.

Q1. In what way will Abe Mitchell play a part in this year's event?

Didn’t see this at the time, the golfer on the Cup itself is modeled on him as he was Samuel Ryder’s golf coach who taught him the game.

[Bored Of Education]

Picture number 20 of this lot looks like subbuteo golf has been invented https://www.theguardian.com/sport/ga...P=share_btn_tw

Ha, I initially thought that they had caught Woods doing a Trump with that divot picture.

[jwdd27]

Still, the European players are a much more diverse bunch (even if the only interesting thing about Tommy Fleetwood is his hair), and that makes me happy for a European win.

I would suggest Fleetwood's wife (and agent) being 20 years older than him is as interesting as him looking like the type to offer to tarmac your drive.

In other interesting wife news, Bubba Watson's missus is 6'3", a fact I discovered when looking up his real first name (Gerry, disappointingly)

[ad hoc]

Based on the number of first names that are not first names alone, Europe deserved their crushing victory.

Tyrell vs Bryson, Dustin, Brooks, Bubba, Jordan, Tiger, and Webb