2021 Ryder Cup
sdandrea1 I already didn't like him, and, if anything, I was somewhat pleasantly surprised. He always has to be 'too cool for school,' which I find pretty annoying. If he had kept his game face on after he nearly aced the 17th hole to win his singles match, I would probably have disliked even more than usual. But he became a human for a brief few seconds.
Long story short, I'm still not a fan, but I guess I like him slightly better now than I did before it started.
Bryson's likeability factor probably went up 10 fold this week, as he seemed to really embrace
the Ryder Cup spirit and showed he's a formattable team player.
Looking forward going to Mesquite this Tuesday to see how well he can compete
in the PLDA competition. BOMBS AWAY!!!!
DJ was ripped at that presser!
azgreg Maybe players in the past were a bit intimidated, especially by Tiger? I know, sounds strange with them being on the same team, but may have been a factor.
Now they look like a team who've played together for years and they have, if not in the Ryder Cup, but loads of them all around the same age, playing through the college system and junior events.
garyt1957 Don't know much about Euro golf, but they may be in trouble for awhile. Their stalwarts are getting really old and their younger guys didn't impress
Talking that through with golf_ghirl last night, I don't see much coming through the Euro Tour at the moment to adequately replace the fading regulars. There are some I personally think can break through and it'll be interesting to watch their development next season, with the season after that the RC qualifying period (assuming it's 2 years 'til the next one ...).
Euros lost one time, not really trend, I think their process works for them, why change now??
Bravopilot Euros lost one time, not really trend, I think their process works for them, why change now??
There's a feeling of this being the end of an era for the European team - a lot of the players that they've relied on for a long time are getting towards the end of their time as top players. It seems likely that this could be the last Ryder Cup (as a player) for Westwood, Casey and Poulter, all in their mid-40s or older, and Garcia isn't all that far behind at 41 - compare this to the US team, where Dustin Johnson was the oldest player at 37.
That's not to say that Team Europe can't be competitive - the formula over the last 30-odd years has mostly been to rely heavily on a few stars and get solid contributions from lesser-known players, and there's still a solid core there with McIlroy, Garcia and Rahm (and maybe Hovland and Fleetwood). There's also a lot to be said for the team spirit of past European teams and their ability to make the most out of being the underdog - still a long way out from the 2023 matches, but it looks likely that the US will be strong favourites to win in Italy.
MartinD Sure, understand. Other than follow the US Team to allow more Capt selections, I think their process has worked well. What is interesting to me is will the US maintain their 6 Capt picks--this was in place due to COVID.
For me, the whole Ryder Cup was uplifting. It gave me a good feeling for United States golf again.
I enjoyed the Ryder Cup, but usually do even when the US loses. I think it's funny that the press seems to feel the US is now dominant again after 1 home soil win. I kind of think Cantlay had it right comparing the Ryder Cup to playing games of gin.
garyt1957 azgreg The US is favored in every match except Rahm's.
Yea, and heavily favored at that. DJ, Morikawa are -200 and Finau is -225. That's really high odds for a golf singles match. I put $10 on all the Americans and took DJ, Morikawa, English and Thomas in a 4 man parlay. Also took Finau, Bryson, Cantlay and Xander together.
Have you tallied how much you won over the 3 days of the 'Cup'? I used to tinker at placing small bets locally with a restaurant owner (pretty good little golfer too in the one charitable scramble we played in.) He ran his book and late night poker games out of the backroom of his successful Chinese cafe with his family. UNTIL early one morning a fire bomb was hurled through the front window and that's when I said to myself that this she-it just got real and I'm out. KS hasn't approved any kind of online gambling yet...too many entities was their piece of the action so heavy duty lobbying has been going on a couple of years now. Greed.
I finally saw the recording of Bryson playing the first hole on Sunday. I'm really sorry I missed that. Especially since we probably were watching the pregame prior to the Bears being slaughtered by the Browns.
mikeintopeka Have you tallied how much you won over the 3 days of the 'Cup'? I
Counting the $50 bet I won by accident when I wanted to bet $5 I made a few bucks but not much considering my win % was really high. But the odds for the US guys on Sunday were so bad you're only winning $7 for $10 bet so one loss erases almost 2 wins. I mainly do it because it keeps my Dad interested in watching.
I remember my Dad telling me when he was really young he ran some numbers game or something for some guys and one of his guys didn't pay. They told him you get the money from him or we get it from you. He got the money and quit right there.
