Ryder Cup Team USA Embarrassed Right Out-The-Gate

Team Europe’s Head Captain, Luke Donald, got everything right to kick off the 2023 Ryder Cup. After 4 morning-sessions, the Europeans lead 4-to-nil after Team USA couldn’t get anything going.

I mean….not, a, thing.

On the very first green, Viktor Hovland chipped-in from a tight-lie on-the-fringe, barely off the green, for birdie to-take a 1-up lead. Shortly thereafter, more blue showed up on the board when Jon Rahm and Tyrell Hatton hit-fairways-and-greens all day en-route to demolishing Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns, 4 & 3, in the 44th Ryder Cup’s opening-match.

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A pair of US-rookies in Max Homa and the 2023 Champion Golfer of the Year, Brian Harman, got waxed by the 2023 FedEx Cup Champ and his rookie-partner, Ludvig Aberg.

The only American-pairing that even gave their opponents a real quality match, Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele, saw their hopes dashed when Rory stuffed his tee shot on Marco Simone’s par-3 17th hole to 3 feet after Cantlay applied pressure unto Rory by knocking his to 15-feet.

After Xander missed a 3.5 footer to-win the 16th hole which would’ve brought the morning’s final-match to all-square, Cantlay and his fellow-American teammate stood on 17-tee 1-down with their backs pressed firmly against the wall.

Not only were the two Americans facing an uphill battle in their own match, but they also knew Team Europe had already won the morning’s opening three-matches of foursomes.

Once Rory threw a dart to 3 feet on 17, the morning-session was all but over.

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Entering the afternoon’s four-matches of four-ball, Team Europe is flying high while the Americans are once again in scramble mode on Day 1 in an overseas Ryder Cup.

Curiously, ZJ decided to throw 3 rookies in to the opening-sessions first two matches, and needless to say, it clearly didn’t go well.

As Justin Leonard said on-the-air, “analytics” are a major part of the decision-making process for Captain Johnson, Donald and their assistants.

Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns, who happen to be best friends, went out in the opening-pairing and got pounded by Rahm and Hatton. Not once have Scottie and Sam played alternate-shot in a Ryder Cup together.

As such, analytics are utterly meaningless; and especially when we’re talking about alternate shot. When you only hit half the shots, you’re not really playing golf anymore. You’re playing alternate shot.

An 8 year old, blindfolded, could’ve assembled a better-cast of players than ZJ did ahead of Friday’s opening foursomes-matches.

If ZJ and his supporting cast of has-been Cuppers (including Jim Furyk; a guy who’s won 10 out of his 34-matches within his Ryder Cup tenure as a player) want any chance of making this a fair-fight, it would be wise of them to lay off the analytics for at least one-session.

Analytics don’t win Ryder Cups; especially not in Europe.

What does win Ryder Cups, on the other hand, is fairways and greens.

Too bad ZJ left those fairway finders back in the states (Henley, Glover, McCarthy, you name it…)

Team USA is screwed. And it’s hard to believe that that’s the case until you read the scoreboard and factor in the fact that we get clobbered in Europe.

JON RAHM, WOW! 🤯#TeamEurope | #RyderCup pic.twitter.com/CqUUwBjtGX

— Ryder Cup Europe (@RyderCupEurope) September 29, 2023

Better luck in four years, Team USA.

This one’s OVER.

Cover Image via Twitter