ROME, Italy — I attended the Ryder Cup at the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club near Rome with some old friends to witness the biennial men’s golf matchup that pits the United States’ best players against the whole of Europe.
It was ugly for us Americans. We were beaten badly last weekend. It was brutal. In fact, it was probably the most botched American/Italian disaster since Olive Garden introduced its version of fettuccine al pomodoro.
The last Ryder Cup was in America, at a golf course called Whistling Straits in Wisconsin. (I think it was named for Italian men at construction sites when a woman walks by). We won that one. But since 1979, when we started taking on the whole of Europe (not just Great Britain and Ireland), Europe has won 13 times and we have won nine. America has not won in Europe in 30 years. Why?
On paper, the United States team should win. Our players, who play on the most competitive stage in the world, the PGA Tour, are higher ranked. But like the PGA Tour itself, we have become complacent and too well-rested on our laurels.
The U.S. team has plenty of advantages. Sure, Europe has a team chosen from its population of 750 million, while we have just 320 million people (and all our rather newer residents fancy soccer more than golf). But we have more golf courses and developmental programs. We have the most robust farm system for golfers — our NCAA programs — where the best graduates go on to the pros. It is like our Clown Colleges system, where the most promising graduates get to go to Congress.