Victory or Death. That’s how the Alamo letter ended, one of the most iconic documents in the history of the United States. It was written by Commander Travis on February 24, 1836, when they were besieged by Mexican troops in that Texan locality. It’s a brief text, of great rawness and extremely epic, which doesn’t guarantee salvation or success, but does incite fighting to the end.
Surely, one of the twelve magnificent members of the 1999 American Ryder team, when Captain Ben Crenshaw read it to them seeking an emotional stimulus to spur a comeback on Sunday, envisioned John Wayne, saying: “Tonight I will pray that we are strong enough to fight to the end.” The United States came back from a 10-6 deficit to win 14.5 – 13.5, confirming that this type of appeal to universal archetypes, like the warrior hero, as well as motivational rituals, work because they reinforce group identity, are part of the collective unconscious, and, if done well, get the team into a state of collective flow where they share motivation, enjoyment, and concentration. I’m clear that if, instead of resorting to the Alamo, Crenshaw had read aloud the speech of William Wallace before the Battle of Stirling, Europe might not lift a Ryder in twenty years. “They may take our lives, but they will never take… the cup.”
Dear Luke, this year 2025, as you return to captain the European team, I’m sure it has been more complicated for you to devise your strategy in search of some moving gesture that serves as fuel for the team without falling into repetition. Moreover, it remains the same famiglia, because even the new team member, Ramus Hojgaard, shares exactly the same nuclear DNA as his predecessor in Rome (in fact, I always wonder if they do any reliable identity test before they take the field when they’re not playing the same tournament).
Keep in mind that we are all eager to see Shane Lowry cry with emotion again -before victory-. That makes it even greater than singing victories in duet with my beloved Rory. However, that innovative creativity means that personal motivational videos from loved ones or the tribute to the legendary caddie Billy Foster, who was Matt Fitzpatrick‘s faithful squire in Rome and will not be at Bethpage Black, are ruled out. Nor is it worth repeating the aria and that “Nessun dorma”, with an image of Seve on the first tee included, alongside an Italian tenor rising as Prince Calaf to culminate with another epic shout: “At dawn, I will win, I will win; I will win!”, as a hymn to victory, faith, and perseverance.
Certainly, I have verified that you are well advised and that you follow to the letter (spikes in your case) the basic principles of motivation from the professors at the University of Rochester, Edward L. Deci and Richard M. Ryan, fathers of the theory on intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. It’s textbook: we all perform better when we feel we have control over what we do and true strength doesn’t come from rewards or punishments. The carrot and stick have given way to the desire to satisfy the deepest human needs. That which is known as the purpose or meaning that Viktor Frank spoke of, who, in an extreme situation, managed to overcome the torments of a concentration camp to later generously explain to humanity how he achieved it.
Extrapolating his reflections, the true power of your players lies in the freedom they have to choose how they respond to the situations they face, including the belligerent New York crowd, the pressure, or mistakes. I suggest that at Thursday’s dinner you hand out personalized shirts with European colors that read in mirror effect: “You are here because we trust not only in your game but also in your judgment.” And on the back, don’t forget the player’s name plus the phrase: “You are the owner of every point you play.” It’s essential that you suggest they sleep with them so that it’s the first thing they see when they look in the bathroom mirror on Friday morning. Besides a smile, you have guaranteed that injection of confidence that only a mother knows how to give.
I don’t need to remind you because, moreover, it’s not your leadership style, that no micro-management: everyone comes with competitive calluses and many hours of flying in private jets. If each player feels autonomy in their game, competence in their talent, and connection with the rest, you will maintain an intrinsically motivated team (and not in the negative connotations of the word that teenagers now use).
You know better than anyone that my dear Rory arrives in one of the best years of his professional career -if not the best- after conquering the Masters, THE PLAYERS, and the Irish Open, wanting to win on hostile territory and that, on the return bus, with that mix of fatigue and adrenaline that only those who have faced a battle of giants understand, he will go wild singing again: “Europe is on fire, USA is terrifying.” He no longer needs motivational speeches from a manual, so I beg you, knee on the ground, to ensure that reliving that moment of collective conjuring or revelry is pure fuel.
For this, I’m sure you have the tools and ingenuity necessary to get them to put that delirious song on their phones and receive a surprise call at a chosen moment (preferably with witnesses and not waking him from a nap). On the other end of the line, a voice replicating Mandela’s, in the style of Morgan Freeman, should send him a powerful message that precisely reminds him: it always seems impossible until it’s done and that courage is not the absence of fear, but inspiring others to overcome it and convincing them that it’s okay for their knees to shake. Rory is the most experienced, with seven Ryders on his still young shoulders, of which Europe only lost two. He must remember that he is the backbone of the team and its emotional reference for having choked on the orphan defeat while savoring the glorious feast.
In the books you’ve chosen throughout your life, and which I managed to identify on the shelf in your office, there’s more than reading: they are the maps of your holistic vision of the game. How about they magically appear dedicated by you on the bedside table of one of the players? I suggest that The Apostle of Golf be for Jon Rahm. Its protagonist, Charles Blair Macdonald, brought the spirit of European golf to the United States and planted it there as a legacy. Jon likes golf history and surely this won’t be unfamiliar to him. If you remind him, he will understand that he has somehow picked up that baton and that it is up to him to make history again across the pond. By the way, let his amona help you get a chocolate palm tree from Don Manuel with ¡Vamos! written in powdered sugar to accompany the reading.
Let Viktor Hovland have his dedicated copy of Managing Pressure and the Competitive Mind. If there’s anyone who needs his high levels of self-demand not to be the extra dose of pressure that deteriorates his game, it’s the Norwegian. You have to help him remember that every shot under pressure is an opportunity to prove to himself who he is, as he demonstrated in the Rome chip that made us all jump off the couch (on replay).
And it’s time to assign the book A Whole New Mind. Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future, by Daniel H Pink. Certainly, if I received one signed by you, it would surely become my bedside book. I believe the young Ludvig Aberg has emerging talent that makes him different and will be unbeatable if he understands that what will make him a decisive factor is playing with creativity, intuition, and being able to see what others don’t. He’s young and malleable, he’s already introduced himself to the world in Rome, and this year if he repeats pairing with Cantlay, he’s sure to give him a run for his money. If there’s anyone who remains unperturbed and arrives without fear this time, it’s him.
Needless to say, you have in your ranks someone who needs reinforcement to unleash that powerful golf that made him win the 2022 US Open: the analytical and methodical Fitzpatrick. He knows his place on the team has been questioned, and now we need him to have the same cold blood as in Brookline. That his ability to repeat history by winning as an amateur and professional on the same course is what now maintains the good streak he started in Rome. That said, with that double twist of confidence, if you believe he is capable of contributing decisively to the European scoreboard, surely he won’t disappoint us.
And what do we do to motivate Hatton? What can we come up with to remind this emotional, intense, visceral, and grumpy fighter of his purpose, who, however, has left his mark by starring in one of the few brilliant moments of the 2021 Ryder Cup? He has celebrated his qualification almost as if he had won the Ryder, with such intensity that he even lost control. I suggest that on his bedside table he finds a good bottle of Dom Perignon Vintage from 2010, which would surely be the same with which he toasted at his wedding with Emily, and that it bears the number six engraved and a blank space to complete the points he has won in the Ryder. Anticipating the certainty of a celebration and forcing him not to drink it beforehand.
The brand new FedEx winner, Tommy Fleetwood, is the symbol of unity, and we all remember his pairing with Molinari in Paris. Pure romance in a city that fosters it. Alongside Seve and Ollie, Poulter and Rory, they showed that Ryders are not won by stars, but by pairs. Fleetwood conveys closeness, warmth, chivalry, and family values, along with a particular and intelligent sense of humor. A pair of silver scissors with which to cut his hair in the remote and denied event of not scoring points for the Ryder can be quite a nod of reverse psychology that reinforces his confidence. The American public won’t dare with Tommy because he awakens protective instincts. Make him aware of that advantage.
And if you have someone with the ability to put things in perspective, after what he’s just experienced with the birth of his premature son, it’s Straka. He needs to find on his bedside table the silver pacifier holder, in the shape of the Ryder Cup, so that in the future he can remember with his grandchildren that everything finally aligned to win in New York. But if you also manage to have his twin brother Sam remind him that competition is what has always helped him progress, you’ll have him patient, with composure, and with that consistency and comeback ability that hopefully won’t be necessary.
Bob MacIntyre brings from shinty (that kind of hockey he played in his youth), the Scottish grit and knows that every shot is a physical and mental battle and that the toughness and fighting spirit instilled by that sport are crucial in the Ryder. A replica of the original Camanachd Cup from 1896 on his bedside table will connect him with his origins and traditions. The rest he has by default.
The good Shane Lowry at the 2019 Open at Royal Portrush felt the media and emotional pressure of representing Ireland and was more than up to the task. As he himself said, the feeling of carrying the weight of millions of people on his back was precisely what pushed him forward like a tailwind. Now it’s Bethpage Black, a stage where it won’t be millions invisible, but about 45,000 souls with well-present throats. With his charisma, humor, and ability to downplay the unbearable, let him turn to his advantage what others will only read as hostility. Leave him the new Airpods 3 pro on the bedside table: they cancel out ambient noise.
The most difficult challenge is with Rasmus. The boy didn’t come out unscathed from Wentworth, and certainly, he has little time to do his homework regarding the identified failures in that tournament. His numbers this year have lacked stroke gained approach and putt, areas that others turn into lifelines. However, sometimes, what statistics don’t say is revealed by the look, the grit, the stubbornness, or the ability to keep resilience afloat after a shipwreck. In the Big Apple, indulgence won’t do, and he must remember that when he was 18, he was the first player born in the 2000s capable of winning on the DP World Tour. It was in Mauritius. A seashell on the bedside table so that the sound of the sea reminds him that on that occasion he held his own in his playoff under pressure and left two seasoned players like Rozner and Paratore out of coverage.
Luke, I’m sure you already have everything you need to win this Ryder, and I don’t think that among your frenzied schedule these days you have room for two thousand five hundred words full of that energy, heart, and blind faith of someone with high levels of geekiness, but if the miracle happens that an algorithm or some cosmic causality leads you to these lines, although they don’t come to tell you anything you don’t already know, consider it as a last will before the battle begins, so that you are capable of renewing each day the motivation of the twelve with spark, vision, and confidence and that no one can say that if our team doesn’t burn in Bethpage, it wasn’t for lack of a fuse.
