Sepp Straka claimed his second title of the season on the PGA Tour this Sunday, following his win at the American Express last January. He shared the leading group with Shane Lowry, who started the day at the top but couldn’t keep up with the Austrian’s pace. Ryder Cup teammates at Marco Simone and rivals this week.
The Austrian’s victory marked the eighth win of the year by a European player on the American circuit. The three victories by Rory McIlroy (Pebble Beach, The Players, and Masters), Viktor Hovland‘s win (Valspar Championship), Thomas Detry (Phoenix Open), Ludvig Aberg (The Genesis Invitational), and the two mentioned wins by the Austrian. Only two players have more than one win on the PGA Tour, and both are European.
Although the Ryder Cup is a competition where previous statistics and conjectures matter little, Luke Donald can be more than calm and pleased with his players’ performances. As of 12 May, it can be said that the year is going exceptionally well. Never before in a Ryder year had the European team achieved so many victories at this point in the season on the American circuit. An unprecedented fact until now.
The second place of Justin Rose at Augusta National is another great piece of news for the captain. If you add the performances of Adrien Meronk and Sergio García in LIV Golf, the outlook is excellent. Perhaps the only downside so far is that Jon Rahm, playing at a good level, has not yet managed to clinch a win.
Only 2023 comes close to the records of this season. As of 12 May, European players had accumulated six wins, but four were by the same player, Rahm himself. In 2021, only Rory had been able to win, precisely at Quail Hollow where the PGA Championship is being played this week. That year, the United States won decisively at Whistling Straits.
At this stage, 2018 and 2012 are the next Ryder years with the most victories by the European team (4). Both ended with a win for the Old Continent. So, these are not minor statistics. However, the last time Europe reached May without a win was in 2004, and yet they managed to retain the crown in Michigan.
Interestingly, 1983 was the first time in history that Europe achieved three victories by this point. That year, the team captained by Tony Jacklin and featuring Seve almost conquered PGA National and ended 26 years of American dominance. They would succeed two years later in the legendary first victory of the entire European team at The Belfry 1985.
The American captain, Keegan Bradley, is surely taking note of everything. Perhaps with some tension, although it is true that, of the twelve players who made up the American team in the last Ryder, three have managed to win this year (Brian Harman, Justin Thomas, Scottie Scheffler). None have been able to do so more than once. Probably the best news for the captain is the recovery Justin Thomas is experiencing. This week he confirmed it again with a second place at the Truist.
What is beyond doubt is that the man of the year so far is European and his name is Rory McIlroy. However, it’s not about how it starts but how it ends, and at Bethpage, the battle of battles is expected. Europe is ready, while Bradley hopes and wishes that this week his players continue to gain momentum in the second Major of the year, where the Americans are precisely looking to extend a victorious streak of nine editions. We’ll see if the European lads continue breaking down walls.
