Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas agree on the diagnosis of what happened to the United States in the last Ryder Cup in Rome. Neither of them has any qualms in acknowledging that Europe was far superior. Period. Similarly, they agree on the treatment to follow to avoid it. Both believe that too many US players spent a lot of time without playing before the Ryder Cup. They need to arrive more seasoned for such a demanding event.
“Europe entered the tournament stronger, they played well. Everyone played well at Wentworth. They arrived and started 4-0 at home. It’s hard to get out of a hole like that. They had the momentum and the support of the public. The question we need to ask ourselves is what do we need to do to have our best game at the Ryder Cup. We have started to talk and explore things to try to get the guys to play some tournament before the Ryder or arrive earlier at the course. Just small things, without going crazy, that allow us to start better”, explains Jordan Spieth.
Thomas has the same opinion. “If you win, you don’t think anything is wrong. But when you lose, you start to overanalyze and overthink, in my opinion. Beyond that, I would definitely say that if we played the Ryder Cup again, there would probably be some guys who would have played maybe a little closer to it, but it’s easy to say in hindsight and when you’ve been kicked in the butt”, he points out.
In other words, no one should doubt that in 2025, before the big event in New York, the US golfers will not be a month without competing, as has happened this time in many cases since the FedEx Cup Final. Somehow they will manage to play some tournament closer to that week.
Another of Thomas’s proposals is somewhat more controversial. The Kentucky native suggests that there is a kind of neutral committee to prepare the courses. He doesn’t talk so much about holding the Ryder in a neutral country as that the preparation is more homogeneous. “It doesn’t make much sense that you play in the United States with very wide streets and no rough and then you go to Europe and find narrow streets and a lot of rough. Maybe we could do something more neutral and more logical, although I don’t want it to sound like an excuse. If you have narrower streets and more rough, play better and put it on the street, it’s just an idea”, he suggests.
On the other hand, Jordan Spieth has revealed that he has been two weeks without training after the Ryder Cup due to a wrist injury. He got it at home. “It was simply by picking up a toaster and putting it on the countertop. It gave me pain and I couldn’t work for 15 days. We have done tests and it has not been something muscular or mechanical, but nervous, specifically the ulnar nerve. It happened to me in May and the doctors have told me to watch it. That as soon as I feel any discomfort, stop, do not overtrain in any case. Right now I feel good and I’m not too worried. I just have to watch it a bit”, he explained.
