Europe wins again at home, as it has been doing since it last lost in 1993, and again some voices, many, value the predictable nature of this competition. Memory is so absolutely short that we soon forget that on Sunday the ghost of a historic comeback began to hover over Marco Simone. Something similar also happened in 2018, in Paris, although it now seems incredible to us, as the final score ended up being 17.5-10.5.
Suddenly, in just twenty minutes, three very close matches turn decidedly one-sided in the final stretch and the scenario changes completely. That’s what happened in Paris: just before Jon won his match against Tiger at the 17th, the Americans had already significantly reduced the score, from the initial 10-6 to a worrying 11.5-9.5, with many duels still to be decided…
Was it predictable that Jon Rahm would manage to scrape half a point at the 18th against Scottie Scheffler, giving a breath of fresh air to Old Europe? Was it really so predictable that Shane Lowry could turn his duel against a brilliant Spieth around in the end? Was it within all predictions that Fowler would send his ball into the water at the 16th, a short par 4, and Fleetwood would put it on the green? Nothing predictable. And if it had happened differently, maybe another rooster would have sung.
We live in foolish times. Of course, it is to some extent probable that the home team, in a Ryder, will take the cat to the water, which means nothing more than that, that winning away is little less than a feat. And that’s the grace: “There is no greater challenge in high competition golf than winning a Ryder at the rival’s home,” said Rory McIlroy. He says it and many great players think it.
But we want it all: a balanced Ryder, of course, but with more or less frequent victories from one team and the other across the pond and if possible with a perpetual score of 14.5-13.5, or failing that, 14-14. It’s sport, pure sport, you can’t control every last gear of the business. There will be heart-stopping editions and others that won’t be so much. What can we do.
Some enlightened person like Graeme McDowell even proposes (without too much conviction, it must be said) to play on neutral ground… We live in stupid times.
Of course, what is not at all predictable is that Europe, since it began to play as such in 1979, dominates the total score with twelve victories, nine defeats and a draw, which was also favourable to it, as it had won the previous edition. It is not predictable, considering the overwhelming and superior level of American golf, pound for pound, player by player.
Fans are not fools, even though we live in stupid times: if they crowd the fields when a Ryder is played, on both sides of the Atlantic, and the audiences overflow, it is because they certainly understand, enjoy and value this competition as it is today.
