The party in Rome was surely epic. The night in the Italian capital would have been too short for the high-flying celebration that Luke Donald‘s boys would have had after their comfortable victory in the Ryder Cup against United States (16.5-10.5). And yet, with a hangover that will surely last a few days, a third of the Old Continent squad embarked with their golf bags to continue competing from this Thursday.
It’s curious because the Yankees, if they had a celebration to take to their mouths and would get up on Monday fresh as lettuce, are taking a break this week and none will attend the Sanderson Farms, a PGA Tour tournament in Mississippi, or the Alfred Dunhill Links in Scotland. And that most of them, except Justin Thomas, Max Homa and Brooks Koepka, had enjoyed five weeks of vacation before the Ryder and, in addition, Jordan Spieth complained about the preparation because he understands that such a long break before such an important event is harmful. Well, they didn’t play before and they won’t do it right after.
Now, the Europeans, with or without ibuprofen in their toiletry bags after the Roman party, are already getting started; well, specifically there will be four players and several of Donald’s assistants who have competition on Thursday. The Alfred Dunhill Links, moreover, is a tough tournament after an emotional and physical beating like the ones experienced at the Marco Simone, because it is played on three courses (Old Course at St. Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns) and the cut is set on Saturday, not Friday, and because each golfer shares a match with an amateur, extending the day. The title will be decided on Sunday at St. Andrews, with three of the heroes of Rome aspiring to it.
Tommy Fleetwood, who was the first to secure the victory against USA, Matt Fitzpatrick and Robert MacIntyre have confirmed their presence at the Scottish event, where vice-captains Nicolas Colsaerts and Thomas Bjorn will also be. Ryan Fox, winner at Wentworth, Adrian Meronk, who was not finally chosen by Donald to go to Italy; Ramus Hojgaard, Yannik Paul, Victor Perez and some LIV players like Louis Oosthuizen, Talor Gooch and Dean Burmester are several of the attractions of the event, where there will be eight representatives of the Armada: Jorge Campillo, Adri Arnaus, Rafa Cabrera Bello, Santi Tarrio, Ángel Hidalgo, Nacho Elvira, Sebas García and Álex del Rey. There will be no Ryder Americans in Scotland, but there will be some compatriots, apart from Gooch, like Billy Horschel, Matt Kuchar and Hudson Swafford.
But it doesn’t end there. The PGA Tour returns to the calendar and none of Zach Johnson‘s troops in Italy have signed up. On the other hand, one of the winners last Sunday has crossed the Atlantic to play in Jackson: Ludvig Aberg. The young Swedish golfer is the headliner of the Sanderson, where he will coincide with his compatriots Alex Noren and Henrik Norlander. Aberg should have traveled with one of his Ryder teammates, Nicolai Hojgaard, but he has withdrawn from the tournament after the victory in Italy and Ricky Barnes has taken his place.
