The stands at Bethpage are packed today, Wednesday. The anticipation of the Ryder Cup inauguration has been felt. The usual Wednesday crowd is joined by those with Thursday tickets, who have been allowed access today due to the change of plans caused by bad weather. The course is packed, although the atmosphere is surprisingly calm. Plenty of colour everywhere. A sea of blue and red. Costumes everywhere. Peculiar people who seem more interested in the camera lens than the game itself. But when it comes to shouting or singing, it’s quite subdued. Nothing like Rome. Who knows, maybe they’re saving it all for when the ball starts rolling on Friday. It makes you wonder if it’s all part of a Bradley plan: silence on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday to catch them by surprise on Friday… A bit too conspiratorial.
There are people of all types, backgrounds, and origins. Nothing compares to the Ryder Cup. There are Europeans too, of course, trying to make themselves heard, but mainly, obviously, there are Americans, especially New Yorkers. Many of those following the matches are Bethpage Black members. As you know, it’s a public course, so anyone with the time, money, and, almost most importantly, a low handicap, can play. Precisely these, the Bethpage regulars, the members, those who come here every week, are the first to be surprised by the course preparation…
Not even the oldest locals remember a Bethpage with such low rough, especially on the sides of the fairways. It’s true that around the greens it’s a bit trickier, as expected, but the course that Keegan Bradley wanted to prepare was clear, and he has achieved it. Luke Donald and Europe expected it, but perhaps not with such enthusiasm. It’s really a week to hit the driver from the tee as hard as possible and leave the shortest club possible to a green that, with the expected rain, will be quite receptive.
The statistics that Keegan Bradley handles indicate that in terms of distance, the teams are quite evenly matched, with the European team perhaps slightly longer on average. The big difference lies in what is known as ‘accuracy’. That is, the degree of deviation from the tee. The Europeans are straighter, hence the course preparation follows that line. If we miss the fairway, which we will, at least we should have a chance to hit the green in conditions not too different from the Europeans. Of course, the rough isn’t like a US Open or a PGA Championship, nor was it expected to be, but it’s also not like any other Sunday of the year when the members play.
The green on the 14th hole, a par 3, has also drawn a lot of attention. The stand is really close to the green, so there’s hardly any rough if the ball goes long. In fact, if it goes long, it can be dropped without penalty in the designated area because it will hit the stand. That 14th hole was where Brooks Koepka made his fourth consecutive bogey on Sunday at the PGA Championship in 2019, opening the door to Dustin Johnson, precisely after going long on the green and being forced to recover from a very tough rough. That won’t happen in this Ryder.
Of course, it’s well known that the 1st hole has been shortened significantly due to the stands on the tee and the 18th green. The hole doglegs to the right, and we’ll see many, if not all, going over the corner. Even if they don’t make it, you’d have to be unlucky for the ball to end up in a bad spot.
In short, between the course preparation and the expected rain, unless there’s a gale, it’s going to be a Ryder Cup of darts and plenty of birdies. The forecast says that Friday could be windier, with gusts reaching up to 30 kilometres per hour, while Saturday and Sunday are expected to have winds of just over 20 kilometres per hour at most.
