Ryder Cup (Golf)

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    Ryder Cup Has Decades of Drama Between United States and Europe

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    It began in 1927 and has had many nail-biters over its almost 100 years. Here are some of them.Nothing is at stake — no prize money, individual titles or world ranking points — for the 24 players who will participate in the 2023 Ryder Cup, which begins on Friday at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club in Rome.Nothing and everything.The members of Team Europe and the United States will play for something bigger and as we’ve seen, in recent decades especially, the biennial three-day match-play competition, which began in 1927, is bound to generate memories.Here, in chronological order, are 10 Ryder Cups that stand out.1933, Southport and Ainsdale Golf Club, EnglandThe course in Southport was packed with about 15,000 spectators, and they weren’t cheated.The outcome came down to the final hole of the singles match between Syd Easterbrook of England and Denny Shute of the United States. With their match even, both players faced par putts of roughly 30 feet.Easterbook, who went first, missed his attempt. All Shute had to do was two-putt, and the United States would retain the Cup.Shute knocked his putt four feet by the hole and missed the next one, too, handing the victory to the British team. The rest of Europe wouldn’t be included in the Ryder Cup until 1979.The American golfer Sam Snead in 1949 at Ganton Golf Club in England.S&G/PA Images, via Getty Images1949, Ganton Golf Club, EnglandThe Americans had the great Ben Hogan on their side, but as the captain, not as a player.Hogan was still recovering from a car accident that would keep him on the sidelines until 1950. Also unable to play was Cary Middlecoff, the United States Open champion who wasn’t a member of the P.G.A. of America.Even so, the United States, because it captured six of the eight singles matches, rallied from two points down to win the Ryder Cup for the fourth time in a row at the course in northeast England. The major champions Sam Snead, Jimmy Demaret and Lloyd Mangrum were among the winners.1969, Royal Birkdale Golf Club, EnglandThere wasn’t any one shot that makes this year so memorable.It was, rather, a gesture of sportsmanship.It came from Jack Nicklaus on the final hole of his singles match versus Tony Jacklin at the course near Manchester. Nicklaus picked up Jacklin’s ball mark to concede a two-foot putt that left their match, and the overall competition, all square. The United States, because it was the defending champion, retained the Cup.“Here he was, the [British] Open champion, the new hero, and all of a sudden it felt like if he missed this putt he would be criticized forever,” Nicklaus later said. “This all went through my mind in a very, very quick period of time, and I said, ‘I’m not going to give Tony Jacklin the opportunity to miss it.’”Jack Nicklaus, left, and Tony Jacklin after a singles match at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in 1969.PA Images, via Getty Images1983, PGA National, United StatesOne sensational shot was hit by the young Spaniard Seve Ballesteros; the other by an American, Lanny Wadkins at the course in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.From a fairway bunker 240 yards away on the par-5 18th hole, Ballesteros sent the ball to the fringe of the green, and from there he was able to get a par and halve his match with Fuzzy Zoeller.Wadkins knocked the ball from 60 yards away to within a foot on the 18th hole to then halve his match with José María Cañizares and clinch a one-point victory for the United States.1985, the Belfry, EnglandWith Jacklin as the captain, Team Europe captured the Ryder Cup on this course near Birmingham for the first time since 1957. The period of American dominance was over.Two players from Spain, Ballesteros and Manuel Piñero, were outstanding. Piñero won four points for the Europeans, while Ballesteros, one of the game’s brightest stars then, collected three and a half points.Craig Stadler, a former Masters champion, also played well, though he missed a short putt on Saturday morning that cost the United States an important half point. Team Europe went on to win three of the four afternoon foursome matches to take a 9-7 lead into Sunday.The Spaniards Manuel Piñero, Seve Ballesteros, José María Cañizares and José Rivero after Team Europe won in 1985 at the Belfry in England.David Cannon/Allsport, via Getty Images1987, Muirfield Village Golf Club, United StatesFor the first time, the United States lost on its own soil. The final: 15 to 13.The Americans had been 13-0 at home before coming up short on the course near Columbus, Ohio, that was designed by Jack Nicklaus, the U.S. captain. Down by five points, the U.S. team rallied in the singles, but the deficit was too large.Ballesteros was in top form again for the Europeans, earning four points in five matches. Contributing with three and a half points apiece were Nick Faldo, Bernhard Langer and Ian Woosnam; Sandy Lyle and José María Olazábal won three points.On the other side, Ben Crenshaw was 0-3, while Tom Kite and Hal Sutton were the only Americans with three points.1991, Kiawah Island Golf Resort, United StatesIn the end, it came down to one putt at the Ocean Course in South Carolina.The putt was from six feet away, and if Langer were to knock it in, he would win his match over the three-time U.S. Open champion Hale Irwin, and Team Europe would keep the Cup.If he were to miss, the United States would take possession for the first time since 1983. It is difficult to imagine a player feeling more pressure. Even in a major tournament.Langer missed, and the Europeans returned the Cup to the Americans, not winning it back until 1995.Bernhard Langer of Germany after he missed a putt on the 18th hole in the final singles match in 1991 at Kiawah Island Golf Resort in the United States.David Cannon/Getty Images1999, the Country Club,United StatesTrailing by four points entering the singles matches on the final day, the United States captain, Crenshaw, still believed in his team.With good reason.The Americans picked up eight and a half points on Sunday to edge Team Europe by one. Among those who came through with big victories were Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Davis Love III and David Duval.The event, held just outside Boston, also provided its share of controversy with the U.S. players rushing onto the 17th green after Justin Leonard made a birdie putt from 45 feet. The match, and the competition itself, however, wasn’t over just yet. Olazábal faced a birdie putt of his own that would have kept the players all square heading to 18. He missed.2010, Celtic Manor Resort, WalesAs it did in 1991, the Ryder Cup, staged for the first time in Wales, came down to the final singles match, with Europe’s Graeme McDowell squaring off against Hunter Mahan of the United States.After knocking in a 15-foot birdie at the 16th hole to go two up, McDowell prevailed when Mahan struggled on 17.The Europeans had a three-point lead heading into the final day, but had to hang on as Woods, Mickelson, Steve Stricker, Dustin Johnson, Jeff Overton and Zach Johnson put full points on the board for the United States. Another key contributor was Rickie Fowler, who rallied to secure a half point against Edoardo Molinari.A view of the 18th green at Medinah Country Club in 2012.Jamie Squire/Getty Images2012, Medinah Country Club, United StatesIt felt a lot like 1999.Only this time, it was Team Europe’s turn to come back from a four-point deficit heading into the 12 singles matches on Sunday, and on its opponent’s territory, no less.With clutch victories on the course just outside Chicago by Justin Rose over Mickelson, Sergio Garcia over Jim Furyk, and Martin Kaymer over Steve Stricker, Europe outscored the United States eight and a half to three and a half on the final day. Only Dustin Johnson, Zach Johnson and Jason Dufner won their matches for the United States.Kaymer of Germany clinched the victory with a six-foot putt on the 18th green. More

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      Ryder Cup: Home Team Gets a Course Advantage

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      This year the competition is in Rome, which means the European team controls the course setup and can adjust it to its players’ strengths.Max Homa returned from a scouting trip to the site of this week’s Ryder Cup in Rome incredulous with how the course had been set up.Not only were the fairways reduced in width where a tee shot might land, but the rough was grown so thick, high and gnarly that slightly errant shots could disappear.“One day someone hit it over a bunker, and we just lost it in the regular rough,” Homa said. “The whole first day I didn’t see a single ball from the rough hit the green.”The one exception: Justin Thomas hit a ball in the rough onto the green from 100 yards away, a distance where touring pros are thinking about getting the ball to within a few feet from the hole, not just on the putting surface.“The rough is borderline unplayable,” Homa said. “There’s going to be the highest, highest premium placed on being in the fairway, but they’re narrow.”In other words, this sounds like a typical setup for a Ryder Cup played in Europe, where the home team hasn’t lost the biennial competition in 30 years.Luke Donald playing his way out of a bunker at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club during the Italian Open in May.Andrew Redington/Getty ImagesThe Ryder Cup, which alternates between Europe and the United States, is the rare event in elite golf where the home team has an advantage, given that it gets to determine how the course will be played. At regular professional events, the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour work with local tournament directors to bring consistency from week to week. For the major championships, the governing bodies dictate how the courses will be set up, and typically lay them out in predictably difficult ways.But the Ryder Cup is different: What the captain of the home team says goes, right up until Sunday night of tournament week. And it’s codified in the Captains’ Agreement, which starts: “It is recognized that the home side has the opportunity to influence and direct the setup and preparation of the course for the Ryder Cup. It is hereby agreed that any such influence, direction and/or preparation will be limited to course architecture/course design, fairway widths, rough heights, green speed and firmness.”This year, there’s an added bit of home team advantage at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club, because very few of the U.S. players are familiar with the course under any conditions. Several players on the European squad have at least played the course when it hosted the Italian Open on the DP World Tour.In the hope of getting an understanding of how the course would be set up for the Ryder Cup, Zach Johnson, the U.S. captain, took the team on a scouting trip earlier this month.“This is a course that most if not all of our guys have not played,” Johnson said in an interview. “To get their feet on the ground of Marco Simone ahead of the Cup is very important. Having some practice time there can only make a very trying, different, sometimes difficult week of the Cup that much more manageable and comfortable.”Johnson, a five-time Ryder Cup player, knows the setup gambits both sides play. “Because it’s in Europe, there are tendencies their team seems to employ, with regard to course setup among other things,” he said. “We will utilize past experiences and data to make decisions.”The setup shenanigans ultimately equal out. One of the most famous setup tweaks came when Paul Azinger, captain of the 2008 U.S. squad, set up the course at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky., to take advantage of his players’ ability to drive the ball farther off the tee than their European opponents.All the hazards — bunkers, much thicker rough — were in the areas where the shorter-hitting Europeans were likely to land the ball, while the rough past the bunkers was cut shorter to make it easier for the American side to escape from wayward drives.A view of the first tee grandstand for the 2023 Ryder Cup. After visiting Marco Simone, Max Homa noted that the rough on the course was so thick and high, errant shots could disappear. Naomi Baker/Getty ImagesIn 2016, at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn., Davis Love III, the U.S. captain, put many pins in the middle of the greens, making it easy for the player, but less exciting to watch.The European side has historically gone with a setup that features narrow fairways and higher rough, under the premise that American golfers are less accurate, along with greens that are much slower than those typically found on the PGA Tour. This year was no different, Homa said.That leaves an obvious question: Why do the officials allow this?The Ryder Cup is jointly sanctioned by the P.G.A. of America and Ryder Cup Europe, which is a blend of three organizations in Britain and Europe. Officials at the P.G.A. of America and Ryder Cup Europe said the setup was fair and it could reward or penalize players on either team.Zach Johnson, the United States team captain, talking with reporters in Rome earlier this month. Johnson took his team on a scouting trip to the course to increase their familiarity with it. Andrew Medichini/Associated Press“You are looking for it to be tough, but fair, and provide an exciting challenge,” said David Garland, director of tour operations for Ryder Cup Europe.Kerry Haigh, chief championships officer at the P.G.A. of America, said: “The Ryder Cup is unlike our other championships in that the home captain has a lot of influence as to how the golf course is set up. Our aim is to make any Ryder Cup golf course setup fair for both teams.”Once play starts, it’s up to the officials to maintain the course as it was at the outset. “If you want six-inch rough, four-inch rough or two-inch rough, that’s what we’re trying to do,” Haigh said.Setup aside, both officials emphasized that this year’s course has some shorter holes that are meant to increase the excitement of the matches.“There are a couple of drivable par 4s, the fifth and the 16th, which are both over water,” Garland said. “The course was completely rebuilt a few years ago for the Ryder Cup with the drama of match play in mind.” More

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      Ryder Cup: Zach Johnson Tries to End a 30-Year Drought for U.S. Team

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      As captain of the U.S. Ryder Cup team, he is attempting to win in Europe for the first time since 1993.Zach Johnson, a five-time Ryder Cup player and a two-time major champion, is at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club in Rome this week as the captain of the U.S. Ryder Cup team. He’s trying to do something no American captain has done in 30 years: beat the European squad on its home turf.It’s an illustrious list of captains who have tried to bring the Cup back to the United States but failed that includes Jim Furyk, Corey Pavin, Tom Kite, Curtis Strange — all major champions. The last time the U.S. squad won in Europe was in 1993 when Tom Watson, in his first stint as captain, led a team that won at the Belfry in England.The interview has been edited and condensed.How did you mature as a player over your five Ryder Cups?The Ryder Cups I participated in without question helped pave the way for many of my wins, especially the major championships, and instilled in me a confidence that is hard to capture anywhere else. If a player can execute in the Cup, he will be able to execute shots under duress in a major or any other event with real confidence. That confidence I gained in 2006 — even though the team lost — carried over to the 2007 Masters and beyond.What were the lessons you learned that you imparted on this year’s squad?First, regardless of what the media says or whatever any of the outside noise may be — it’s still just golf. There is a tee, a fairway, a hole. You know how to play golf, and you’re here because you’re one of the best in the world at it.Second, just because it’s the Ryder Cup and the pressure is immense, it doesn’t mean you, as a player, have to do anything different. Just be yourself, do the things you’ve always done to have success and trust what got you here.Third, what’s happened in the past, either good or bad, doesn’t matter. This is a new team with new members on a new course presenting a new opportunity.How did the selection of players work?It’s a collaborative process involving my vice captains as well as input from the guys making the team. I rely on my vice captains for sure. Many of them have sat in my seat before and bring so much to the table. We also utilized our statistics team that brought us both objective and subjective data to help make the best-informed decisions to put our best team of 12 together.What have you learned from past captains on how to make a team gel?One, the more we can be together as a team, to any capacity, the better. Two, picking a team doesn’t have a perfect formula. There’s current form of play, what the golf course demands, best pairings, experience or lack thereof, and many more aspects. Three, a good team has ownership and investment by its players. That will be a primary goal from the beginning. Having some of these players take on leadership roles — some vocal, some by example — will be paramount.What was the idea behind the scouting week in Rome before the Ryder Cup?This is a course that most, if not all, of our guys have not played. To get their feet on the ground of Marco Simone ahead of the Cup was very important. Having practice time there can only make a very trying, different, sometimes difficult week of the Cup that much more manageable and comfortable. Plus, we were together as a team, hanging out, eating together, seeing Rome together, bonding.You and Luke Donald, the European captain, are contemporaries. Has knowledge from playing against him factored into your decision making?My friendship or past experiences with Luke on or off the course will not dictate any of my decision making. Neither one of us is hitting any shots.What will be the biggest challenge of playing in Rome?The European team is stacked with stars like Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland. We will be playing in front of a hugely partisan crowd in Rome trying to break a 30-year drought by winning away from the United States, playing as an underdog. With this being said, our team sees this as a great test and opportunity to go compete on the grandest stage in golf and bring the Cup back home. More

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      Nick Faldo Talks About Retirement and More

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      The six-time major champion has retired after 16 years as a CBS analyst. It’s given him time to consider playing one last tournament.For the first time since 2006, England’s Nick Faldo wasn’t in the booth this past season as the lead golf analyst for CBS.He was on the range — and not just the driving range. A six-time major champion from 1987 through 1996, he was at his home in Montana.Faldo, 66, the only four-time winner of the BMW PGA Championship, which begins Thursday at the Wentworth Club in Surrey, England, discussed recently those victories and the game that has meant so much to him.The following conversation has been edited and condensed.Do you miss your job at CBS?Yes and no. I loved being with the guys, but I had enough of being out there every week. They’ve just done 23 tournaments this season, and I couldn’t do that anymore. I’ve been flying since I was 19, when I went on tour. I’ve got plenty to do. [Golf course] design work is going very well. It’s just nice to be chilling and doing your own thing each day.Are you paying attention to the tour?Not as much. I’ve rarely watched it on TV. I’ve watched it maybe through highlights on social media. I’m more interested in the Ryder Cup because I’m going. I think it’s going to be really big, a great atmosphere.Nick Faldo and Fanny Sunesson, his former caddie, at the 2022 British Open.David Cannon/Getty ImagesWho do you think will win it?I think our backbone looks more impressive than America’s backbone at the moment, to be really honest.What do you mean by the backbone?The top six. Back in my day, [former Europe captain] Tony Jacklin said, “You six, you’re playing five matches. You’re doing the heavy lifting.” We said, “Fine.”So, are you going as far as to say that Europe is going to win?Yeah, I would. We should.Has Team Europe’s captain, Luke Donald, picked your brain at all?Yeah. I bumped into him at the [British] Open. A couple of little ideas I had, mainly for practice. I won’t say what.Of your four victories at Wentworth, do any one of them stand out?Well, I really enjoyed the one at Royal St. George’s [in 1980] because we played that in May. And that golf course in May, if you get just a little bit of rain on the links, is perfect. That week, all I practiced were one, two, and three irons. It paid off. I remember hitting one iron into 15, that tiny little green. It was one of the key shots on the way to winning. That turf was so gorgeous to hit off.What kind of player does the Wentworth course suit?A pretty accurate one. There are trees literally left and right. That’s its main character.Nick Faldo after his win at Royal Birkdale in 1978.Phil Sheldon/Popperfoto, via Getty ImagesThe victory over Ken Brown, in 1978 at Royal Birkdale was a big one, wasn’t it?That was the very first 72-hole [tournament] I won, which was amazing because I had already played a Ryder Cup. On the putting green, I was holing like 40-footers, thinking, “Oh, this is good.” I won about 10,000 pounds. How about that? It was the PGA. It was big. I loved it.Are you playing any golf these days?Yeah, I’ve got a nice club here and a really nice range, a [Tom] Weiskopf course. I still like to pop up there and belt balls.What do you get out of it?Well, that’s the great thing about our game. I go up there, and I’ve got different spots on downslopes and sideslopes and I whack away. I wear myself out for an hour and a half, and I still learn something. And I think I’ve still got it. Isn’t that great? That’s 50 plus years later. I’d love to play one more [tournament]. I want to get myself fit and strong.Where?I don’t know yet. I want to get Fanny [Sunesson, his former caddie] on the bag.Are you serious about this?Yeah. I want to play something. And the big word is, Can I enjoy it? That’s the only goal. Somewhere [on the senior tour] where I have time to gear up. I’ll try to do something next year. I got to. I’ll be 67 next summer. More

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      For Corey Pavin, the Right Club for a U.S. Open Win

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      He took the 1995 U.S. Open when he picked a 4-wood on the final hole and hit a shot that is still remembered.The United States Open, which begins Thursday at the Los Angeles Country Club, has featured plenty of memorable shots over the years. One was the 4-wood struck by Corey Pavin on the final hole of the 1995 Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southhampton, N.Y.Pavin, clinging to a one-stroke lead, knocked his approach from about 2225 yards away to within five feet of the pin. He missed the birdie putt but prevailed by two.“The shot of his life,” Johnny Miller of NBC called it at the time.Pavin, 63, who played on the golf team at U.C.L.A., recently reflected on what happened in 1995 and on the course that players will encounter this week.The conversation has been edited and condensed.Where’s the 4-wood these days?The 4-wood is in a nice case in storage at the moment. I had it in a house on display. When we moved, we didn’t have enough room for it.Did you use it after the Open?I used it for a couple more years and then switched to a different club.What options did you consider for the shot?I was carrying a 2-iron in my bag, as well. I said, [to his caddie] “Do you think I can get a 2-iron there?” He said, “No, I don’t. I think it’s a 4-wood.” I said, “I agree.” That was our conversation. It was very short, to the point, with no doubt on what club I should hit.Did you know right away that you were on target?When I made contact with the ball, I knew it was really good. I hit it just the way I wanted to. I had the exact same shot on Friday and hit a 4-wood onto the green, as well. So I had a good picture in my head because I did it on Friday.Did the shot receive so much attention because it was hit with a 4-wood?A fairway wood is somewhat unique to hit a second shot on a par-4 on the 72nd hole. I was 35, had won 12 tournaments at that time and hadn’t won a major, that was a factor as well.“If I had gone my whole career and hadn’t won a major, I would have been bothered by it,” Pavin said.Phil Sheldon/Popperfoto, via Getty ImagesWas it eating away at you that you hadn’t won a major?It was one of my goals, certainly, at that point in my career. I don’t know if eating away is the right way to say it, but I wanted to win a major very badly. If I had gone my whole career and hadn’t won a major, I would have been bothered by it.How do you assess your career?When I started on tour, if somebody had told me, “You’re going to win 15 tournaments with one of them being a major,” I would have told them they were probably crazy. I never had a long-term goal like that. My goal every year was to win at least one tournament, play consistent golf at the highest level I could.Did you play the Los Angeles Country Club when you were in college?We played just a couple of times. It’s a beautiful golf course. I think it’s going to hold its own pretty well.Is there a unique challenge for the guys or is it a typical Open layout?One challenge is that nobody has ever really seen it in tournament conditions. I’m not sure how it’s going to be set up. Chipping out of [the Bermuda rough] is very difficult. And hitting full shots out of it is very hard.Why did the Ryder Cup bring out the best in you?I love the Ryder Cup. The pressure there is 100 times stronger than anything I’ve ever felt. When I feel that pressure it makes me concentrate and focus even better. You don’t get a chance to represent your country very often.Any regrets about your time as captain in 2010?It was a fantastic experience. Of course, I wish we would have won, but I have no regrets on how I went about it. I was as thorough as I could be, gathered as much information as I could and made decisions based on that information. More

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      Forged After a Tumultuous Era, World Golf Championships Fade in Another

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      A match play event in Texas may be the last W.G.C. event, ending an international competition that preceded golf’s high-rolling present.AUSTIN, Texas — It was not all that long ago — Tom Kim, after all, is only 20 years old — but before Kim emerged as one of the PGA Tour’s wunderkinds-in-progress, he would watch the World Golf Championships.“For sure, 100 percent,” Kim cheerfully reminisced as he clacked along this week at Austin Country Club, the site of the championships’ match play event. “There was W.G.C. in China. There was Firestone before. You had Doral. You had this.”Had, because once one man wins on Sunday, the championships appear poised to fade away. An elite competition forged, in part, because of another era’s tumult has become a casualty of this one’s.“Everything runs its course and has its time,” said Adam Scott, who has twice won W.G.C. events. Barring a resuscitation, which seems improbable given the PGA Tour’s business strategy these days, the W.G.C.’s time was 24 years.The W.G.C. circuit was decaying before LIV Golf, the Greg Norman-fronted league that is cumulatively showering players with hundreds of millions of dollars from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, cleaved men’s professional golf last year. Two W.G.C. events vanished after their 2021 iterations, and a third, always staged in China, has not been contested since 2019 because of the coronavirus pandemic.And as the PGA Tour has redesigned its model to diminish LIV’s appeal, even the Texas capital’s beloved match play competition has become vulnerable to contractual bickering and shifting priorities.“We’ve had great events and great champions, but the business evolves and it adapts,” Jay Monahan, the PGA Tour commissioner, said this month, when the tour reinforced its decision to wager its future on “designated events” that should command elite fields and, in some cases beginning next year, be no-cut tournaments capped at 80 players or less. (LIV, whose tournaments always have 48-man fields and no cuts, responded with a wry tweet: “Imitation is the greatest form of flattery. Congratulations PGA Tour. Welcome to the future.”)With a $20 million purse, doubled in size from five years ago, the match play competition that began on Wednesday is a designated event under the 2023 model. Next year, though, it will not be on the calendar at all, winnowing the W.G.C. to one competition. And Monahan has said it would be “difficult to foresee” when his circuit’s schedule might again include the HSBC Champions, the W.G.C. event in China that will be the last remaining event formally existing in the series.The Chinese tournament’s website has had few updates in recent years, and an inquiry with the event’s organizers went unanswered. HSBC, the British banking powerhouse that is the tournament’s title sponsor, declined to comment.But the PGA Tour’s freshly calibrated distance from the Shanghai competition is fueling what looks to be an unceremonious end for the W.G.C., which were announced to immense fanfare in 1997, when the tour and its allies were smarting over Norman’s failed quest to start a global circuit for the sport’s finest players. The events, which debuted in 1999 with a match play event that sent some of the game’s best home after the first day, were intended to entice and reward the elite without challenging the prestige of the four major tournaments, as well as to give men’s professional golf a greater global footprint.It worked for a spell, and five continents hosted W.G.C. events, many of which Tiger Woods dominated. With the exception of the Chinese tournament, though, the circuit had lately been played in North America.“The ‘world’ part of the World Golf Championships wasn’t really in there,” Rory McIlroy, the four-time major tournament winner whose W.G.C. résumé includes a victory in the 2015 match play event, mused in an interview by the practice putting green.McIlroy, among the architects of the tour’s reimagining as Norman’s unfinished ambitions proved more fruitful this time around, said he had also worried that the W.G.C. events had come to lack “any real meaning,” even as they had been “lovely to be a part of, nice to play in and nice to win.” The tour’s emphasis on select tournaments, many executives and top players like McIlroy believe, will lend more consequence to its season and make it a more appealing, decipherable and concentrated product that can fend off the assault by a LIV circuit bent on simplifying — its critics say diluting — professional golf.“Your casual golf fan knows the majors, the Ryder Cup and maybe the events that are close to their hometown,” said McIlroy, who is among the players devising a new weeknight golf competition that is expected to start next year. “I get it: Professional golf is a very saturated market with a ton of stuff going on, and people have limited time to watch what they want to watch.”The Austin tournament’s end will, at least for now, reduce match play opportunities on the circuits that have been aligned with the W.G.C. Though the Austin event — which has three days of group-stage play, followed by single-elimination rounds — has a field of only 64 players, less than half of the size of last year’s British Open, it has been larger and more accessible than other signature match play tournaments.Rickie Fowler hits from the rough during the first round of W.G.C. match play.Eric Gay/Associated PressBut given the format’s popularity, it will linger, if a little less, on the international golf scene. The Presidents Cup, Ryder Cup and Solheim Cup will remain fixtures — the Solheim will be contested in Spain in September, with the Ryder decided soon after in Italy — and more modest events, such as the International Crown women’s tournament that will be played in May, still dot the calendar.Some players this week appeared more mournful than others about the erosion of the W.G.C. and the decline of match play. Scott said he hoped the tour’s new system would be able to accommodate the next generation of ready-for-stardom players from around the world, as the W.G.C. did, even as he said he was not insistent that match play be a staple.“We don’t play much match play, so the kind of logic in me questions its place in pro golf, but also we’ve got to entertain as well, and if people like to see it and sponsors want to see it, yep, I’m up for it,” Scott said.He grinned.“Maybe we should have some more, get a bit more head-to-head and see if guys like each other so much after,” he offered mischievously. “The year of match play!”The PGA Tour has not ruled out a return to the format, though it would assuredly be limited. LIV could also eventually try to tap into interest. At an event in Arizona last week, Phil Mickelson, a LIV team captain, said that match play was “certainly something that we are discussing as a possibility for the season-ending event.”But the W.G.C. appear effectively finished. Kim, the youngest player this week, was delighted that he had arrived just in time.“I played once before it all goes away,” said Kim, who has six top-10 finishes in his early tour career and expressed confidence in the circuit’s direction. “I played once in my life.”He wandered off to practice. A round against Scottie Scheffler, the reigning match play champion and the No. 1 player in the Official World Golf Ranking, loomed soon enough. More

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      Dustin Johnson Resigns From PGA Tour and Commits to Rival LIV Golf

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      Johnson’s resignation could help him avoid a suspension or a lifetime ban from the tour’s commissioner, Jay Monahan, who has indicated that punishment on that level was a possibility.Dustin Johnson, a two-time major golf champion, surrendered his PGA Tour status on Tuesday and said that for the immediate future he planned only to play in major tournaments and events sponsored by the Saudi-backed LIV Golf circuit.Appearing at a news conference in advance of the first of eight LIV Golf events in 2022 that will begin Thursday at the Centurion Club outside London, Johnson also occasionally used terms like “right now” and “for now” when describing his decision to bolt from the PGA Tour.“For right now, I’ve resigned my membership on the tour,” said Johnson, who joined the PGA Tour in 2008 and is ranked 15th in the world. He added that he would play the LIV tour, “for now, that’s the plan.”The breakaway tour headlined by Greg Norman has promised hefty appearance fees and a format that guarantees every entrant six-figure payouts, with 48 players competing for $25 million in prize money in a 54-hole format with no cut. A report last week in The Telegraph said Johnson was paid $125 million to join LIV Golf, whose major shareholder is the Public Investment Fund, the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia worth more than $600 billion.Johnson’s PGA Tour resignation could help him avoid a suspension or a lifetime ban from the tour’s commissioner, Jay Monahan, who has indicated that punishment on that level was a possibility. But so far, the United States-based PGA Tour has remained quiet as Johnson and others, such as Phil Mickelson, the six-time major champion who has earned more than $94 million at tour events, have signaled that they will play in this week’s LIV Golf tournament. Monahan’s lack of response may just be a bit of institutional timing. PGA Tour players are not in violation of any of the tour’s regulations until they actually play in a rival event without permission — and the tour has not given its consent for any players requesting to play this week in England.One thing is certain: Under current guidelines, if Johnson is not a member of the PGA Tour, he cannot play in the biennial Ryder Cup, a ballyhooed competition between top golfers from the United States and Europe with a history that dates to 1927. Johnson has played in the Ryder Cup five times, including last year when he was undefeated in five matches and helped lead the United States to a dominating victory.Golfers on the driving range Tuesday at the Centurion Club. They will play 54 holes, and there is no cut.Adrian Dennis/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesBut on Tuesday, at least in his mind, the door was still open to play in the upcoming Ryder Cups.“Obviously all things are subject to change,” Johnson said. “Hopefully at some point, it will change and I’ll be able to participate. If it doesn’t, well, it was another thing I really had to think long and hard about. Ultimately, I decided to come to this and play out here.“The Ryder Cup is unbelievable and something that has definitely meant a lot to me. I’m proud to say I’ve represented my country, and hopefully I’ll get a chance to do that again. But I don’t make the rules.”Johnson’s eligibility for all the major golf championships is not a certainty, although on Tuesday the United States Golf Association released a statement that it would not bar any player who was eligible. “Our decision regarding our field for the 2022 U.S. Open should not be construed as the USGA supporting an alternative organizing entity, nor supportive of any individual player actions or comments,” the statement said. “Rather, it is simply a response to whether or not the USGA views playing in an alternative event, without the consent of their home tour, an offense that should disqualify them for the U.S. Open.” Johnson qualifies for a spot in the field in multiple ways, not the least of which being that he won the championship in 2016. The same is true for Mickelson, who already has a spot in the 2022 U.S. Open and in next month’s British Open.Johnson has also qualified for this year’s British Open because of his 2020 Masters victory. The Masters title would normally make him welcome at the Masters for many years to come, as well as at a fourth major, the P.G.A. Championship, for the next five years.But the Masters is run by Augusta National Golf Club, which has proved in the past that it would make decisions independently. The P.G.A. Championship is governed by the PGA of America. Before that event was held last month, the organization’s chief executive, Seth Waugh, pledged his loyalty to the established PGA Tour, which he referred to as part of golf’s existing ecosystem.“Our bylaws do say that you have to be a recognized member of a recognized tour in order to be a PGA member somewhere, and therefore eligible to play,” Waugh said, speaking of the P.G.A. Championship.Asked about the alternative LIV Golf tour, Waugh answered: “We think the structure of — I don’t know if it’s a league, it’s not a league at this point — but the league structure is somewhat flawed.”How easy it might be for players to try to jockey back and forth between the LIV Golf Invitational series and golf’s biggest events, including the PGA Tour, is not known. Professional golf is largely in uncharted territory, at least in modern times.The LIV Golf prize money and the reported upfront payments to Johnson, and to Mickelson who received a $200 million contract according to Golf Channel, are staggeringly large in comparison to payouts on the PGA Tour. Players scoring in the bottom half of the field after two rounds in most tour events typically earn nothing. And yet, the leading, young stars of the PGA Tour have nonetheless remained unwaveringly loyal.Louis Oosthuizen said on Tuesday that he planned to play only one more year on the PGA Tour.Adrian Dennis/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesJohnson is one of only two top 30 players to join LIV Golf. (Louis Oosthuizen, ranked 21st, is the other.) But the overwhelming majority of the rest in the top 30, who are both the vanguard overtaking the game and generally in their 20s or early 30s, have stood with the PGA Tour.Johnson is 37, and Oosthuizen is 39 and said on Tuesday that he only planned to play one more year on the PGA Tour. In fact, many of the golfers who have committed to this week’s LIV Golf event have seen a declining world ranking lately: Sergio Garcia, 42, was ranked 10th in the men’s world rankings five years ago is now 57th; Graeme McDowell, 42, was ranked 15th in 2012 and is currently No. 374; Ian Poulter, 46, was ranked 12th a decade ago and is now 92nd; Martin Kaymer, 37, the world’s top-ranked men’s golfer in 2011 is now ranked 215th.There is no inevitability that the PGA Tour’s young guard will maintain their solidarity, especially after next month’s British Open, the last major of the season, is contested. The PGA Tour schedule winds down in August when it turns toward the season-ending FedEx Cup playoffs, which awards the winner an ample $15 million. But some tour players who do not qualify for those playoffs might be enticed to enter some of the final, lucrative LIV Golf events in September and October.That might especially be true for golfers with lesser tour status, but they would most likely still face a suspension from the PGA Tour that could continue into next year. And perhaps beyond. Is that worth it?The situation, and the professional golf landscape, is evolving. Johnson, a prominent figure in golf, and Mickelson, a fading, aging — albeit popular — golf personality, have seemed to turn their backs on the status quo. At least temporarily, to hear some of Johnson’s words.Mickelson, it is worth noting, insisted on Tuesday that he planned to keep the lifetime PGA Tour membership he has earned in his long career.If it sounds knotty, keep in mind it could become more tangled. The next stage of golf’s burgeoning face-off may be in court. More

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      Tensions Flare in Ryder Cup as the U.S. Team Takes a Commanding Lead

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      The Americans were calmly overpowering the European side, but then things got testy.HAVEN, Wis. — Golf is a game of decorum.Except in the Ryder Cup, where some combination of pressure, patriotism and pride routinely leads players to engage in frisky gamesmanship, clash over rulings and stoke or shush fans if it gives them an emotional advantage.This year’s Ryder Cup, however, was shaping up to be an exception to the usual peevishness. As the midpoint of the three-day event neared on Saturday, the American team was calmly overpowering the European side, whose golfers appeared lifeless and beaten. But that changed in the stretch of roughly one hour when there were four testy episodes involving players from both teams.Brooks Koepka defiantly and profanely disputed the decision of two rules officials who declined to give him a free drop. His American teammate, Jordan Spieth, and the caddie for his European opponent Jon Rahm had an animated quarrel about the proper place for a drop after Rahm hammered a shot into Lake Michigan. Bryson DeChambeau and Shane Lowry each gestured with their putters in protest after short putts were not conceded, although DeChambeau’s putt was far lengthier.Bryson DeChambeau of the United States laid his putter on the green in protest after his opponents refused to concede a short putt.Patrick Smith/Getty ImagesPerhaps not by coincidence, what was looking like an American rout suddenly became a tight, taut contest. After the United States won three of four team matches on Saturday morning to take a six-point lead in the event, the European team stormed back in the afternoon and at one point appeared capable of winning three of those four matches.But as the sun was setting along Lake Michigan in central Wisconsin, the Americans rallied to earn two victories that gave them a commanding 11-5 lead heading into Sunday’s 12 singles matches, which are each worth one point. The Americans would need to win only three and a half points on Sunday to win the Ryder Cup for just the second time since 2008.Dustin Johnson, left, and Collin Morikawa are undefeated as a team for the United States.Charlie Neibergall/Associated PressSteve Stricker, the American captain, smiled broadly Saturday evening as he assessed his team’s chances.“Those afternoon session matches were so important. If they blank us, they’re right back in it,” Stricker said of the European team. “But getting a split and two more points was really big. Right now, it’s about getting our guys some rest; we’ll get back to the hotel, eat and get into bed.”Justin Thomas, the emotional leader of the United States team, would not predict victory but said, “All of us have the faith now.”Sergio García, Thomas’s counterpart on the European side — at least when it comes to his leadership style — was not bowed.“Everybody knows one thing: We’ll be out there until the end and we’re not going to give up,” García said of his team. “It’s going to be difficult, but I assure you we’ll give our best.”The Saturday afternoon drama was enhanced by strong winds that whipped across Whistling Straits, the Pete Dye-designed course that is devilish even in benign conditions. Some players donned woolen winter caps in the elements and others were in short sleeves. The format for the matches was four-ball, in which each golfer plays his own ball and the lower score for a team decides the result on a hole.Three of the four matches were hotly contested and one was not, as the undefeated American team of Dustin Johnson and Collin Morikawa cruised to a comfortable 4-and-3 victory against Rory McIlroy and Ian Poulter. The combination of McIlroy, who has played in six Ryder Cups, and Poulter, a stalwart and firebrand for the Europeans since 2004, has produced an 0-2 record. McIlroy has been on the losing side of each of his three matches.Jon Rahm, left, and Sergio García of Spain have won all three of their matches as a team for Europe.Mike Segar/ReutersThe heavyweight showdown was between Spieth and his partner Koepka and the Spanish pairing of García and Rahm, the world’s top-ranked player who has been spectacular at this Ryder Cup. The Rahm-García pairing came into the match against Spieth and Koepka undefeated in their two previous matches. They did not trail in the match through 16 holes. Spieth, usually so reliable when facing pivotal putts, missed a handful of makeable birdie or par attempts that could have wrested the lead from Rahm and García, who won, 2 and 1.Like Rahm and García, their teammates Shane Lowry of Ireland and Tyrrell Hatton of England held the lead or were tied with the Americans Tony Finau and Harris English through 17 holes. Still, with the European team’s hopes of a comeback on Sunday all but hanging in the balance, Lowry faced a 10-foot uphill par putt to win the match. With a steady, rhythmic stroke, Lowry drilled the putt in the center of the hole for a 1-up victory.Not surprisingly, the most unpredictable and volatile match involved DeChambeau, who was teamed with Scottie Scheffler against Tommy Fleetwood of England and Viktor Hovland of Norway. While the lead was traded back and forth, after 14 holes the match was tied — until Scheffler sank an 18-foot birdie putt on the 15th green to give his team a one-hole edge. That lead was later extended, with Scheffler and DeChambeau eventually winning 3 and 1.The Americans, who won five of eight matches on Friday, turned in another commanding performance in Saturday morning’s foursomes matches, in which players alternate hitting the same golf ball on a hole. The Johnson-Morikawa team led for its entire match against Englishmen Paul Casey and Hatton and eventually closed out a 2-and-1 victory. The poised Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay methodically eliminated their opponents Lee Westwood and Matthew Fitzpatrick of England with a string of steady pars, winning the match 2 and 1.Thomas and Spieth, who were teamed in a losing effort on Friday, were reunited with a more productive result when they came from behind against Hovland and Bernd Wiesberger, who had the edge in the first 13 holes of the match. But the Thomas-Spieth combo won four of the final five holes to claim a 2-up victory. More

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      U.S. Routs European Team to Take Back the Ryder Cup

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      Collin Morikawa’s birdie putt on No. 17 secured the half-point the U.S. team needed to clinch its victory against Europe on the way to a 19-9 rout.HAVEN, Wis. — The first tee on a Ryder Cup Sunday is usually a place of high tension. But not on this Ryder Cup Sunday.When Justin Thomas stepped onto the tee for his match with Tyrrell Hatton of England, the home fans in the surrounding grandstand implored Thomas to chug a beer, as he had at the same spot Saturday afternoon when the American team built a nearly insurmountable lead ahead of the competition’s final stage.Thomas, preparing to play one of 12 climactic Sunday singles matches, smiled, but waved off the cans of beer being offered.“Yeah, later,” a fan yelled from the rollicking grandstand. “He’ll catch up on the beers later.”Yes, he would. And the Champagne, too.The U.S. golfers, beleaguered for most of the last 25 years of Ryder Cup competition, on Sunday completed a three-day rout of the normally dominant European team to win the event for just the third time this century. Though they needed to win only three and a half points on Sunday to secure the Ryder Cup trophy — each match victory is worth one point and a tie is worth half a point — the Americans attacked brazenly, capturing eight of a possible 12 available points to trounce the Europeans, 19-9.The 19 points are a record in a modern format for the event, established in 1979. The previous record was 18½ points, which was accomplished by the United States in 1981 and the Europeans in 2004 and 2006.The American Patrick Cantlay, who remained undefeated in this year’s event with a decisive 4 and 2 victory over Shane Lowry of Ireland on Sunday, summarized his team’s uncompromising attitude during the three days of competition at Whistling Straits, a daunting golf course along two miles of Lake Michigan shoreline in central Wisconsin.“I woke up this morning and told the guys, ‘Let’s get 20 points,’” Cantlay said. “This is the next era of Ryder Cup teams for the U.S.A., and I wanted to send a message. Everyone on our team has a killer’s instinct and we’re going to bring that to future Cups.”Collin Morikawa added, “It was imperative that we win this Ryder Cup for American golf, but it’s not just a win, it’s a dominant win, and that matters.”The American team deliberately rode a youth movement to victory, with a roster that included eight players under 30 and six who were making their Ryder Cup debut. It was the youngest American team in the 94 years of the event and notably devoid of golf luminaries, like Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, who had defined the squad since the 1990s. But from 1993 until this week, those American teams had lost nine of the 12 Ryder Cups contested.With American golf — competitively and recreationally — undergoing a changing of the guard, it was fitting that the U.S. Ryder Cup team was built around nine players ranked in the top 10 of the men’s world golf rankings, who collectively have an average age of 26.2. The youngest in the group, Morikawa, 24, was undefeated in this year’s event and secured the half-point that clinched victory on Sunday afternoon. At roughly the same time, the team’s elder, Dustin Johnson, 37, won his match to become just the fifth player to have a 5-0 record in one Ryder Cup.The U.S. team celebrated with the Ryder Cup trophy after winning on the final day of the tournament.Tannen Maury/EPA, via ShutterstockFor the Europeans, the lopsided score was a shock, even if the Americans had the stronger lineup of golfers, if measured by world rankings and tournaments won this season. Jon Rahm, the top-ranked men’s golfer, was the only European player in the world top 10. Moreover, the European team relied on a bevy of Ryder Cup veterans, including four who were over 40.Ian Poulter, a fiery leader and Ryder Cup stalwart, failed to provide the emotional boost he usually brought to the team in the first two days of team matches. Although Poulter, with his 3 and 2 victory over the American Tony Finau on Sunday, remained undefeated in Ryder Cup singles matches.“Congrats to Team U.S.A., they owned each of those team sessions on Friday and Saturday,” Poulter, 45, said late Sunday afternoon. “They made it very tough on us and this week is deflating. But we’ve got good young players too, and they will take this forward. They are more than capable of coming back the next time.”The European captain, Padraig Harrington, praised his American counterpart, Steve Stricker, who adjusted the U.S. selection process so that half his team was named at his discretion. In the past, most of the players qualified by a points rubric based on many months of results. Stricker made it a point to name a team of players whose personalities meshed — and whose games were on the rise in recent weeks.“They got their plan right,” Harrington said. “Of course, we’re disappointed, but the U.S. outplayed us. You have to see the facts.”Rory McIlroy reacted after the European team’s loss to the United States on Sunday.Charlie Neibergall/Associated PressRory McIlroy, who played prominent roles in past European victories, was in tears Sunday, even after winning his singles match against Xander Schauffele. McIlroy struggled in the two opening days of the event.“I love my teammates so much and I should have done more for them this week,” McIlroy said. “I’ve been extremely disappointed that I haven’t contributed more for the team.”Wiping his eyes, McIlroy congratulated the Americans and looked forward to a rematch in two years when the Ryder Cup resumes in Italy.“The more I play in this event, the more I realize it’s the best event in golf,” he said. “Just the best.”Morikawa’s clinching point was earned in a tie with Viktor Hovland. In addition to Cantlay’s victory for the Americans, Thomas defeated Hatton, 4 and 3; Scottie Scheffler beat Rahm, 4 and 3; Bryson DeChambeau overcame Sergio Garcia, 3 and 2; Brooks Koepka defeated Bernd Wiesberger, 2 and 1; Daniel Berger rallied past Matthew Fitzpatrick, 1-up; and Jordan Spieth and Tommy Fleetwood tied.Asked about his winning management style, Stricker said: “We took away a lot of the fluff and kept things as simple as we could. We put the players together in pairings that they helped shape with their input. And they wanted to come together — they all did.”As an example, Stricker insisted that Koepka and DeChambeau, whose sniping social media feud has been an overarching story line on the PGA Tour this year, asked to play together.“That shows you how together our team had become,” Stricker said with a grin.Although Stricker never paired the two.But in a show of the spirit and camaraderie that can envelop even heated rivals during a record-setting Ryder Cup performance, as the American team was celebrating its victory Sunday — with copious amounts of alcohol — Koepka and DeChambeau slapped hands and briefly hugged.Only on a Ryder Cup Sunday. More