ROME The streak continues.
There is so, so much to discuss.
Here are 18 parting thoughts from Marco Simone Golf Club.
This has to be the most overanalyzed event in sports.
The winning captain is viewed as a genius who pressed all the right buttons.
The losing captain is a bumbling idiot who got it all wrong.
Every year its the same thing.
Both of the most recent American captains have adopted a laissez-faire style of leadership.
Their reasoning: we have the best players in the world.
Why would we want them to deviate from their normal routines?
When the U.S. romped in Wisconsin, everyone lauded Steve Stricker for being so hands-off.
The Europeans, on the other hand, all played two weeks ago at the BMW Championship.
Had the U.S. won, no one wouldve mentioned that.
Its hard to know whos playing well and whos not when no ones played recently.
And it took the Americans a good three sessions to really start to hit their stride.
Johnson will be second-guessed.
The Ryder Cup is more intertwined than ever.
The players only really saw each other at the majors.
The European teams' coaches were based in Europe, the Americans' in America.
Three-quarters of the European team has homes in the United States.
Beginning next year, all 12 will be PGA Tour members.
They’re all pals.
They’ll drink together this evening.
Joe LaCava was wrong with how he celebrated on the 18th green on Saturday evening.
Cut and dry, he was wrong.
A core tenet of caddying is to avoid interfering with the competition.
I was standing just off to the side of the green and noticed it immediately.
LaCava surely realized this right away, for he contacted the European team Saturday night to dump the air.
Hot heads run hot.
The pay-for-play conversation regarding the Ryder Cup is a very interesting one.
Thats the viewpoint I find myself gravitating toward, but I understand the other side as well.
A Ryder Cup without the best players in the world is not a Ryder Cup.
At least not directly.
Soccer players who play for their national teams do indeed get paid.
Its a tricky one.
One thing the Presidents Cup has over the Ryder Cupthe ability to match up certain guys with certain guys.
The blind draw here leaves a lot to be desired.
How electric would it have been for Europe to name Rory McIlroy and U.S. counters with Cantlay?
It works in the Presidents Cup, where the pressers themselves are must-watch action.
The Ryder Cups the best for so many reasons, one of which is the audio.
Or, of course, you could simply walk up and tap in your putt.
Looking at him and asking him puts him on the spot and makes for a pretty awkward interaction overall.
And yet guys on both sides kept doing it and doing it and doing it.
Maybe that was a strategy?
Make the guy look you in the eyes and tell you the putt isn’t good?
This was the first year the Asian Games allowed professionals to compete.
Now, why does that matter?
Because South Korea has a mandatory military requirement for all able-bodied men.
Im and Kim both played in the Tokyo Olympics, where a medal wouldve done the trick.
Im in particular skipped that years Open Championship to hone in his focus on Tokyo.
“This has been the longest four days of my career,” Im told the Korean Times.
He finished second in the individual competition with a 26-under total.
“Every hole felt so important, and I knew every shot counted.
I feel like I can have a really long and successful run there.
I think this will help me so much mentally.”
Now thats performing under pressure.
Koepka looked lethargic from the start.
Had they been forced to putt everything out it probably wouldve been around +10 through 12 holes.
For two titans of the sport!
Anyone silly enough to read my work knows how much I admire the folks over at Data Golf.
This week the DG folks posted a graphic that stoped me in my tracks.
Our sport is delightfully chaotic, and never more so than this week.
The Americans kept doing that Italian hand motion throughout the practice rounds.
Luke Kerr-Dineen at Golf Digest has a nicebreakdown of it here.
Then, on Friday, they both holed low spinners.
Spin loft, baby.
Thats not to say best.
But he hits more shots that make you say oh shit than anyone this side of Rory.
Its a combination of strength, length and the boldness to try it.
Which takes us to the uphill par-5 9th during Fridays afternoon four ball session.
Clark had 295 yards uphill for his second shotlike, properly uphill.
He pulled 3-wood without hesitation and ripped an absolute missile at the dead-center of the green.
Before the ball came close to its apex he begged for it to be right.
It wasnt the first unplayable he took in that match.
He did the same thing on the par-4 3rd after flaring his drive right.
He got that one up-and-down from 136 yards to save par and stay just 1 down to Fitz.
It takes a lot of patience to take unplayable in match play.
A studly performance from Homa who improves to a combined 7-1-1 in Ryder and Presidents Cups.
Its a cruel game.
Zach Johnson is horrific at talking into a microphone.
Nice guy, great player, but he couldnt stay out of his own way this week.
But I do not see one benefit in saying that in the middle of the competition.
Doesnt exactly inspire confidence in his team, does it?
Youre essentially making an excuse for them with 20 of the 28 points still there for the taking.
Johnson didnt help himself much at the podium this week.
The Americans seem to have mostly abandoned the hype-video strategy in the last few Ryder Cups.
Its part of the laissez-faire captain style we talked about above.
The Europeans, on the other hand, lean all the way in.
Hype videos on hype videos on hype videos.
One styles not better than the other.
But they are indeed quite different.
Europe should not be allowed to wear red, white and blue in a Ryder Cup.
Their colors for this event are blue and yellow and the Americans are red, white and blue.
I understand the two sides have their own clothing manfucturers, and they come up with their scripting independently.
But seems pretty straightforward for the European side to avoid red, white and blue in the same outfit.
World rankings mean nothing when it comes to this event.
They meant nothing when the world rankings were an accurate reflection of world golf.
They mean nothing now, when theyre not an accurate reflection of world golf.
One of these days well learn our lesson.
Now for some much-needed rest.
