Going into the week, I thought the Euros could pull off the upset. While they didn't have near the pedigree or the high rankings that the US players did, they were comfortable playing together and I felt like they would play very well in the windy conditions. But this US team picked a great week for EVERYONE to play at their very best. By the time Saturday's AM session was done, the competition was over. A lot of credit goes to Stricker for cutting out all the normal BS that accompanies Ryder Cup week with the dinners and the speeches and the other get-togethers that go on off the course. But the players stepped up big time. There wasn't a weak link anywhere during the competition, which is a rarity in these competitions for the US.
Other observations from the ground in a 'random musings' format -- I avoided any splashes of champagne. Didn't have the rainsuit with me and I didn't feel like smelling of stale alcohol...That course is incredibly treacherous to walk if you're not in the fairway. I nearly bit it in front of everyone at the 9th green on Thursday while trailing the Euros practice and having to walk from 17 tee to 18 green yesterday while chasing the Morikawa clinching half point was like walking a slippery tightrope....The gasps of the crowd when Bryson's tee shot landed at 5 on Friday were great but the cheers that went up on 1 green both when his drive landed yesterday and when he buried the eagle were pretty damn good. Not as good as being greenside for Spieth holing out from the bunker at the Travelers in overtime but still loud...I'm not sure if the broadcast showed it but Westwood took a little extra time on 18 after shaking hands with English to sort of reflect on things. That very well could have been his last Ryder Cup match. He alluded to it in his press conference afterwards, saying that he hopes it isn't but realizes it very well could have been. Same with Poulter. He showed some emotion after he closed out Finau. Poulter is now 6-0-1 in Ryder Cup singles...After it was all said and done, there were probably 100-150 fans still milling around outside the clubhouse trying to catch a glimpse as players left. They were rewarded when Sergio came out and signed autographs and took pictures with anyone who wanted one. He also dished out a new Euro Ryder Cup headcover to a kid as well as a few other trinkets. Then the main event started with all but 3 US players coming through a makeshift human tunnel on their way to the parking lot (others took the team bus, these players left with their families). Bryson's tossing out RC pins to people, Schauffele's caddy had a handful of various things that he just tossed in the air for people to grab, JT was revving up the crowd. It was a lot of fun to see that even though I got assaulted by the mosquitoes once the sun set...Cantlay's gonna win a major next year and Scheffler will win at least twice between now and the end of calendar year 2022...And as I found out on my trip to Madison for the PSU win, cheese curds and Spotted Cow kick ass.
