Who will win the 44 th Ryder Cup between Europe vs. USA? It depends on who you ask.
A journalist from Italy asked Zach Johnson, Team USA captain, why media had rated the Americans as the favorites to win the Cup on European soil and retain it for the first 30 years.
The media says we’re the favorites. “Well, the media is always right, so it makes sense,” said the man with a wry grin.
Johnson insists that his team will be the underdog, despite the fact that the U.S. won the biennial bash at Whistlingstraits two years ago by the biggest margin in modern history. Johnson argued that playing on the road puts the U.S. in a disadvantage. He singled out Team Europe’s 13 th player.
Johnson said, “It is hard to win when you are out of your comfort zone.” “I don’t think we are the favorites because of the crowd when we walk onto the first tee,” Johnson said. We’re not the favorites due to what has happened over the past so many years. They have a great team that is playing well. Hey, that’s great. “Our backs are to the wall and that is the way we will approach it.”
NBC’s lead analyst Paul Azinger was the U.S. winning captain in 2008. He said he could not believe that the U.S. had been rated as the favorites.
Azinger stated that “the Euros are by far the favorites.” They have the advantage of playing on their home course, which is becoming increasingly important.
He continued, “This is a very emotional event for all the players.” It means everything to them. It’s incalculable what winning the Ryder Cup means to Europe. It’s more measurable to me for Americans. “I always felt that Europe should be the favourite in these events.”
Max Homa, a Ryder Cup novice, didn’t hesitate to name the Euros as the favorites based solely on their history.
Homa stated, “It is almost impossible to believe we are the favorites just because we haven’t beaten them (on European soil in 30 years). I would imagine that it’s very close. “It would be impossible to claim that we are the favorites, given how good their team is, and our lackluster performance over there.”
Luke Donald, the captain of the European Team, has also claimed to be the underdog and denied that the U.S. is the favorite. Donald claimed that bookies had named the Americans as the favorites.
If you looked at the betting predictions, we would have been underdogs. We’re okay with that. “The Americans are very good,” he said. “They are obviously coming off an incredible win two years ago but I have complete faith in our team.”
Johnson, who spoke with Golfweek in Napa recently, compared the importance of the preseason college football polls to the discussion about the favorites.
Who gets the most love in the preseason polls for this one tournament? Alabama, Georgia and USCs, as well as Texas, are the biggest schools, because they always win. Johnson added, “Europe has done well over there.” Plus, their best players play really well. The players who qualified for the team play well. It’s true that it is hard to win there. They are usually up to the challenge and look good on paper.”
The most fascinating part of the debate about who is the favorite, is how each captain seeks that mental edge. Johnson wants to reduce the burden of being labelled as the favorite. Homa said, “I suppose both sides do it (toting themselves as underdogs) to relieve some pressure.”
Padraig Harrington’s theory, as captain of Whistling Straits and a former professional golfer, touches on mental aspects of competitions, expectations, and pressure.
He said, “We try to win the Ryder Cup while the U.S. is trying to not lose it.” They’re scared because they’re favorites and should win. We’re just country cousins. We have something to prove. We have something to prove.
Azinger says that all of this adds up into a 1 per cent advantage for the Europeans.
“I have always thought that the Ryder Cup was razor thin in my generation and era. It’s like being in Vegas. “There’s a 1 per cent advantage in blackjack but they are building some nice hotels around it.”
