RYDER CUP '23: Recaps of the 6 straight US losses on European soil
A capsule look at the six consecutive Ryder Cup losses by the Americans in Europe:
YEAR: 2018
SITE: Saint-Quentin-En-Yvelines, France.
COURSE: Le Golf National.
SCORE: Europe 17 1/2, United States 10 1/2.
WINNING CAPTAIN: Thomas Bjorn.
LOSING CAPTAIN: Jim Furyk.
TOP 25 PLAYERS: United States 12, Europe 8.
RECAP: The Americans had an entire team in the top 25 in the world, plus Tiger Woods fresh off a Tour Championship victory, and got off to a 3-1 start. But they lost seven of the next eight matches and never recovered on a course built for accuracy. That night, Patrick Reed gave an interview with The New York Times blaming Jordan Spieth for them not playing together and Furyk for benching him twice. Reed hasn’t played on a Ryder Cup team since then.
NOTEWORTHY: Three of the four captain’s picks — Tiger Woods, Bryson DeChambeau and Phil Mickelson — combined to go 0-9.
QUOTE: “There’s a sour taste in our mouth to come over here now for 27 years and not be able to win on foreign soil.” — Furyk.
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YEAR: 2014
SITE: Gleneagles, Scotland.
COURSE: Gleneagles Resort (PGA Centenary).
SCORE: Europe 16 1/2, United States 11 1/2.
WINNING CAPTAIN: Paul McGinley.
LOSING CAPTAIN: Tom Watson.
TOP 25 PLAYERS: United States 9, Europe 8.
RECAP: PGA of America president Ted Bishop selected Tom Watson to be captain for the first time since 1993, the last time the U.S. won in Europe. It backfired. Watson used his last pick on Webb Simpson and then played him only twice and never seemed to have his players’ trust. When it was over, Phil Mickelson called Watson out in the closing news conference for not following a formula that worked. That led to a Ryder Cup task force in which players had more say in captains and other processes with hopes of building continuity.
NOTEWORTHY: Phil Mickelson was benched for an entire day (Saturday) for the first time in his career.
QUOTEWORTHY: “Unfortunately, we have strayed from a winning formula in 2008 for the last three Ryder Cups, and we need to consider maybe getting back to that formula that helped us play our best.” — Mickelson.
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YEAR: 2010
SITE: Newport, Wales.
COURSE: Celtic Manor (Twenty Ten).
SCORE: Europe 14 1/2, United States 13 1/2.
WINNING CAPTAIN: Colin Montgomerie.
LOSING CAPTAIN: Corey Pavin.
TOP 25 PLAYERS: United States 9, Europe 9.
RECAP: Rain forced a short opening day and a reconfigured format to reach 28 matches. The big story Friday was the faulty American rainsuits, though they eventually won the session. The key was the final team session on Sunday in which Europe won five of the six matches and halved the other. It came down to the final match, and Graeme McDowell holed a 15-foot birdie putt on the 16th hole for a 2-up lead and he went on to beat Hunter Mahan, whose Ryder Cup ended with a muffed chip on the 17th.
NOTEWORTHY: The Americans failed to win any of the six matches (two foursomes, four fourballs) on the final day before singles.
QUOTEWORTHY: “We’ve won nine of the last 13. We’re starting to get down to that word ‘dominance.’” — Luke Donald.
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YEAR: 2006
SITE: Straffan, Ireland.
COURSE: The K Club (Palmer).
SCORE: Europe 18 1/2, United States 9 1/2.
WINNING CAPTAIN: Ian Woosnam.
LOSING CAPTAIN: Tom Lehman.
TOP 25 PLAYERS: Europe 8, United States 6.
RECAP: This might have been the worst U.S. team and the best European team, and the result was never in question. It was the final year of the U.S. points system that only awarded points to top-10 finishes, not recognizing the influx of international players on the PGA Tour. Europe won every session. Even without drama, there was emotion. Darren Clarke was a captain’s pick shortly after his wife died of breast cancer. He won all three of his matches.
NOTEWORTHY: Scott Verplank was a captain’s pick and played only two matches. He went 2-0.
QUOTEWORTHY: “Everyone wants answers out there. What happened? Why? What’s the difference between 18 1/2 and 9 1/2? And I don’t think there’s a guy up here that can give you that answer.” — Jim Furyk.
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YEAR: 2002
SITE: Sutton Coldfield, England.
COURSE: The Belfry (Brabazon).
SCORE: Europe 15 1/2, United States 12 1/2.
WINNING CAPTAIN: Sam Torrance.
LOSING CAPTAIN: Curtis Strange.
TOP 25 PLAYERS: United States 6, Europe 4.
RECAP: The matches were delayed one year because of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and some players were not in top form. The score was tied at 8 going into Sunday singles for the first time since 1991 at Kiawah Island. Strange put Tiger Woods in the anchor match, but it never came down to him. Phillip Price, the No. 119 player in the world, took down Phil Mickelson in a key match. Paul Azinger holed a bunker shot to stave off a European win, but Paul McGinley got the clinching point with an 8-foot par putt to beat Jim Furyk.
NOTEWORTHY: This was the first time in three Ryder Cups that Tiger Woods did not have a losing record.
QUOTEWORTHY: “This stings. We’ve been waiting three years to win it again. It’s hard to imagine we don’t have it.” — Davis Love III.
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YEAR: 1997
SITE: Sotogrande, Spain.
COURSE: Valderrama GC.
SCORE: Europe 14 1/2, United States 13 1/2.
WINNING CAPTAIN: Seve Ballesteros.
LOSING CAPTAIN: Tom Kite.
TOP 25 PLAYERS: United States 10, Europe 5.
RECAP: The first Ryder Cup in continental Europe turned out to be more about Seve Ballesteros than Tiger Woods. The European captain was determined to get a win on his home soil. Europe built a five-point lead going into the Sunday singles when the Americans nearly staged the biggest comeback. Bernhard Langer beat Brad Faxon to assure the cup would stay with Europe. It was the Ryder Cup debut of Woods, who lost to Costantino Rocca in singles and was 1-3-1 for the week.
NOTEWORTHY: The three Americans who won majors that year — Woods, Justin Leonard and Davis Love III — combined to go 1-9-3.
QUOTEWORTHY: “All the talk is about Tiger Woods and how great the players are in America. But we have great young players here and they showed it.” — Langer.
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