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03 Oct, 2016 15:24

Ryder Cup review: Underperformers and outperformers

After the USA's barn-storming win to finally take back the Ryder Cup at the fourth effort, Kieran Mullens looks back over the weekend to judge which golfers played out of their skin and who should never have left the clubhouse.

European Underperformers: Lee Westwood

A chastening weekend at Hazeltine for the Worksop-born wildcard pick. Captain Darren Clarke’s trusted friend and ally of more than 20 years’ failed to trouble the scoreboard at any stage of the weekend. He also faced the ignominy, after making bogey on the 18th, of seeing Ryan Moore claim the last point that enabled USA to prise the cup from Europe's fingers after eight years.

The oldest and most experienced man on the European team, playing in his tenth Ryder Cup, lay just two points behind Nick Faldo’s 25 points all-time Ryder Cup record coming in to the competition, but couldn’t make any inroads into the six time major winner’s illustrious total.

Due to Westwood's weakness, he and rookie partner Thomas Pieters were never in the reckoning in Friday’s morning foursomes, four down after just seven holes.

And this was simply a prelude to the tortuous moments played out on the 17th and 18th greens for the nearly-man of major golf on Saturday when he was again misguidedly trusted by Clarke to team up for the fourballs with Danny Willett. The 43-year-old had short putts on the 17th and 18th to take control of the match, but even with the healthy padding of experience to cope with the intense pressure, he missed both to hand the match to Holmes and Moore and jeopardise European chances of a win on Sunday.

European underperformers: Danny Willett

A penny for Willett’s thoughts after a weekend of woe at Hazeltine for the world number 10, in which he won only two from 54 holes of golf. This year’s Masters champion seemed to possess the feisty, cocksure persona that would make him perfectly suited to negotiating the intense micro bubble of matchplay golf. Yet by the finish on Sunday he had scored zero from his three matches.

Perhaps the Yorkshireman was preoccupied by the controversial pre-tournament comments made by his brother, who had described the US crowds as a “baying mob of imbeciles”, which led to the 28-year-old facing the vitriol of Hazeltine's pumped-up spectators from the get go.

After an opening day trouncing 5&4 in Friday’s fourballs alongside Martin Kaymer, another European who failed to fire, Willett never got going, losing 5&4 again in his singles match on the final afternoon.

European outperformers: Rafael Cabrera Bello

The 32-year-old Spanish surfer dude made waves on his first outing in the Ryder Cup, his final record reading played three, won two, halved one.

Cabrera Bello dismantled PGA Champion Jimmy Walker in the singles. And the rookie’s well earned two points for his team alongside countryman Sergio Garcia in Friday afternoon fourballs and Saturday’s foursomes contributed greatly to comparisons being made between this all Spanish pairing and the legendary Ballesteros/Olzabal duo.

The Gran Canaria native's nerveless putt from off the green on the 17th yesterday was vital in helping Europe miraculously claw back a 4-hole deficit vs the in-form pairing of Jordan and Spieth and share the spoils. He married style and solidity over the weekend, with his leading man looks and temperamental equilibrium making him a surefire Spanish star in the making.

European outperformers: Thomas Pieters

Thomas Pieters became the first European to win four points on his Ryder Cup debut, after defeating JB Holmes 3&2 to win his singles match on Sunday. The highlight of his final day's play was a remarkable 30ft putt on the 14th.

After being weighed down by Westwood on Friday morning, Clarke's best call of the week was to pair the 6ft 6in rookie with Rory McIlroy, with whom he dovetailed seamlessly. The pocket rocket Northern Irishman and the blithe Belgian were the European's dream tram, prevailing in the Friday fourballs as well as both the Saturday foursomes and fourballs.

Incredibly, Pieters had only played two majors coming into the cup, but expect him to star in many more in the years to come.

European outperformers: Rory McIlroy

It’s hard to fault McIlroy for his singles loss to an inspired Patrick Reed, as significant as this opening match was, because, save for running out of gas on the back nine, McIlroy himself played golf of a rarefied level. His monster 65ft putt on the 8th green being just one example of a round of brilliance.

The world number 3 was a typically non-committal young man in his early 20s – showing an apathy towards the Ryder Cup as well one-time fiancée and tennis star Caroline Wozniacki, abruptly calling off their engagement after sending out the wedding invitations.

But a maturing RMc has since found new love and his mojo for matchplay golf. His was a weekend of fist pumps, fingers to lips, finger wags, several crowd ‘interactions’ and long periods of peerless performance.

His post putt celebrations on the first afternoon’s fourballs, had shown his determination to be an emotional leader of Europe. Rolling in a 20ft eagle putt on 16 to clinch the match against Dustin Johnson and Matt Kuchar, McIlroy bowed to the gallery ironically. This was a significant display of symbolism – Europe would not bow down, kowtow or be cowed by the sea of red that was the Hazeltine crowd.

The Mac will return, of that there is no doubt.

US outperformers: Patrick Reed

The Texan firebrand’s muscles are surely interwoven with stars and stripes, such is his passion for Team USA’s Ryder Cup cause. Over the course of the weekend the 26-year produced consistently inspirational golf, part of the reason he was put up in the first match on Sunday.

Reed’s victory against the European talisman set the tone for the swathe of red that covered the singles scoreboard on the final day. This was a heavyweight slugfest, with passages absorbing action that didn’t let up until the last hole was sunk on the 18th green.

Although his opponent got out of the blocks quickly, Reed found his groove on the back nine to go two up with three to play as McIlroy ran out of steam. McIlroy gamely won the 17th to take the match to the death but Reed's superb approach shot left a five footer that he drilled home to win the match. A terminal knockout blow for European chances of securing their fourth Ryder Cup in a row.

On the previous days he had been the beating heart of the US team, almost singlehandedly winning Saturday afternoon’s fourballs, one shot of which was one of the highlights of the weekend. Hitting a wedge shot behind the pin, he spun it back ten feet and dropped it into the hole before breaking into a succession of pumped up ‘Cmon!’s which were a feature of the cup.

US outperformers: the Hazeltine crowd

The home support lived up to its pre-match billing of being the US Team’s ‘13th man’. Many of the Europeans were critical of an often well-juiced support, whose passion partisanship they believed strayed too far in to the realms of hostility.

But thousands upon thousands roared on the home team from tee to green throughout the weekend, and their impact was telling throughout the cup.

US underperformers: JB Holmes and Jimmy Walker

Holmes and US PGA champion Walker were the only two from the US dozen to finish the Ryder Cup 2016 with a losing record, albeit losing singles matches to the inspired debutants of Pieters and Cabrera-Bello respectively.

Huge credit to Holmes for recovering from brain surgery to return to the Ryder Cup scene, still more was expected from this Valhalla veteran this time around.

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