 US captain Tom Lehman and Tiger Woods find no answers |
Europe's crushing 18�-9� win over the US on Sunday was their third Ryder Cup win in a row and prompted some strong words from the American media for their beaten team. On the NBC network expert analyst Johnny Miller, a two-time major winner, did not mince his words.
"The bottom line is that the state of US golf right now is pretty weak. Just five out of the top 20 players in the world ranking are Americans, which is unheard of," said Miller.
The US have lost five of the last six Ryder Cups and eight of the last 11, and their inability to win the thing is starting to grate.
The LA Times' headlined their report "Europe Pours It on US in Ryder Cup Blowout".
Times' writer Thomas Bonk mused on Steve Williams, Tiger Woods' caddie, dropping the world number one's nine-iron in the water at the seventh hole.
"Maybe Williams was onto something," wrote Bonk.
"The way things are going for the US team, they should all consider tossing their clubs away and starting over."
The inability of the Americans, laden with major titles, to play as a team has become such a given it is fast becoming part of Ryder Cup folklore.
The Washington Post's Leonard Shapiro wrote that Europe "turned the 36th Ryder Cup into a three-day passion play, with all the passion on their side, as usual".
He continued: "The Europeans seemed to hole every crucial putt, blast nearly every bunker shot within kick-in distance and stripe every fairway off the tee when a down-the-middle drive mattered the most.
"Their loose demeanour all week was in marked contrast to a dour American side that seemed to play with tension etched on their sun-tanned faces."
The Philadelphia Daily News report ran: "Any way you slice this, something's missing.
"Fixing it will not be easy. It will be interesting to see who succeeds (American captain Tom) Lehman, because most folks figured he had a clue."
ESPN.com's blunt headline read "Euros trash US at Ryder Cup".
And ESPN writer Gene Wojciechowski summed it up in succinct fashion.
"Underdog... we lose. Favourite... we lose. On home soil... we lose. On foreign turf... we lose.
"With hard-ass Hal Sutton as captain... we lose. With caring, ultra-organised Tom Lehman... we lose.
"With Michael Jordan and former presidents Bill Clinton and George HW Bush in attendance... we lose. With Tiger Woods playing five matches... we lose."
Wojciechowski also came up with a nine-point plan about how to make the US team play better.
Point seven reads: "From now on, the losing Ryder Cup team has to clean up after the winning team when it's done partying. If that doesn't work, make it watch BBC 4."
Now you may be tired of losing Gene, but there's no need to drag the BBC into this.
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Underdog... we lose. Favourite... we lose. On home soil... we lose. On foreign turf... we lose