Tour News
5 Things We Learned from Day 1 of the 2016 Ryder Cup
Revisionist historians may one day attempt to situate Chaska, Minnesota, in the canon of monumental U.S. battles. They won’t succeed. Much like Pelayo’s vision of the Virgin Mary in northern Spain, encouraging him to reconquer Spain in the name of Christianity, Patrick Reed, Dustin Johnson or some other teammate will reveal that a visit from Arnold Palmer propelled them to victory on the morning of day one of this year’s Ryder Cup matches.
The 2016 playing, known as The Proof Is In The Task Force in some circles, got off to an unexpected alpha with a 4-0 sweep by Team USA in the morning foursomes. That’s right, the alternate shot event at which the Americans have traditionally, well, stunk, was their mother lode. Inexplicably, but not unexpectedly, the home squad then limped home to a 5-3 lead after the first two rounds of partner matches, thanks to an abysmal afternoon performance.
The difference was…we’re not telling. Not yet. Perhaps because we’re not sure of the reason. You have to read our five things we learned to learn the secret.
Team Europe Is Mentally Strong
"He's finding his range now!"#TeamEurope https://t.co/d3Gvh62dNs
— Ryder Cup Europe (@RyderCupEurope) September 30, 2016
Eight guys go out on Friday morning and lose four matches, and Europe doesn’t flinch. Back they come in the afternoon, in a format that favors neither team, and they throw their American counterparts a whupping.
Get Up Early And Stay There
When the student becomes the master…#RyderCup pic.twitter.com/Qh3rzfzb9H
— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) September 30, 2016
It seems obvious, but it is never worth overlooking. In the a.m. rounds, 2 of 4 winning sides had secured leads that they would not relinquish by the 8th hole. In the afternoon, it was 4 for 4. Team USA failed to win more than one hole in two of four, second-round matches, while the European squadron captured a single hole in three of the four, first-round tilts. By far, the most entertaining match of the day was the foursomes battle between Rickie Fowler-Phil Mickelson and Rory McIlroy-Andy Sullivan. The Americans twice won three consecutive holes, while the Euros captured five holes on their own. When 11 of 18 holes are exchanged, that’s great golf and great television!
Major Champions In Every Pairing
We've all been here before. https://t.co/VIGWgCULNs
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) September 30, 2016
Despite being considered an underdog by many (they only won 8 of the past 10 Ryder Cup matches, after all), the Europeans have a pretty strong side. Each pairing in the afternoon rebound was powered by a major champion, or a world-class player who should be a major champion. U.S. Open, British Open, Olympic, Masters, and PGA all belong to the likes of Kaymer, Rose, Stenson, Willett, McIlroy. Most would confess that Sergio Garcia is too good to have not won a major, and he and his Iberian partner, Rafa Cabrera-Bello, formed yet another, indomitable Spanish pairing. This is not to say that the hometown opposition isn’t up to the Euro standard, just that the underdogs may be neither so under nor doggy as previously thought, club flips notwithstanding.
When a 5-3 lead is not a 5-3 lead
Did someone say comeback?#TeamEurope pic.twitter.com/HvN4quQQhL
— Ryder Cup Europe (@RyderCupEurope) September 30, 2016
If pundits had asked Captain Love III on Thursday evening if he would accept a 5-3 lead after Round 1, he might have nodded. If they had told him that his squad would be up 4-0 after the morning contests, and would crawl away 1-3 in the afternoon, he might not. Momentum was on the USA side at lunchtime, but the colonials could not persist, and the old world battled back to bring the tally nearly to square. If Team Euro finds its foursomes form on Saturday morn, the home squad could find itself in a customary, undesirable place…losing.
Make Every Putt On Every Green
Sneds stretches the lead to 4 #RyderCup #GoUSA https://t.co/4yksmIxqeg
— Ryder Cup USA (@RyderCupUSA) September 30, 2016
Hard to believe that you must, but the outcome of each of the eight matches on day one was decided on the putting surfaces. It was an extremely rare sight to see when four golfers walked away from a flag stick with no blood drawn. Putts were made by every featured actor, from every conceivable distance, to win and halve holes. They even chipped in from time to time, to add to the drama. These guys are good should be enhanced with the addition of putters or on the greens, or something to that effect.
I don’t know about you, but I’ll be watching every second of coverage this weekend to see how this all unfolds.
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
GolfWRX is on site this week in McKinney, Texas, at the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson (FKA the AT&T Byron Nelson).
Last year at TPC Craig Ranch, Jason Day ended a five-year winless streak. J-Day is in the field again, as are Jordan Spieth, Tom Kim, and Will Zalatoris.
We have our usual assortment of general galleries, WITBs, and pullout albums for your perusal. As always, we’ll continue to add links to additional albums as they make their way to us from the Lone Star State.
Check out links to all our photos below.
General Albums
- 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Monday #1
- 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Monday #2
- 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Tuesday #1
- 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Tuesday #2
- 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Tuesday #3
WITB Albums
- Pierceson Coody – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Kris Kim – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- David Nyfjall – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Adrien Dumont de Chassart – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Jarred Jetter – North Texas PGA Section Champ – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Richy Werenski – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Wesley Bryan – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Parker Coody – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Peter Kuest – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Blaine Hale, Jr. – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Kelly Kraft – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Rico Hoey – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
Pullout Albums
- Adam Scott’s 2 new custom L.A.B. Golf putters – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Scotty Cameron putters – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Ben Griffin playing Maxfli golf ball
See what GolfWRXers are saying in the forums.
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans
GolfWRX is live on site this week at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans for the PGA Tour’s one-and-only two-man team event.
As usual, general galleries, WITBs, and pullout albums — including some pretty spicy custom putters and headcovers — await your viewing.
Be sure to check back for more photos from the Big Easy, as we’ll continue to update this page with additional galleries throughout the week.
General Albums
- 2024 Zurich Classic – Monday #1
- 2024 Zurich Classic – Monday #2
- 2024 Zurich Classic – Tuesday #1
- 2024 Zurich Classic – Tuesday #2
WITB Albums
- Alex Fitzpatrick – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Austin Cook – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Alejandro Tosti – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Davis Riley – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- MJ Daffue – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Nate Lashley – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- James Nicholas – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Kevin Streelman – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Rasmus Hojgaard – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Tom Whitney – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- SangMoon Bae – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Daniel Berger – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Rory McIlroy – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Russ Cochrane – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Aldrich Potgieter – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Steve Stricker WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Drew Brees WITB (Legendary New Orleans Saints QB) – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Derek Carr (New Orleans Saints QB) – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Thriston Lawrence WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
Pullout Albums
- MJ Daffue’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Cameron putters – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Swag covers ( a few custom for Nick Hardy) – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Custom Bettinardi covers for Matt and Alex Fitzpatrick – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Doug Ghim’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Patrick Cantlay spotted testing a Scotty Cameron blade putter – 2024 Zurich Classic
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 RBC Heritage
GolfWRX is on site this week at Harbour Town Golf Links on Hilton Head Island for the RBC Heritage. Plenty of golfers who competed in the Masters last week will be making the quick turnaround in the Lowcountry of South Carolina as the Heritage is again one of the Tour’s Signature Events.
We have general albums for you to check out, as well as plenty of WITBs — including Justin Thomas and Justin Rose.
We’ll continue to update as more photos flow in from SC.
Check out links to all our photos, below.
General Albums
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Monday #1
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Monday #2
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Tuesday #1
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Tuesday #2
WITB Albums
- Justin Thomas – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Justin Rose – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Chandler Phillips – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Nick Dunlap – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Thomas Detry – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Austin Eckroat – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Xander Schauffele – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Jason Day – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Will Zalatoris – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Patrick Cantlay – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Ludvig Aberg – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Collin Morikawa – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Sam Burns – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Stephen Jaeger – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
Pullout Albums
- Wyndham Clark’s Odyssey putter – 2024 RBC Heritage
- JT’s new Cameron putter – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Justin Thomas testing new Titleist 2 wood – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Cameron putters – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Odyssey putter with triple track alignment aid – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Scotty Cameron The Blk Box putting alignment aid/training aid – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Cameron putter – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Odyssey Ai One Eleven T putters – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Christian Bezuidenhout – testing new Callaway Ti 340 mini driver – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Rory McIlroy testing the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Xander Schauffele testing the Callaway Ti 340 mini driver & the DUW – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Byeong Hun An, two new L.A.B. Golf putter builds with “T” alignment – 2024 RBC Heritage
See what GolfWRXers are saying and join the discussion in the forums.
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Mark
Oct 2, 2016 at 9:59 am
I do not care much for the Ryder Cup because of the fan behavior. Imagine when they take it to Bethpage Black in 2024. The PGA of America will prove to be negligent for that decision.
Craig
Oct 1, 2016 at 5:54 pm
Greatly saddened watching the Ryder Cup this morning. I am not American or European, but watching USA fans yelling while Stenson was over his ball, loudly erupting in applause when McIroy puts his ball in water? Booing when a European drains a putt? I mean really, this is golf and meant to better. I am sure there are ton of Americans greatly embarrassed by this crude and base level of human nature on display, I can only hope I am correct in assuming that these galloots actually know nothing about the game. hashtagnoclass.
Dale Doback
Oct 1, 2016 at 11:13 pm
You are correct in assuming Americans are embarrassed by the poor behavior of a few of the fans at the Ryder Cup, I am definitely one of them. I am not rooting for the Europeans to miss shots but rather have the USA team hit better shots although I do breath a sigh of relief when the Euros do miss because they definitely have momentum and Rory seems unstoppable. I wish I could thank the European players and USA players for putting on the best show in golf. It was exciting to watch.
JThunder
Oct 1, 2016 at 11:43 pm
Americans are NOT embarrassed by this behavior. We are proud of it. We are Donald Trump’s America. We “say what’s on our mind”, loudly, no matter how inappropriate or offensive (or wrong or meaningless) it is. We celebrate stupidity and ridicule class and intelligence. We thrive on conflict, aggression, war and spreading hate. We believe manners are for communists. We believe kindness and consideration are for little girls – and we believe girls are inferior to boys. We strive to make decisions for those little girls anyway. We are America – hear us roar and love us. If you don’t, expect a wall or occupation coming your way soon!
(Unfortunately, we are not alone. See the ugliness of Brexit to know that egocentricity is not an American monopoly, despite our best attempts and dismantling of ALL our anti-monopoly laws!)
Rwj
Oct 1, 2016 at 6:29 am
6: it’s in the numbers. Golf channels numbers show that the number of commercials shown far outweighed the number of actual golf shots shown.
Christosterone
Sep 30, 2016 at 9:05 pm
I quite enjoyed this article…
+1
Internet Grammar Man
Sep 30, 2016 at 7:37 pm
mother “lode”, not load. OK, carry on.
OEM
Oct 1, 2016 at 2:16 am
Oh mine is a definite from my friend the One Eyed Monster
Ronald Montesano
Oct 1, 2016 at 10:24 am
Thanks, IGM…drives me crazy when I make a mistake in haste. Thanks for catching it.
RM