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19th Hole

2021 Ryder Cup Player Ratings

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The U.S. recorded the biggest margin of victory in Ryder Cup history at Whistling Straits, dominating the European side all three days to win 19-9.

It was an incredible display by the U.S. youngsters and a chastening experience for Team Europe, with some veterans on the side likely to have competed in their final Ryder Cup.

Here we take a look at each player and rate their performance for the week at Whistling Straits.

U.S.

Patrick Cantlay: Three and a half points out of a possible four, as Patrick Cantlay continues to impress. Looks as calm and confident in his ability as anyone these days, and while his singles match against Shane Lowry was touted to be close, the 29-year-old bossed the Irishman. 9

Collin Morikawa: Perfect in team play, proving to be the ideal partner for both DJ and Cantlay, and his half a point against Europe’s best young gun in Viktor Hovland capped a top showing by the Californian. 8.5

Dustin Johnson: Perfection from DJ who went five for five in Wisconsin. Outstanding performance. 10

Bryson DeChambeau: Whether it was drives of over 400 yards or strutting off the first tee Sunday with a putter in hand, Bryson was at his very best last week. Dominated arguably the best Ryder Cup player in history in singles, and alongside his teammate Scheffler he was the only player who could deny World Number One Jon Rahm in team play. 9

Scottie Scheffler: There’s stepping up to the plate, and then there’s doing what Scottie Scheffler did over the weekend. Excelled in team action with Bryson DeChambeau, and then the rookie went out against the best player in the world and put him to the sword 4&3. Sensational performance. 9.5

Xander Schauffele: Phenomenal in team play, taking three points from a possible three and looks like he could partner anyone and get the best out of them. Suffered a hefty defeat in Sunday singles but had done his part brilliantly in forging the USA’s monstrous lead by then. 8

Harris English: Looked excellent alongside Tony Finau in taking down the Irish duo of McIlroy and Lowry on the opening day, but that was as good as it got for the 32-year-old who lost his Saturday fourball and Sunday single matches. 7

Daniel Berger: Another man who justified his Captain’s pick, ending the week with a winning record thanks to his single’s victory where he played the tricky anchor match. 8

Justin Thomas: Started slow but rode a wave of confidence bordering on arrogance and ended up delivering the goods. Played four times, and while he won just once in team play, JT’s crushing defeat of Tyrrell Hatton on Sunday was a statement win. 8

Jordan Spieth: Played four times and ended up on the winning side of those matches just the once. Earned half a point on Sunday, which means he’s still yet to taste victory in single’s RC action. 7

Brooks Koepka: Began the event with a nice win but struggled on Saturday, where he went 0-2 in team action. Stepped up on Sunday with a strong showing. Has the feel of a guy you’d dread to be paired against in singles play. 7.5

Tony Finau: Carbon copy of his partner Harris English’s week. 1-1 in team play, but couldn’t handle the Postman in Sunday’s singles. 7

Steve Stricker: From his captain picks to his pairings to the course setup, Steve Stricker got everything right when in the build-up to the event many had their doubts. Captained the most dominant Ryder Cup team ever. Enough said. 10

Europe

Matthew Fitzpatrick: Played three and lost them all. Has now played a total of five matches across two Ryder Cups and still hasn’t earned even half a point. Doesn’t look cut out for the competition. 3

Tommy Fleetwood: Fought hard but was only able to earn a point from his three matches in Wisconsin. Hard not to feel he was underplayed, particularly in foursomes where his omission both days raised some eyebrows. 4.5

Sergio Garcia: Another strong showing at the Ryder Cup for Sergio, who excelled alongside his fellow countryman Jon Rahm. Perfect in team play, but couldn’t handle Bryson on Sunday in a match that was more one-sided than anyone expected. 7.5

Tyrrell Hatton: Looked flat all week which was a surprise for a player that gets amped up quite often on Tour. Earned one and a half points in team play, but when Europe needed him on Sunday, he offered nothing as JT ran over the Englishman. Highlight was a stunning shot on 18 to earn half a point on Friday afternoon. 4.5

Paul Casey: Played four and lost four. Really poor performance from Casey, who despite his experience, looked out of his depth at times. 3

Rory McIlroy: Failed to contribute anything in three appearances in team play. Was bitterly disappointed in his performance in a very honest interview on Sunday. Did show up and perform admirably in singles action, but his assessment of his contribution over the week was correct; he needed to do much more. 4

Viktor Hovland: Didn’t play particularly poorly, but when you play all five matches and bring home just one point, it must go down as a big disappointment. Will learn a lot from his experience at his first Ryder Cup. 4

Shane Lowry: Trusted just the three times by his captain, Lowry delivered a great moment on Saturday on 18 to win his match, but that was as good as it got. Comfortably defeated in Sunday’s singles. 4.5

Jon Rahm: Showed he’s now the European leader with a strong display, particularly in team play. Earned three and a half points from a possible four over the first two days, which was a top, top display against this U.S. side. Ran out of gas on Sunday in a surprising upset. 7.5

Lee Westwood: Likely to be Westwood’s final Ryder Cup, and while he offered very little over the opening two days, it was nice to see him pick up a point, albeit a pretty meaningless one, on Sunday. 4.5

Bernd Wiesberger: A very tough debut at the Ryder Cup for Wiesberger, who went 0-3 in Wisconsin. You’d hope he’d be better for the experience. 3.5

Ian Poulter: Credit to Poulter, put him out in Sunday’s singles, and he’ll will himself to a point against anyone it seems. Sadly his days look numbered as a competitor at the event, however, as he looked miles off it in the team format. 4.5

Padraig Harrington: Didn’t get much right, offering himself fewer captain picks than his adversary, some odd pairings, and not picking Fleetwood for foursomes was a strange one. In his defence, if he had done everything perfectly, he’d still have been on the losing side. 4

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Gianni is the Managing Editor at GolfWRX. He can be contacted at [email protected].

19th Hole

Butch Harmon reveals what he worked on with Rory McIlroy during visit earlier this year

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While speaking on the “Son of a Butch” Podcast, legendary swing coach Butch Harmon revealed what he worked on with Rory McIlroy when the four-time major champion went to visit him after the Players Championship this season.

“The work I did with him wasn’t a tremendous amount of changing what he did, it was his attitude and the way he played certain shots. From 150 yards and in he made a full swing like he was hitting a driver and I wanted him to make more 3 quarter swings and chop the follow through off a little. He’s a very high ball hitter, but with short irons high balls aren’t good, it’s hard to control, we wanted to bring the ball flight down.”

The work certainly seemed to help McIlroy, as he went on to win the Zurich Classic alongside Shane Lowry and the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow in back-to-back starts.

Rory will now tee it up at Valhalla for the PGA Championship, which is the site of his most recent major victory in 2014.

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19th Hole

Brandel Chamblee says this technological development was key to Phil Mickelson winning major championships

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While speaking with GolfWRX, Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee shared that he believes the solid core golf ball helped Phil Mickelson win major championships.

“One of the consequences of the solid core golf ball coming around was it put the straightest of hitters in the rough.

“Phil started winning majors in 2004, I don’t think that’s any coincidence. I think he started winning majors after the solid core golf ball came along and put everybody in the rough.

“And so [Phil] is like ‘I got you in the rough, I’m going to kick your a**. This is my game. I’ve been in the rough my whole career. I can go over trees, through trees, around trees.’

“Because he’s got that amazing creativity and Phil is an underrated iron player, phenomenal iron player. Great, great great out of the trouble. If you put the top-40 players on a list and ranked them in terms of accuracy, he would be 40th.

“So, I think that was one of the consequences of the solid core golf balls was it allowed Phil to win major championships.”

Mickelson went on to win the Masters in 2004 as well as five additional majors from 2004-2021 including three total Masters, two PGA Championships, and an Open Championship.

Check out the full interview with Chamblee below:

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19th Hole

Former Augusta National employee pleads guilty to transporting stolen Masters memorabilia; Arnold Palmer’s green jacket among stolen items

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According to a report from the Chicago Tribune, a man was charged in Chicago with stealing millions of dollars’ worth of memorabilia from Augusta National last month.

The man, Robert Globensky, was charged with transporting the memorabilia across state lines.

The report states that between 2009 and 2022, Globensky allegedly transported “millions of dollars’ worth of Masters golf tournament merchandise and historical memorabilia” from Augusta National “and transported to Tampa, Florida, knowing the same had been stolen, converted and taken by fraud.”

The document was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Since then, more details have emerged about the case.

According to Darren Rovell of Cllct, one of the items that was stolen was Arnold Palmer’s green jacket.

The Chicago Tribune also reported that Globensky was able to steal the merchandise due to his role as a former warehouse coordinator at Augusta National who oversaw the Masters merchandise that was sold.

Rovell states that “A source with intimate knowledge of the case said an Augusta National member, who knew the jacket was missing, contacted a well-known collector who had gained a reputation for tracking down rare items. The member’s goal was to return the jacket to Augusta under the guise of purchasing it in a private sale.”

The plan worked, and the man agreed to sell the jacket for an agreed upon price of $3.6 million. After the sale was complete, the FBI swarmed the house of the thief.

Cllct also reported that Globensky pled guilty in a federal court in Chicago on Wednesday and now faces up to 10 years in prison.

The Chicago Tribune adds that Globensky’s plea deal includes an agreement to provide the government a cashier’s check for $1.5 million in the next few days.

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