19th Hole
Golf analyst tears into ‘disgraceful’ U.S. Ryder Cup side
While appearing on Claude Harmon’s Son of a Butch podcast, former PGA Tour player Andrew Coltart ripped the United States Ryder Cup team for the 16.5-11.5 drubbing they received at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club.
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During the event, reports emerged that there were players on the U.S. team, specifically Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele, that wanted compensation for their Ryder Cup efforts. Coltart argued that in order to win, the players needed to want to play for the “red, white and blue” and found it “disgraceful”.
“Before we talk about the captains, you’ve got to take 12 players who want to play for your red, white and blue.”
“Because what I see is that’s not the case. There might be 10 of them, that might’ve been the case this year, there might be nine.
“I’m not seeing 12 players that want to play – you guys had a team two years ago at Whistling Straits that was meant to dominate for 10 years.”
“I know you were arguably more depleted because of LIV than the DP World Tour, but the DP World Tour this year had guys in form.
“At Whistling Straits, we didn’t. But you need to get 12 players who want to play.
“I can’t stand listening to some of these multi-millionaires bitching – pitching up to a Ryder Cup and – ‘Somebody’s not paying me any money for it’.
“There’s something wrong with your psyche and personally, I wouldn’t have anybody in my team, even if they qualified, that didn’t want to play for the red, white and blue.
“I find it disgraceful. You go to the DP World Tour – every single man will bleed for that team.”
“They will pay to play a Ryder Cup, not the other way around. Until you sort that out, you’re always going to be up against it.”
Coltart also referenced the fact that the vast majority of the United States team took a month or more off in the lead up to the Ryder Cup, whereas the entire European team played at Wentworth for the BMW PGA Championship the week before.
“Where’s the respect for Zach Johnson and that task force that you can’t be bothered playing for five weeks prior to a Ryder Cup?
“It’s not just you you’re letting down, what about the American fans?
“What about the people who paid for the trip to get over there to Rome to support you? And you’re only going to give it a half-baked opportunity?
“And it was no surprise that guess what, you started to play more like you could play at the end of the week when it was basically all but lost? I just don’t understand.
“There is no sport I know that any professional athlete would conceivably take that much time off before what is the Olympics – and expect to perform anywhere near their optimum level? I thought it was really, really poor.”
With Luke Donald having just been named the captain for the 2025 Ryder Cup, the United States will need to rethink their strategy as we get closer to Bethpage Black in 2025.
More from the 19th Hole
19th Hole
How much each player won at the 2026 Masters
Rory McIlroy made it two wins in as many years at Augusta National, seeing off the challengers on a dramatic Sunday to slip on the green jacket once again. The victory earned Rory a whopping payday of $4.5 million, with Scottie Scheffler his closest challenger earning $2.43 million for his sole runner-up finish.
With a total prize purse of $22.5 million up for grabs, here’s a look at how much each player won at the 2026 Masters tournament.
For players that did not make the cut, they still earned $25k for their efforts at the year’s opening major.
- 1: Rory McIlroy, $4.5 million
- 2: Scottie Scheffler, $2.43 million
- T3: Tyrrell Hatton, $1.08 million
- T3: Russell Henley, $1.08 million
- T3: Justin Rose, $1.08 million
- T3: Cameron Young, $1.08 million
- T7: Collin Morikawa, $725,625
- T7: Sam Burns, $725,625
- T9: Xander Schauffele, $630,00
- T9: Max Homa, $630,00
- 11: Jake Knapp, $562,500
- T12: Jordan Spieth, $427,500
- T12: Brooks Koepka, $427,500
- T12: Hideki Matsuyama, $427,500
- T12: Patrick Reed, $427,500
- T12: Patrick Cantlay, $427,500
- T12: Jason Day, $427,500
- T18: Viktor Hovland, $315,000
- T18: Maverick McNealy, $315,000
- T18: Matt Fitzpatrick, $315,000
- T21: Keegan Bradley, $252,000
- T21: Ludvig Aberg, $252,000
- T21: Wyndham Clark, $252,000
- T24: Matt McCarty, $182,083
- T24: Adam Scott, $182,083
- T24: Sam Stevens, $182,083
- T24: Chris Gotterup, $182,083
- T24: Michael Brennan, $182,083
- T24: Brian Campbell, $182,083
- T30: Alex Noren, $146,250
- T30: Harris English, $146,250
- T30: Shane Lowry, $146,250
- T33: Gary Woodland, $121,500
- T33: Dustin Johnson, $121,500
- T33: Brian Harman, $121,500
- T33: Tommy Fleetwood, $121,500
- T33: Ben Griffin, $121,500
- T38: Jon Rahm, $105,750
- T38: Ryan Gerard, $101,250
- T38: Haotong Li, $96,750
- T41: Justin Thomas, $92,250
- T41: Sepp Straka, $87,750
- T41: Jacob Bridgeman, $83,250
- T41: Kristoffer Reitan, $78,750
- T41: Nick Taylor, $74,250
- 46: Sungjae Im, $69,750
- 47: Si Woo Kim, $65,250
- 48: Aaron Rai, $61,650
- T49: Corey Conners, $57,600
- T49: Marco Penge, $57,600
- 51: Kurt Kitayama, $55,250
- 52: Sergio Garcia, $54,000
- 53: Rasmus Hojgaard, $52,650
- 54: Charl Schwartzel, $51,300
19th Hole
CBS’s Sunday Masters coverage slammed by golf fans
While Sunday was a dramatic day at the Masters, many golf fans were left feeling frustrated by the CBS final round coverage.
There were plenty of moments that golf fans took to social media to air their frustrations on Sunday over, including a lack of shots being shown throughout the day, being behind the live action, confusion over the approach shots of the final group on 18, and providing an angle for the winning putt where the cup couldn’t be seen.
Here’s a look at some of the criticisms that were directed at the CBS coverage throughout the day on X:



This has been a brutal broadcast for CBS. When the folks from Augusta sit down with them this year, you can bet they’ll talk about this 15 seconds where we have no idea where Rory’s ball went, and Dottie moans. #TheMasters pic.twitter.com/ak3mkpIN7V
— Ryan (@PossiblyRy) April 12, 2026
It’s rare criticism coming in for CBS, who are usually heavily praised for their Masters coverage each year.
19th Hole
The surprise club Tommy Fleetwood says is key to his Masters chances
Tommy Fleetwood goes in search for the first major victory of his career again this week, with the Englishman proving to be a popular pick at Augusta National.
Fleetwood’s best showing at Augusta came back in 2024 where he finished T3, and while speaking at his pre-tournament press conference, the 35-year-old emphasized the importance of his 9-wood in his pursuit of the green jacket.
Speaking on Tuesday to media, Fleetwood said:
“It’s a great 9-wood golf course. I think it’s always been — I can’t remember when I first put like a 9-wood in or a high lofted club, but it’s a perfect like 9-wood golf course. I’ve had that in the bag for a few years.”
The Englishman continued, revealing that his strategy for the week won’t just be to hit driver off the tee as much as possible:
“Yeah, it’s funny really because I know Augusta is probably associated with being fairly forgiving off the tee in a way, so you think you can whale around driver a little bit. But I don’t necessarily think that’s always the play for me. I think there’s holes that set up really well where I can draw it with the mini driver if I’m feeling less comfortable with the driver and things like that.”
That strategy he believes will make his TaylorMade Qi10 9-wood extra critical this week in Georgia:
“The biggest thing is the 9-wood for me. If I can put myself in position on the par-5s or the 4th long par-3, like it — for me, I can’t really hit that high 4-iron, so 9-wood helps me a lot.”

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