Davis Love III, Darren Clarke and Phil Mickelson all agree that teamwork and chemistry are essential elements of the Ryder Cup experience.
For most of the 89-year history of the Ryder Cup, the contest has been dominated by the United States. Between the inaugural matches at Worcester CC in 1927 and the showdown at the Belfry in 1985, the European side only won three times: 1929, 1933 and 1957. The U.S. has had a small taste of that kind of disappointment over the last quarter of a century, with only two victories in the last 20 years before last Sunday.
With that in mind, it’s easy to understand the excitement that the U.S. team, captain Davis Love III and his vice-captains feel about their recent victory. While they were mostly elated, they seemed pleased, satisfied, unified and, yes, tired. After all, it was a lot of golf.
“There’s a lot of pressure on these guys over the last couple years,” captain Love said Sunday evening. “We haven’t had a good run lately, and I’m thrilled for them that they got the win. Proud of the way they competed all week. I’m proud of their attitude. But mostly proud of the way they came together as a family.”
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Phil Mickelson was the most vocal critic of the management of the losing U.S. team at the 2014 matches. That led to the formation of a Task Force, which was charged with figuring out a system to turn the American losing streak into a winning one. Mickelson and Love were both on the Task Force, along with other notable players like Tiger Woods.
Though not officially a captain, Mickelson had, by all accounts, a significant influence on the 2016 team.
“I think 22 straight teams, he’s our leader, for sure,” Love said last week, referring to both the Ryder and Presidents Cups.
“To see the level of accomplishment and performance that these guys had this week was just sensational. I believe that we all — we made each other proud, but we also hopefully made every American proud,” Mickelson said Sunday evening about the victory.
The Task Force didn’t promise to deliver a victory in 2016. The goal was to create a system designed to improve the results in Ryder Cup play, provide some continuity in leadership and allow player input into the system so that within the next eight to ten years, the U.S. team would be a consistent winner.
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“We need to build on this. Otherwise, it’s all for naught,” Mickelson warned. “We created a very solid foundation this year. With the input that Davis Love had and each vice-captain with Tom Lehman and Jim Furyk and Steve Stricker and Tiger Woods and Bubba Watson, all brought integral parts to the success of this foundation, and it’s important that we build on that.”
The U.S. is trying to copy the so-called “secret sauce” that the Europeans seem to have had for so long.
European captain Darren Clarke said the fact that the U.S. formed a task force was a compliment to the European model.
“We have been successful, otherwise they would not want to try and copy what we have been doing to a certain degree,” he said before the matches started. “But I think it’s also a compliment to themselves. I think it’s a compliment to Ryder Cup America because they crave and they want success. It’s like any team, if your results aren’t the way you want them to be, you to try to figure out a way to improve those results.”
Naturally, the Europeans are mum about their process and system. But there are clues that can be picked up between the lines.
According to Clarke, the team members park their egos and their nationalities at the door, unless it helps team communication and success.
“Everybody on this team, from my point of view, as a collective, nobody is more important than anybody else,” he explained. “The whole thing about our team is they will do whatever they need to do for the team, and that is the way that we work in Europe. You know, it’s not a case of having to inspire the guys, to build the guys up. They are ready to go out and play.”
In the past, Team Europe has had many notable pairings — Lee Westwood and Darren Clarke or Jose Maria Olazabal and Seve Ballesteros are good examples, as are many others from over the years.
Regarding partnerships that work, Clarke used his pairing with Westwood as an example.
“I’ve had a few partners, but my main one in Ryder Cups was Lee. Lee and I traveled the world together,” Clarke continued. “We played practice rounds together. We knew each other’s strengths and each other’s weaknesses. But as a pair, we came together and we had the utmost belief and trust in each other.”
Clarke also mentioned the new Spanish duo of Sergio Garcia and Rafa Cabrera-Bello.
Sep 29, 2016; Chaska, MN, USA; Europe team captain Darren Clarke addresses the media during the captains press conference ahead of the 41st Ryder Cup at Hazeltine National Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
“We’ve had some wonderfully successful Spanish partnerships in previous Ryder Cups,” he noted. “The two of them gelled so well today, I thought it would be very foolish of me if I was to try to change that.”
Clarke noted that the captaincy was a rewarding experience.
“It’s quite a fulfilling role,” he said. “It’s one that I’m really enjoying but there’s a lot of preparation that goes into it, but whenever we actually get here, after a year and a half of planning, to see that come to fruition, it’s wonderful.”
Davis Love III has now captained the U.S. team twice, so it’s unlikely he’ll head it up in 2018. However, Mickelson insisted that Love will still have a role.
“Davis is going to be a very instrumental part of that going forward in two years, because for us to go to Europe and try to win the Cup is a whole different feat,” he explained. “That’s going to require a whole different level of play, of solidarity, of fortitude, and we are going to have to build on this in two years if we want to try to retain the Cup. So it’s important to start this foundation. Yes, it’s great that we had success this week, but it’s not about one year or one Ryder Cup. It’s about a multitude, for decades to come.”
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