Team USA’s Ryder Cup rout signals a sea-change in golf

Team USA makes easy work of the Europeans at Whistling Straits to bring the Ryder Cup back to American soil with a 19-9 victory

The 12 men who comprised Team USA spent the 43rd Ryder Cup high-fiving, fist-pumping, and guzzling beers. Most importantly, they played terrific golf.

Captain Steve Stricker arrived at Whistling Straits on the Wisconsin shore of Lake Michigan with a simple mission: return the Ryder Cup, which had been in European hands seven of nine tournaments in the last 20 years, to home soil. It proved to be an emphatic mission accomplished.

They were the better team on paper than the Europeans, which doesn’t usually mean much in this competition. It did this week, as Team USA proved quickly that this was a mismatch. The Americans built an early lead on Thursday, expanded it to a near-unsurmountable six points on Friday, and put it away on Sunday, going 8-4 in singles matches. Their 19 total points is a new record since the Ryder Cup switched to the current format in 1979.

The main question facing Stricker heading into the tournament was whether this team was too young and inexperienced to beat the seasoned Europeans. It was the youngest team in Ryder Cup history at an average age of 29, six years younger than Team Europe. Only one player, Dustin Johnson, was older than 32. Stricker had to count on six rookies.

Those rookies went a combined 14-4-3, proving that sheer talent can negate experience. It was a rookie, 24-year-old Collin Morikawa, who clinched the winning point by halving his match with Viktor Hovland. Another, Scottie Scheffler, beat World No. 1 Jon Rahm 4 & 3.

Stricker made all the right decisions and pushed all the right buttons. His captain’s picks went 10-8-2. He sent Johnson out in all five sessions, and the two-time major champion responded by becoming the first American to go 5-0 since Larry Nelson in 1979.

The roots of Team USA’s dominating performance were planted more than two weeks ago when Stricker took his players to get an early look at Whistling Straits. The way the entire team melded together, forming a common bond with a singular purpose, impressed the captain.

“Speechless. These guys all came together,” a teary-eyed Stricker told NBC’s Steve Sands. “Two weeks ago they came together. Showed me a lot about this group of guys…They had a mission this week. They played great and they came together.”

Ryder Cup: Team USA’s win this week just the beginning of a new era

The masterful performance of Team USA this week could signal a turning point in the history of this competition. Europe has dominated for nearly two decades. That appears to be changing. The Americans had eight of the top-10 players on the world rankings for the first time ever. They had a roster full of young superstars, from Morikawa (already a two-time major champion) to Scheffler, Olympic gold medalist Xander Schauffele, even Bryson DeChambeau, who put aside his rivalry with teammate Brooks Koepka for just one week—the two even exchanged a quick celebratory hug after the tournament.

The Ryder Cup means everything to the Europeans. It was seen in the eyes of Rory McIlroy, Ian Poulter, and Shane Lowry, who were inconsolable after their matches on Sunday. For once, the Americans matched that passion.

“This is a new era for USA golf,” Stricker said. “They’re young. They come with a lot of passion, a lot of energy, a lot of game. They’re just so good.”

The golfing world now revolves around the United States. It should stay that way for a while. This Ryder Cup wasn’t a blip on the golf calendar. It was a tidal wave.