ROME – The toxic feud that consumed golf since the last Ryder Cup in 2021 means some familiar faces will be missing when the 44th edition of the contest begins in Rome on Friday.
Thankfully, fears that the biennial clash between the US and Europe had been irrevocably damaged by the 2022 exodus to Saudi-backed LIV Golf have been allayed – for now at least.
If anything, the troubles of the past 18 months have served to raise excitement levels for the three-day duel at the Marco Simone Golf & Country Club just outside Rome.
All that matters when the first ball is struck on Friday will be the pride and passion of a dozen players from each continent battling for a trophy measuring a mere 17 inches (43cm).
“The Ryder Cup is pure, pure sport, with all the other stuff kind of taken out. It will always be above all that stuff,” said England’s Luke Donald, who replaced Henrik Stenson as captain after the Swede joined LIV Golf.
Northern Ireland’s four-time Major champion Rory McIlroy echoed his words: “There are some tournaments that are bigger and more important than all of that stuff and obviously the Ryder Cup is right at the top of the list.
“At the end of the day, it’s about sport and competing at the highest level. That is exactly what the Ryder Cup is.”
That is not to say it will be all sweetness and light in the first match in Europe since the hosts won in Paris in 2018.
Respect between Donald and his US counterpart Zach Johnson is clear, as it is between players on both sides. But there are wounds to heal and historic scores to settle.
Europe suffered their worst defeat at Whistling Straits two years ago – a 19-9 drubbing that left some of their players, including talisman McIlroy, in tears.
Meanwhile, the US team are trying to put to bed the idea that the Americans do not really fancy it much on European soil, having not won away for 30 years.
The Covid-19 pandemic meant the 2020 clash was postponed for a year and hardly any European fans were present at Whistling Straits as Padraig Harrington’s team succumbed meekly.
It will be a different story in Rome with around 45,000 fans expected each day, the majority of them backing Europe.
“Having that support, it picks up your energy as a player and you can feed off it,” added Donald.
This week’s match feels very much like a new page for the Europeans. Ryder Cup icons Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter are all absent, having resigned from the DP World Tour after joining the breakaway LIV Golf.
Justin Rose returns after missing out in Whistling Straits while world No. 2 McIlroy, third-ranked Jon Rahm and No. 4 Viktor Hovland will be expected to shoulder the burden for Europe.
Donald’s six picks include crowd favourite Tommy Fleetwood and former British Open winner Shane Lowry, but all eyes will be on debutant Ludvig Aberg who turned pro only in June and is the first Ryder Cup player not to have played a Major.
The Swede, who won his first professional tournament at the European Masters earlier in September, is one of four European rookies while Johnson’s team also contains four first-timers, although Brian Harman won the British Open in July, Wyndham Clark triumphed at the US Open and Max Homa is the world No. 7.
Five-time Major winner Brooks Koepka, one of Johnson’s six captain’s picks, is the only LIV golfer from either side. Others who defected, like Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Patrick Reed and Phil Mickelson, are missing.
Even without those big guns, the US team still look stronger on paper, with 15 combined Majors to Europe’s nine and an average world ranking of about 12 compared to Europe’s 30.
Johnson’s plan is simple; unleash his players. “You put so much into this, you love every second of it. It’s an absolute honour,” he said.
“I relish it, I love it, I want it, so... the cliche is ‘you just gotta let your horses run’ right? And that’s what you gotta do. These guys know what they’re doing, they’re here for a reason, and you just gotta let them go.” REUTERS
