SAINT-QUENTIN-en-YVELINES, France — This question was posed to Sergio Garcia, the unquestioned heartbeat of the European Ryder Cup team: “Are you surprised it’s been so long since the U.S. has won over here?’’
Indeed, the last American Ryder Cup victory on foreign soil took place in 1993 at the Belfry in England.
“No,’’ Garcia answered simply. “I think it just shows how well we’ve played. It’s as simple as that. Am I surprised? No, because that’s what we try to do. We try to win it. They are probably surprised, but that’s our goal so we are not.
“And,’’ Garcia said with a glint of a smile, “we are hoping to make it even longer.’’
Make no mistake: This is more than a pebble in the golf shoes of the Americans. It’s a sharp, rusty nail.
As the matches get underway in Friday’s opening session at Le Golf National, that 25-year drought will be very much on the minds of the U.S. players and captains.
“We’re reminded of it quite often,’’ U.S. captain Jim Furyk said. “I started to be reminded about the moment I took this opportunity as captain. Is it extra motivation? I’m not sure you really need extra motivation in a Ryder Cup.
“Obviously, I think there’s a thorn in their side that that’s been the case. It’s been since 1993 and there’s some veteran players that have played on a number of these teams that have never won on foreign soil and that’s a part that’s missing in their careers.’’
Furyk insisted he hasn’t used that as a motivational tool, instead opting to leave it unspoken.
“It’s not anything I need to mention in the team room,’’ Furyk said. “There’s not like a big ‘25’ sitting in there anywhere. They are well aware of it and they are well aware of how difficult it is to win in Europe. That’s the battle we fight this week.’’
Two-time major 2018 winner Brooks Koepka boiled the week down pretty succinctly.
“We’re playing for the United States,’’ Koepka said. “That’s pretty simple. Yeah, there’s no money, but there’s definitely a lot of pride, egos, reputation and legacy, too. I think people always remember how many majors you’ve won, and you definitely don’t forget when you lose a Ryder Cup.
“We all know it’s been awhile since we’ve won one [on the road]. We’ve been told a million times. It’s pretty simple: We need to win.’’
How has the U.S. gotten to this point, this 25-year drought?
“I would put it simply: They won more holes, they made more putts,’’ Jordan Spieth said. “As far as our team’s concerned, there’s only a couple guys [Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson] that have any kind of scar tissue on playing on away soil, and those guys have won a combined 120-something times and account for 20 majors. We’re not worried about the two older guys on the team that have scar tissue.
“The rest of us are simply here and looking at this week as an opportunity for us to show that the golfers from the United States can beat the golfers from Europe, and we can do it over here.’’
Woods has played in seven Ryder Cups entering this one and has been part of winning side just once, at Brookline, Mass., in 1999.
“Looking back on my entire Ryder Cup career, that’s not something that I have really enjoyed and I’ve really liked seeing,’’ Woods said. “We haven’t done well. My overall Ryder Cup record, not having won as a player since 1999, is something that hopefully we can change.’’
Mickelson has played in 11 Ryder Cups and never won on the road.
“Because I’ve played in these events for so long and have never won over here, it would be one of the moments I would cherish the most if we were able to come out on top,’’ Mickelson said.
“Obviously Phil, Tiger, these guys haven’t won over here so it would be a dream to be a part of that,’’ Bubba Watson said.
“You look at Phil and Tiger, they are on their homeward stretch,’’ Rickie Fowler said. “Tiger and Phil have never won a Ryder Cup over here. I know that would be something that would in a way maybe help cap off a missing piece in their careers. The U.S. hasn’t done it in quite some time, and I’d love to be a part of a team that wins over here.’’
Patrick Reed called the added motivation for ending the drought “a huge one, because the young guys don’t want to have to go through what the old guys did every 25 years.’’
“Twenty-five years is a pretty long time,’’ Rory McIlroy said. “I guess that’s 12 Ryder Cups.’’
It’s actually been five consecutive losses on foreign soil for the Americans. But who’s counting?
Source: Read Full Article