It is difficult to estimate who will be the captain of both the American and European teams at the next Ryder Cup. There is every chance that Luke Donald will lead this team again, given the incredible success he achieved in the previous two editions.
The Americans are eager for revenge on European soil, but the fans don't give huge chances, mostly because the European team possess quality players.
However, with regard to home advantage, the latest edition showed that playing at home does not necessarily mean your team will have an easy job.
Speaking to the media, Paul McGinley commented on the performance of the European team, believing that they were excellent in various aspects of the game.
McGinley points out that, no matter how dominant Europe proved to be during the last tournament, the final day exposed certain team weaknesses. Most label it as mental weakness and pressure, which they will have to work on before the start of the next edition.
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If you look at our scoring in Bethpage, even with the rough down, it was a difficult par-70 golf course with only two par fives, and we averaged five-under par in the foursomes for the eight games; that was phenomenal performance, McGinley said, as quoted by the Irish Independent.
In the fourball matches, we averaged eight under par. Again, phenomenal. Bearing in mind that a lot of these games didnt go to the 18th, we played unbelievably in those eight sessions of fourballs and eight sessions of foursomes.
But in the singles, we went back to even par.
Hostile atmosphere
McGinley, as an experienced figure and a man who has dominated the golf scene for years, reflected on the reaction of the public, who were somewhat confused by the dominance of the European team at the last edition. What is the reason for their great game and what is their advantage?
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Paul McGinley believes that the coaches and vice-captains of the European team did a great job because the European team was prepared for the hostile atmosphere and everything that awaits them.
In addition, Paul gave a great example comparing the situation with soldiers, citing the atmosphere on Bethpage Black with Afghanistan and Iraq, where 20 soldiers try to hit and kill you.
As bad as the crowd behaviour was at Bethpage, we had prepared the team so well that it didnt seem as bad, McGinley explained.
Theres a great line from a Navy SEAL I read years ago. He was asked what do you do in a hostile environment, when youre in Afghanistan or Iraq and you get isolated from your team and youve got 20 people trying to shoot you and kill you?
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Youre on your own. What do you do when its a life-or-death situation? And his answer was, I dropped to the level of my training. And I thought that was so insightful, and Ive never forgotten it.
I dropped to the level of my training. In other words, he trained to this level, and even life or death was only at this level.
So basically, hes so well prepared to deal with the situation, and going into Bethpage, we were going to prepare the players for this incredibly difficult situation."- Paul continued.
Next edition
The Europeans still have an advantage considering that they will be playing on home soil, but also considering the last two editions.
Golf fans in Europe hope that the team will successfully exploit this advantage and confirm its strength in the next edition.
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There is no doubt that the US team will change a lot, with the desire to finally win the trophy and show their qualities in a special way.
