Dialled In: 250 days until the Ryder Cup and Europe dominates the world

Hello. Welcome to another edition of Dialled In where we are getting rather excited about the Ryder Cup.

But first, the NCG team was in glorious Abu Dhabi last week. We chatted to a whole bunch of players, including Danny Willett, Paul Lawrie, Soren Kjeldsen, Matt Wallace and Ryan Fox – and look out for something special from Andy Sullivan.

If gear is your thing, equipment editor James Savage got his hands on all the latest toys to try out, so keep an eye on NCG in the coming weeks for all of that.

Here are a couple of highlights…

Here she is. pic.twitter.com/o1S5KcOdNz

— Alex Perry (@AlexPerryNCG) January 15, 2018

There's nothing like a night game under the lights. pic.twitter.com/dwQM2SXpRq

— Alex Perry (@AlexPerryNCG) January 15, 2018

Eating breakfast on the balcony watching some of the world’s best golfers hit balls like it ain’t no thang. pic.twitter.com/Q0EkMrC7zL

— Alex Perry (@AlexPerryNCG) January 16, 2018

Danny Willett giving the new @CallawayGolfEU Rogue fairways a smash… pic.twitter.com/Ke3Fc9vozf

— James Savage (@JamesSavageNCG) January 17, 2018

Listen up kids, the world’s best player spends more time hitting wedges than any other club pic.twitter.com/Wrez1gGqtU

— James Savage (@JamesSavageNCG) January 18, 2018

Could watch Rory hit balls all day. Sound and ball flight is on a different level… pic.twitter.com/Ve2W8sG6FC

— James Savage (@JamesSavageNCG) January 18, 2018

Another great day here at @ADGolfClub we've covered Driving, iron and short game tips thanks to @ryanfoxgolfer @mattsjwallace and Soren Kjeldsen @NCGmagazine pic.twitter.com/DdOex5J5dM

— Craig Middleton (@Craig_NCG) January 16, 2018

Time for a bit of on course testing here at @SaadiyatBeachGC what a place ⛳️ pic.twitter.com/wBht6N7BWY

— Craig Middleton (@Craig_NCG) January 18, 2018

Anyway, don’t be too jealous. We’re all back in snowy Yorkshire now.

Roll on Paris

So why are getting all giddy about the Ryder Cup? Well…

“Like”

??? pic.twitter.com/D9c3ChbHvk

— Ryder Cup Europe (@RyderCupEurope) January 22, 2018

And look at that, all in Tiger’s Sunday red.

Yes, it was quite the weekend for Team Europe as three players who will undoubtedly play key roles at Le Golf National in September dominated across the world this week.

Sergio Garcia got the party started by lifting the Singapore Open on the Asian Tour, before Tommy Fleetwood reeled in Ross Fisher to win the Abu Dhabi Championship on the European Tour. Then, long into the night UK time, Jon Rahm earned his second PGA Tour title at the CareerBuilder Challenge.

Remember when Alan Shipnuck wrote that piece basically saying that the US are going to dominate the Ryder Cup until the end of time?

I’ve spoken to a lot of American golf fans since that now infamous article and they all ensure me that Shipnuck is in a very small minority of one.

Other than a ridiculous amount of clicks on his website, I don’t really see how he has benefitted from this piece. (Though we, of all people, probably shouldn’t head down that particular road.)

Anyway, just for fun, let’s remind ourselves of the world we lived in when the Americans last won on European soil. Remember to come back – I’ve got more to say.

Desert storm

While we’re on the subject of ridiculous things that have been written on the internet, remember this?

What is the most boring sport?
Golf – 70% who have ever watched it find boring
American Football – 59%
Cricket – 58%
Darts – 58%
Snooker – 57%https://t.co/eJughVrwa0 pic.twitter.com/izb7Pi0mE3

— YouGov (@YouGov) January 10, 2018

You should, it was only a couple of weeks ago.

Anyway, I hope just one of the 70% was watching the final round of the Abu Dhabi Championship and realised they were wrong. In fact…

If you’re one of those people that voted golf the most boring sport to watch in that poll, get Sky Sports on now and remember to apologise afterwards to everyone else on the planet.

— Alex Perry (@AlexPerryNCG) January 21, 2018

And I will probably tweet this every Sunday from now until when Donny finds the red button.

Fleetwood’s back

First of all…

This is the photograph on Tommy Fleetwood's Wikipedia page.

WHO THE HELL IS THAT? pic.twitter.com/RMOVWCR8cq

— Alex Perry (@AlexPerryNCG) January 22, 2018

And if you went on Twitter at all on Sunday for even a few minutes, you’ll know that Fleetwood has moved to world No. 12 having been outside the top 6,000 just 12 months ago.

Also moving on up is Rahm, who is now world No. 2! (I hate using exclamation marks – but that sentence feels like it needs one.)

The trailblazing Spaniard is now above Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas – our two most recent major champions – and it’s a huge, huge if, but…

Amazing stuff from @JonRahmpga! 4 wins in a year and already #2 in the world. If he successfully defends his title next week at @FarmersInsOpen, he will then have a chance to become no.1 in the world in Phoenix! Quite incredible… #OWGR

— Nosferatu (@VC606) January 22, 2018

A man with a plan

As usual, our faceless OWGR guru is keeping mum on where Tiger Woods can move to after Torrey Pines this week.

Speaking of whom…

If this is @TigerWoods daily routine now, I think he is ready to compete again! ⛳️?? #dontcallitacomeback @LinksNation @TGRLiveEvents @chambleebrandel @GCTigerTracker #goat? pic.twitter.com/fNTAYmDv1q

— Jack Barrett (@JackLBarrett) January 20, 2018

It is FRIGHTENING how similar that is to my daily routine.

Bad break for Brooks

It has not been a good start to the year for our reigning US Open champion…

Brooks Koepka sidelined for at least two months with a partially torn tendon in his left wrist. Hopes to return to competition by the Masters.

— Jason Sobel (@JasonSobelESPN) January 20, 2018

Windy city

And just because this tweet made me giggle like a child for several minutes…

Hit balls next to Kuchar yesterday and two very Matt Kuchar things happened; He didn’t miss a shot, and when he let out a fart he went, “oopsies.” ?

— Eddie Pepperell (@PepperellEddie) January 20, 2018

I just hope he wasn’t working on his follow through.

That’s enough from me for another week. Goodbye.