What Europe need to do to regain the Ryder Cup
5. Defuse the Reed/Spieth pairing
Patrick Reed and Jordan Spieth’s record together reads: Played 7, Won 4, Halved 2, Lost 1.
You can bet your bottom dollar – or should that be Euro? – that they will be paired together on Friday morning in Paris. Quite possibly in the opening match, if that isn’t too obvious. Can Bjorn second-guess Jim Furyk’s intentions and then find the right pair to defeat them?
McIlroy tried to match Reed’s outward shows of emotion only to lose at the last in the Hazeltine singles. Bjorn will doubtless have his own ideas of how to becalm Captain America. Interestingly, Spieth has lost both of his singles to date while Reed won both of his.
By and large, Reed has been the stronger half of the pairing. His overall Ryder Cup record to date? Played 9, Won 6, Halved 2, Lost 1.
6. Expose the USA’s veteran legends
In the shape of Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods, America have two men who have made 11 and seven appearances respectively. Mickelson hasn’t missed a match since making his debut in 1995. For years, the team was built around them.
This time there is even talk of them playing together again, as they did disastrously back in 2004. Surely not.
Is it possible, though, that this could be a match too far for them?
As we saw with Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer two years ago, the Ryder Cup is no place for veterans who are short of their best. With the likes of Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Brooks Koepka and Rickie Fowler to choose from, quite apart from Messrs Reed and Spieth, Europe are going to have to work hard to expose relative weaknesses in their opponents.
Taking Tiger and Phil down might just be a good place to start.
7. Harness the underdog spirit – or dismiss it
The last time Europe want into a home Ryder Cup and weren’t the favourites was 2002. On that occasion, unlikely heroes such as Phil Price and Paul McGinley emerged.
This used to be the European way: ignore the world rankings and play from the heart. Whether a team containing the major-winning likes of McIlroy, Rose, Garcia, Stenson and Francesco Molinari can pull the same trick is another question.
In world ranking terms, they may not even be underdogs. So perhaps Bjorn will prefer to tell his charges that they are every bit as good as their vaunted opponents and to go out and show it.
8. Master the watery closing stretch
Water is a significant feature on no fewer than 11 holes at Le Golf National. And notably on three of the last four. Whichever side copes best with the challenge of the par-4 15th, par-3 16th and par-4 18th will win the tight matches, of which there will be several.
The 15th involves a lake that separates the fairway from the green, with a drive close to the water down the right offering the most appealing second shot. The short 16th is played over water, while the 18th, a little like its counterpart at The Belfry, involves water left off the tee and then again short of the green.
In between comes the long par-4 17th which is just hard but, in terms of drama, a non-event.
A trend is likely to develop: if you lose a match at the 18th on Friday morning by finding water, you might not be relishing the prospect of having another go that afternoon. And vice versa.
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Dan Murphy
Dan loves links golf, which doesn't mean he is very good at it. He is a four-handicapper at Alwoodley. A qualified journalist and senior editor with 25 years’ experience, he was the long-time editor of NCG. His passion is golf courses and he is the founding editor of NCG Top 100s course rankings. He loves nothing more than discovering and highlighting courses that are worthy of greater recognition.
