The Ryder Cup File

FLAG HIGH Anthony Kim celebrates the United States’ 16½-11½victory at the 2008 Match at Valhalla in Louisville. Left: Patrick Reed defeated Rory McIlroy in a drama-filled 2016 singles match.

CHOOSE WISELY

The fi rst big decision you’ll have to make is what to have to make is what to do with those six captain’s do with those six captain’s picks you get because of picks you get because of the pandemic’s disruption the pandemic’s disruption to the point system. I don’t to the point system. I don’t envy you. They didn’t even envy you. They didn’t even exist until Raymond Floyd’s exist until Raymond Floyd’s captaincy in 1989, and I captaincy in 1989, and I thought Paul Azinger was thought Paul Azinger was fl at-out nuts that he asked fl at-out nuts that he asked for four in ’08. for four in ’08.

Speaking of Zinger, Speaking of Zinger, he gets credit for all the he gets credit for all the personality stuff , but Dave personality stuff , but Dave Stockton went the psyche Stockton went the psyche route fi rst at Kiawah in route fi rst at Kiawah in ’91. He and psychologist ’91. He and psychologist Deborah Graham profi led Deborah Graham profi led his team and settled on his team and settled on picks they thought would picks they thought would mesh. Your job is to be sure mesh. Your job is to be sure every player has at least every player has at least one potential partner. If a one potential partner. If a guy no one likes makes the guy no one likes makes the team on points, you best team on points, you best use a pick to fi nd someone use a pick to fi nd someone who can tolerate him. who can tolerate him.

Unlike the Europeans, Unlike the Europeans, we don’t have many players we don’t have many players with winning experience, with winning experience, so select guys who are so select guys who are playing well and fi t the playing well and fi t the course. Sounds simple, course. Sounds simple, but Jim Furyk failed to do but Jim Furyk failed to do this in 2018. He went full this in 2018. He went full chalk (Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Tony Finau, Bryson Dechambeau) because those guys were playing well—on Americanstyle courses. In France, the fairways were as wide as a hotel hallway and, except for Tony, those boys were awful. We’d have been better off playing assistant captains Matt Kuchar and Zach Johnson.

For pairings, don’t pull a Hal Sutton and pair two superstars who don’t care for each other because you think it’s intimidating. The team of Tiger and Phil only fi red up the Euros, and if

that team loses, you’re in Mickelson, Tony Finau, trouble. Ask the guys who Bryson Dechambeau) they want to play with, because those guys were and mitigate personality playing well—on American- confl icts. In 2012, ZJ was style courses. In France, so freaked out by how quiet the fairways were as wide Jason Dufner was that as a hotel hallway and, Davis Love III had to tell Duf except for Tony, those boys to speak up a little. They were awful. We’d have went 2-1 that week. been better off playing The order you trot out assistant captains Matt matters most in singles. In Kuchar and Zach Johnson. 2012, DL3 led with Bubba

For pairings, don’t pull Watson and Webb Simpson a Hal Sutton and pair two because they like to play superstars who don’t care fast. They were nervous, for each other because you had a bad start, and Europe think it’s intimidating. The pulled off a stunning team of Tiger and Phil only comeback. The lesson? Go fi red up the Euros, and if with your hot players fi rst.

that team loses, you’re in trouble. Ask the guys who they want to play with, and mitigate personality confl icts. In 2012, ZJ was so freaked out by how quiet Jason Dufner was that Davis Love III had to tell Duf to speak up a little. They went 2-1 that week.

The order you trot out matters most in singles. In 2012, DL3 led with Bubba Watson and Webb Simpson because they like to play fast. They were nervous, had a bad start, and Europe pulled off a stunning comeback. The lesson? Go with your hot players fi rst.

BAD MATCH

Hal Sutton’s pairing of Tiger pairing of Tiger Woods and Phil Woods and Phil Mickelson in Mickelson in the 2004 Cup the 2004 Cup backfired when backfired when they lost both they lost both their matches their matches while inspiring while inspiring the Europeans. the Europeans.

VICTORY IS OURS

The Americans edged Europe, 14½-13½, in Europe, 14½-13½, in 1991’s “War by 1991’s “War by the Shore.” the Shore.”

KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE

The 12 men on your team will be—how should I put this—more particular than the boys of past teams. Each this—more particular than the boys of past teams. Each player has a traveling entourage these days: caddie, player has a traveling entourage these days: caddie, swing coach, putting guy, mental guru, agent, sandwich swing coach, putting guy, mental guru, agent, sandwich maker and the “physio”—which used to be a European maker and the “physio”—which used to be a European word, but apparently it sounds fancier than “trainer,” word, but apparently it sounds fancier than “trainer,” so they all use it. These guys are the stars of their own so they all use it. These guys are the stars of their own shows because they can aff ord to be. Some haven’t shows because they can aff ord to be. Some haven’t heard the word “no” in years. This makes Ryder Cup heard the word “no” in years. This makes Ryder Cup week tricky. It’s your job to get them to leave their egos week tricky. It’s your job to get them to leave their egos at the mansion and lean into the team dynamic. at the mansion and lean into the team dynamic.

Your instinct will be to tell the prima donnas to put Your instinct will be to tell the prima donnas to put themselves second for a week, but that’s not how themselves second for a week, but that’s not how millennials work. They need a common cause. That’s millennials work. They need a common cause. That’s

IF ANY CLOTHING BECOMES THE STORY, BECOMES THE STORY, YOU’RE IN TROUBLE YOU’RE IN TROUBLE

Let’s address the rainsuit in the room. What happened in 2010 was a disaster. Granted, a two-foot-thick cube of steel wouldn’t have kept all the water out that week in Wales, but a rainsuit has one job: Keep the person wearing it dry. Those didn’t do it, and they looked terrible while not doing it—like something a mid-’80s Indiana University Hoosiers basketball team would wear. Lisa Pavin surely had nothing but pure intentions, and she’s not to blame for our loss that week, but we can’t aff ord a repeat of that sartorial quagmire.

Ryder Cup apparel has come a long way. In 1975, Arnie’s team gi ed the Euros new FootJoys because they felt bad about how crummy their shoes were. Our guys used to show up, fi nd some clothes in their locker—medium, large or extra-large—and put them on. If they didn’t fi t, it was no biggie. Tiger’s pants were always too big because that guy has the skinniest legs in American history, and we’d all laugh about it. Now, it’s no joking matter. Players are used to having custom-fi t clothes, which are way too tight if you ask me.

Get the clothes they’re going to wear during Ryder Cup week into their hands months in advance. The fi ne folks from Ralph Lauren will have four or fi ve staff ers on site to address any lastmodeled a er the Navy SEALS, so genius. He profi led each of his guys and separated them into three groups of four based on personality types: the Aggressives, the Steadies and the Rednecks, and he communicated with each pod diff erently. Imagine politely telling Anthony Kim, an Aggressive, to “hang in there, buddy!” He’d tell you to f-off . Zinger challenged him directly on the 14th hole at Valhalla that week: “I thought you were gonna show off for me today? You ain’t showing me shit!” That fi red Kim up beyond belief. But if you said that to Ben Curtis, a Steady, he might start tearing up. Know your audience.

Figure out what makes each guy comfortable. If one wants an extra hour for practice, like Zach

What happened in 2010 was a disaster. Granted, a two-foot-thick cube of steel wouldn’t have kept all the water out that week in Wales, but a rainsuit has one job: Keep the person wearing it dry. Those didn’t do it, and they looked terrible while not doing it—like something a mid-’80s Indiana University Hoosiers basketball team would wear. Lisa Pavin surely had nothing but pure intentions, and she’s not to blame for our loss that week, but we can’t aff ord a repeat of that sartorial quagmire.

Ryder Cup apparel has come a long way. In 1975, Arnie’s team gi ed the Euros new FootJoys because they felt bad about how crummy their shoes were. Our guys used to show up, fi nd some clothes in their locker—medium, large or extra-large—and put them on. If they didn’t fi t, it was no biggie. Tiger’s pants were always too big because that guy has the skinniest legs in American history, and we’d all laugh about it. Now, it’s no joking matter. Players are used to having custom-fi t clothes, which are way too tight if you ask me.

Get the clothes they’re going to wear during Ryder Cup week into their hands months in advance. The fi ne folks from Ralph Lauren will have four or fi ve staff ers on site to address any lastJohnson did a er 2010, oblige. Have the weight room ready. If they want their physio, bring their physio. Also, these guys are neurotic about food. Back in the day, you could just put out a buff et. Now? Everyone’s got their thing. Tiger hates garlic. DeChambeau’s gonna want protein shakes. Jordan Spieth loves guacamole. Avoid raw fi sh, especially in Wisconsin—too much potential for disaster.

Never stop telling these guys how good they are. You’re a cheerleader, not a critic. If you want a guy to go out fi rst against his will, tell him it’s because he’s playing the best. When you’re telling a guy he’s sitting, say it’s because he looks a bit tired, and you can’t aff ord to have a player of his quality less than 100 percent. You’re going to feel like a brown-noser. It’s part of the gig.

minute fi t issues, but everything should be handled well before then. be handled well before then.

As far as designs go—the simpler, the As far as designs go—the simpler, the better. Out-there shirts, like the picturebetter. Out-there shirts, like the pictureframe getups we wore in ’99, become frame getups we wore in ’99, become iconic only if they’re worn during victory. iconic only if they’re worn during victory. If you lose, it’s going to go down in If you lose, it’s going to go down in infamy. Red, white and blue complement infamy. Red, white and blue complement each other wonderfully. Check the 2019 each other wonderfully. Check the 2019 Presidents Cup team for inspiration. Presidents Cup team for inspiration. They wore a whole bunch of solid colors They wore a whole bunch of solid colors and looked sharp. and looked sharp.

As for your threads, avoid pulling As for your threads, avoid pulling a Sutton. Hal showed up to the fi rst tee a Sutton. Hal showed up to the fi rst tee on Friday in 2004 wearing a cowboy hat on Friday in 2004 wearing a cowboy hat and immediately gave the Euros and immediately gave the Euros a caricatured mascot to unite against: a caricatured mascot to unite against: the beer-drinkin’, dip-chewin’, horsethe beer-drinkin’, dip-chewin’, horseridin’ Yankee. In related news, the ridin’ Yankee. In related news, the boys went to bed that night down boys went to bed that night down 6½-1½. On home soil. 6½-1½. On home soil.

ALL HAT NO CATTLE?

Captain Hal Captain Hal Sutton wore Sutton wore this on the this on the first day of first day of the 2004 the 2004 Match, but the Match, but the Euros rolled Euros rolled to an 18½-9½ to an 18½-9½ victory. victory.

tiger: al messerschmidt/wireimage/getty images • fans, sutton: david cannon/allsport fans, sutton: david cannon/allsport

what made Paul Azinger’s “pod” system of 2008, modeled a er the Navy SEALS, so genius. He profi led each of his guys and separated them into three groups of four based on personality types: the Aggressives, the Steadies and the Rednecks, and he communicated with each pod diff erently. Imagine politely telling Anthony Kim, an Aggressive, to “hang in there, buddy!” He’d tell you to f-off . Zinger challenged him directly on the 14th hole at Valhalla that week: “I thought you were gonna show off for me today? You ain’t showing me shit!” That fi red Kim up beyond belief. But if you said that to Ben Curtis, a Steady, he might start tearing up. Know your audience.

Figure out what makes each guy comfortable. If one wants an extra hour for practice, like Zach Johnson did a er 2010, oblige. Have the weight room ready. If they want their physio, bring their physio. Also, these guys are neurotic about food. Back in the day, you could just put out a buff et. Now? Everyone’s got their thing. Tiger hates garlic. DeChambeau’s gonna want protein shakes. Jordan Spieth loves guacamole. Avoid raw fi sh, especially in Wisconsin—too much potential for disaster.

Never stop telling these guys how good they are. You’re a cheerleader, not a critic. If you want a guy to go out fi rst against his will, tell him it’s because he’s playing the best. When you’re telling a guy he’s sitting, say it’s because he looks a bit tired, and you can’t aff ord to have a player of his quality less than 100 percent. You’re going to feel like a brown-noser. It’s part of the gig.

WAR NO MORE

Mark O’Meara, Payne Stewart, Dave Stockton and Corey Pavin celebrate at Kiawah in 1991.

YOU HAVE HOME-FIELD ADVANTAGE—USE IT

The suits will tell you with a straight face that the Ryder Cup should have a neutral course setup. Perhaps they slept through the last matches in France, or they think the super at Le Golf National just happened to make the fairways three yards wide and the rough knee-high by chance. Toying with the course to benefi t your team—historically, we hit it farther and more crooked, the Euros are shorter and straighter—is absolutely, positively fair game. We just caught wind of it later than the Euros did. An old U.S. captain asked Tony Jacklin if he’d doctored the setup during his captaincy. His response? “You’re damned right I did!”

A er we got a lil’ frisky in ’08, they wrote a clause in the Captain’s Agreement to prohibit any last-minute screwery by taking control away from the host captain the Monday before tournament week, 11 days before the fi rst ball is struck. A er that, “all daily decisions related to course preparation, including frequency of height of mowing and tee and hole locations, will be taken by the Match Committee alone.”

All I see there is that you do have control up until the Monday before tournament week. That’s more than enough time to make your intentions known to the lovely superintendent. Buy him a bottle of his favourite bourbon and discuss your vision for the course over a glass of it. Make him your best friend. Back in ’08, Paul Azinger cosied up so close to Mark Wilson, the old superintendent at Valhalla, that the guy named his dog Zinger (and last I heard that dog’s still kickin’!). Azinger told Wilson months before the Cup that he considered him an integral part of the underdog U.S. team’s chances.

There were six guys on our team that year who could fl y it, say, 302 yards. What did Azinger do? He put the tees to where 302 carried the bunkers, and he put no rough on the other side of them. Hell, he had two branches cut down to make J.B. Holmes’ life easier. Bar set.

Davis Love III kept this going in ’16 at Hazeltine but did so in an understated manner, as is his nature. He told Kerry Haigh, the setup chief for the PGA of America, to err on the easier side when it came to pin locations. His logic: We want birdies. Even if they make birdie to match, it’s a positive for us because birdies get the crowds going. I don’t know if it’s possible to produce a bunch of birdies at Whistling Straits unless y’all play the forward tees, but do your best. Make it wide. Cut the rough. Set easy pins. Go all out.

AZINGER GROUPED HIS PLAYERS BY PERSONALITY TYPE: THE AGGRESSIVES, THE STEADIES AND THE REDNECKS.

MAKE IT FEEL HUGE

The kids won’t remember, but for a while no one really gave a crap about the Ryder Cup. Remember, Tom Weiskopf decided he’d rather go biggame hunting than play in 1977. It wasn’t until Jack Nicklaus got beat at his own place, Muirfi eld Village in 1987, that we really started to take things seriously. The War by the Shore in ’91 took things to a new level. Now it’s the biggest spectacle in our sport, and it’s your job to make it feel even bigger than that. That’s how you get the players to buy in without off ering $2 million for fi rst place.

Everything has to be fi rst class—including the gi s you give the players. Stewart Cink still talks about the bike Tom Lehman gave him in ’06. We’ve had so many cool speakers come into the team room that guys have come to expect it now, and it contributes to the grandness of it all. One priceless moment that jumps to mind is when Michael Phelps was giving the boys a pep talk in ’16, and Matt Kuchar pops up and puts his arm around him and goes “Not everyone knows what it means to be an Olympian!” One of the other boys called out: “Hey, Michael—that thing Kuch has on, it’s called a bronze medal.” Said Phelps: “I think I might have one of those—in a relay.”

We’ve had Coach Mike Krzyzewski in there, and even uber-chill Dustin Johnson was fi red up a er that one. Lehman set us up with the New England Patriots ahead of Hazeltine. The guys got a priceless lesson by watching Tom Brady interact with his teammates. Davis Love III brought in both president Bushes, which brought Amy Mickelson to tears. You won’t have to beg Michael Jordan to come around. Trust me.

Still, the best moments come organically from the Ryder Cup fraternity—not some athlete or celebrity’s planned speech. Before the fl ight over to the Belfry in ’93, Tom Watson looked at his team and told them, “You’re about to go on one of the great golfi ng adventures of your career.” The simplicity of it struck a note. The team was ready to run through a wall, and no U.S. team has won in Europe since those boys did. You’ll have access to Tiger, whether or not he’s there in person. He loves to help, and the guys idolise him. Anything he says is going to inspire them. Keep that in mind. Oh, and one more thing about the team room: The pingpong table is a nonnegotiable amenity.

POWER COUPLE

Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus propelled the U.S. team to victory in the 1971 Match.

MANAGE THE CHAOS

Weird stuff happens during the Ryder Cup. It’s why the fans love it so much—a break from the monotony of 72-hole, stroke-play events, where crowds politely clap and players tip their caps.

Dave Stockton probably had the craziest experience of all in 1991. First, a limo crash injured Steve Pate two days before the Match began. Once it started, Paul Azinger and Seve Ballesteros nearly came to blows. Then Ray Floyd and Seve almost came to blows. Dave hated the term “War by the Shore,” but that’s what it was, and no amount of planning prepares you for off -the-wall stuff like that.

It’s your job to contain the chaos. If there are any squabbles—like, say, Patrick Reed feeling betrayed by Spieth or Brooks and DJ coming to blows—address it head-on, before the media fi nds out. You don’t need anything blowing up on Twitter.

Don’t give the Euros bulletin-board material. On the eve of that ’91 Cup, two promotional videos were shown. Team USA’s lasted 20 minutes. The Euros’ video barely made it fi ve. As you might imagine, they were not pleased. We all owe Danny Willett’s brother a thank you for calling out our fans in ’16, which only made them want to yell louder. Lavish the Euros with praise in every interview you can. There’s no one quite like Seve that you have to contend with, but make sure not to piss off Sergio or Poulter.

The focus needs to be on golf. A point hammered home a er ’14 by the task force—funny enough, that’s become a taboo term—was that the PGA of America was running our guys ragged by dragging them to events every night. You don’t want them feeling like their golf routine changes for this one week.

Encourage the guys to interact with the crowd if they want, but make it clear they don’t have to. There’s no right or wrong answer. Remind them that no matter how loud or contentious it gets, it’s golf. There’s no one playing defense, no one stopping you from stuffi ng that 8-iron to two feet.

BOMBS AWAY

Justin Leonard celebrates after holing a long birdie putt on the 17th green during the final day of the 1999 Match at The Country Club in Brookline.

ACCEPT THAT WHICH YOU CANNOT CONTROL

The worst part about being a captain is that you’re not a player. You won’t hit a single shot, which limits your ability to directly impact the matches. You can your ability to directly impact the matches. You can follow every direction I’ve given you, endear yourself to follow every direction I’ve given you, endear yourself to the players and still lose. Tom Kite took all the blame in 1997, but Tiger, Justin Leonard and Phil couldn’t make a putt all week. Conversely, the Euros couldn’t stand their captain that week, and yet Seve bathed in compliments about his leadership.

Speaking of Tiger, he was a no-brainer pick in ’18. Might’ve been the best, most consistent player coming into the Cup. Then, the week before the matches, he won his fi rst event in more than fi ve years and turned up to France looking like a zombie. That’s out of your control. Guys who are playing great coming in hit a wall, and guys who are struggling kick it into gear. There’s an element of randomness to this game. You’re going to feel helpless as you watch European putts fall and American putts lip-out. Once the fi rst tee shot is hit in every session, all you can do is sit back and hope.

The role of the captain is to put your team in position to win. If you don’t, be ready to take the blame—like, all of it. It’s the role of a leader. Win or lose, savor every second of the experience. It’s the honor of a lifetime.

WHAT A RUSH Fans storm the 18th after Team USA’s dramatic final-day comeback at the 1999 Ryder Cup.

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