Done, over, mission accomplished!
The Ryder Cup is back on American soil after the U.S. totally dismantled Europe in singles last Sunday.
The 17-11 pounding was indicative of talent finally prevailing.
Let’s take a quick look back and see who did and didn’t perform for each side.
UNITED STATES:
Brandt Snedeker: Here was a real pleasant surprise. Sneds was undefeated, he went 3-0-0. The overriding theme last week was better putting by the Americans and Sneds’ putter was red-hot. What was weird was that spasm-style celebration of his where it looked like his body was basically vibrating after he’d make a big putt?
Patrick Reed: What can you say about Reed? The “in-your-face” style fits him to a tee. Maybe the fact that he has to control himself a bit when he’s playing on the PGA Tour is a bad thing for him. He needs to figure out how to play this well in a major championship. He went 3-1-1.
Brooks Koepka: The rookie went 3-1-0. His talent showed up and he was obviously well rested coming into the matches. Nice surprise for the U.S. and bodes well for future Ryder Cup matches.
Rickie Fowler: Rickie justified his pick by going 2-1-0. Good job by Rickie, who didn’t even drag a girlfriend to the event. He was intent on winning and was totally focused.
Zach Johnson: Went 2-1-0. Always a guy in the background. Doesn’t call attention to himself. Could he be a captain one day?
Phil Mickelson: Phil went 2-1-1. Where did those 10 birdies come from on Sunday? You wonder if Phil has one more appearance as a player left in him.
Ryan Moore: Went 2-1-0. Nice pick as the 12th guy in. Gutsy kid.
Jordan Spieth: Went 2-2-1 thanks to Patrick Reed. Reed totally carried Spieth in the team matches and Jordy got wiped out in his singles match. Poor ball striking, pretty much reflective of the last half of his season.
Dustin Johnson: D.J. went 2-2. Pretty unimpressive considering how he has played this year. A course with no rough was set up for him to do better.
Matt Kuchar: Going 2-2 doesn’t warrant people constantly screaming: “Koooooooooooch.”
Jimmy Walker: This guy never fails to disappoint. Went 1-2. If he wasn’t an automatic qualifier, you wonder if he’d ever make it as a captain’s pick.
J.B. Holmes: Poor performance. Went 1-2, like D.J., course was set up to help bombers. Didn’t help J.B.
EUROPE:
Thomas Pieters: A star is born. How about 4-1 for the rookie? Amazing talent, tall, lanky, hits it long, the prototype modern golfer. Good new for future European teams.
Rory McIlroy: The backbone and leader of the European team. Went 3-2 but the Sunday singles loss to Reed started the U.S. onslaught. Europe needed that point badly and didn’t get it.
Chris Wood: The 6-5 Englishman went 1-1. He was a huge question mark and showed well. Needs to improve his short game and putting to realize his potential.
Henrik Stenson: Went 2-3 and that was a huge reason for the European loss. His pairing with Justin Rose was supposed to be the strongest European duo.
Justin Rose: Went 2-3, same as above. Just didn’t perform to the level of the world-class player he is. Peaked at the Olympic games when he won the Gold Medal.
Sergio Garcia: 1-2-2. This is what you get when he can’t putt well consistently. His putter came alive in his match with Mickelson but that’s about it. He will always be vulnerable because of that.
Martin Kaymer: This guy was a huge disappointment. Has no fire in him. Went 1-3. Poor performance that was indicative of the overall European team.
Andy Sullivan: He went 0-2-0. Overwhelmed by the setting. Wasn’t ready for this.
Matthew Fitzpatrick: Budding talent went 0-2-0. Was in over his head this go-round. Will hopefully be better in France in two years. Needs seasoning.
Danny Willett: Didn’t win a point — 0-3-0. Looking more and more like his Masters win was a fluke.
Lee Westwood: Simply horrible with the putter, story of his career. That’s why he’s never won a major and never will. Went 0-3-0 and you have to think this was his last appearance as a player.
There you have it.
Four Europeans didn’t win a point and two only won a single point.
Their best duo had a losing record and when you add it all up, it’s easy to see how the United States wiped these guys out.
