Opinion: Team Europe and Covid’s Impact
In the post Ryder-Cup press conference, a reporter asked Pádraig Harrington the obligatory “Do you regret anything about your captaincy?”. After addressing the question, he replied, in a joking manner, “can I regret COVID, is that allowed?” Though the comment was meant as a joke to keep the mood lighthearted, there is still intrigue behind it. What if you could just remove COVID from the situation? How would that have affected things?
When you consider that Europe won 7 out of the last 9 Ryder cups and suddenly suffered the biggest blowout in Ryder Cup history, the possibility of removing COVID from the situation becomes even more jarring. Many have analyzed the blowout as a result of the stable of young American stars that rose to the occasion, or the fact that the American team has started to borrow strategies from their European counterparts [statistical analysis, course manipulation, etc.]. However, one of the major differences between this Ryder Cup and others was simply that there was a pandemic that affected the preparation over a year in advance.
With just surface level analysis, we can see that the pandemic had a large impact on this tournament. Though it's impossible to chalk the defeat as a result of COVID [given the 19-9 loss], it would be naive to overlook the pandemic as a bigger roadblock for the European team than for the Americans.
Another fact we must remind ourselves when diving into this subject is that the Ryder cup preparation isn’t a matter of days, weeks, or months, but rather years. And though each team had 3 years to prepare for Whistling Straits due to COVID-19, a majority of that time would be met with significant roadblocks that neither side could have predicted.
Travel and Coach Access, and Time Away from Home
Europe’s preparation, coaching and selection process was impacted more by the pandemic than team USA’s.
Due to different travel restrictions and quarantine periods on each side of the pond, rather than the less strict American guidelines, notable European players including Rory McIlroy were unable to see their usual coaches. This caused some to seek advice elsewhere in order to play a full tournament schedule, thus impacting their usual preparation. Some, including McIlroy, saw their form slip during this time. Players had different voices around them than usual, some of which, in McIlroy’s case, garnered more technical approaches than what they were used to. American players were able to see their usual coaches with much more regularity. Especially if the coach was based out of their state of residency. No flights were therefore needed, and in most popular golf states courses and facilities were open.
Though he originally sighted the “lack of crowds” as a source for his 2020 slump, McIlroy, has been playing better since he reunited with his original coach, Michael Bannon, back in Ireland.
Another consequence of pandemic travel was that Whistling Straits itself was simply easier to access from American soil. Team USA got to make more trips to Kohler and play the course in the same wind that the tournament was held, while the Europeans did not.
Not to mention that COVID restrictions also limited the number of European fans that attended the event. The Ryder Cup is the most contentious event in golf and the rare opportunity to embrace a team environment, therefore the players rely more on fan spirit than in any other tournament. Not having home field support is already a disadvantage. That disadvantage was exaggerated greatly by the lack of European fans. Many European players were utterly dejected by the early lead by team USA, who seemingly had the entire crowd erupting with cheers every other minute.
Less Play = Less Points and Less Competitive Reps
Other players had to choose between the double quarantine in both the US and overseas or simply not playing as many tournaments. Therefore some players spent more time at home during the pandemic, playing less and acquiring less points as a result. Most notably, Francesso Molanari, the European star of the 2018 Ryder Cup, did not play enough to expect to gain enough points to make the team nor did he have the form to qualify. This is an incident that many could just attribute to not playing as well, but it's not always that simple. Given that Molanari went 5-0 at the previous Ryder Cup, his absence was a serious hindrance to the team.
The European [now DP World] Tour itself had much fewer events than a typical qualifying period since so many events were COVID-delayed or canceled. While the American PGA Tour was able to resume after taking three months off at the start of the pandemic, the DP World didn’t resume to a full schedule for over a year. In fact, The Open Championship, the only major outside the US, was also the only major that didn't have a makeup event in the fall of 2020.
Less events equates to less competing and a less robust qualification system for those that played a more European tour dominant schedule.
Captain’s Picks
Perhaps a more glaring difference was that the US had 6 captain picks due to the pandemic [two extra added due to the change in tournament schedule], but the Europeans chose not to take advantage of that opportunity for themselves. Though this was a conscious decision by team Europe to not take the extra picks, team USA wouldn’t have had the opportunity to take the 6 picks at all if it weren't for the pandemic. One of the last picks was Scottie Scheffler, who ended up taking down the then seemingly unbeatable world #1 John Rahm.
Superstitious Years
Also, the Cup was delayed by one year. If you have been a golf fan over the past 10-15 years you have probably noticed that it has worked out, possibly by effort, or maybe by chance, that the European team has had better form in Ryder Cup years (even years) than odd years. Contrary to that, the American stars seemed to have had better form, or at least a better mindset, during odd years. Which typically results in a strong performance at the Presidents Cup. However, this doesn't have a large bearing on result and preparation. It's just a fun coincidence.
Conclusion
Overall, it can be easy to look at the 19-9 score of Whistling Straits and think the European team is in big trouble for the next 10-20 years. While there are many positives that team USA can continue to build on, we can’t ignore the less tangible underlying factors that lead up to the unprecedented 2021 event at Whistling Straits. Though the pandemic seemed out of sight at the Ryder Cup itself, it was an undeniable factor in the years of preparation. There is no question that golf in Europe had more challenges during COVID, which could have been at least partially responsible for the severity of the blowout. We may just have to wait for Rome for a greater litmus test for the future of the Ryder Cup.
Sources
Dethier, Rory McIlroy addresses confusion around coaching situation, Golf Magazine. https://golf.com/news/rory-mcilroy-addresses-confusion-coaching-situation/
BBC Sport, Rory McIlroy back with long-time coach Michael Bannon after working with Pete Cowen https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/golf/59241021
Reuters, Rory McIlroy comfortable with return of fans, Phil Mickelson concerned
https://sportsnaut.com/mcilroy-comfortable-with-return/
PGA Tour, https://www.pgatour.com/stats/stat.131.y2020.html
Ryan, Shane. The Cup They Couldn't Lose: America, the Ryder Cup, and the Long Road to Whistling Straits. Hachette Books, 2022. Icon: https://www.flaticon.com/free-icons/mask" title="mask icons">Mask icons created by Freepik - Flaticon
