A Ah, the Ryder Cup again. Every two years, always at the end of September, it’s time for the ultimate spectacle in men’s professional golf: the feverish team competition Europe–USA with twelve players each, all amicably united in collegial hostility. From the 26th to the 28th of September, the 45th edition will be played in Farmington, New York. As always there isn’t a single dollar to win and no world ranking points. It’s all about really showing the others who’s boss.
Can Europe against the supposedly dominant force from the great golfing nation USA actually win? Yes, in recent years they have often managed it, most recently in Rome in 2023. Since 1985 the Europeans have triumphed in 19 encounters, 13 times, in Rome even decisively with 16.5:11.5.
Golf analysts have long searched for the reasons why the Americans, who are usually better placed in the world rankings, so often lose. They stumbled upon a phenomenon early: the Tiger Woods syndrome. Woods was for almost two decades the dominant figure with 14 major titles. Statistics showed that the opponents, on average, played half a stroke per round worse than they would have without Woods in the field. Magic? Intimidation? Unconscious tensing?
In the Ryder Cup, however, that never applied. There Woods had a devastating record. Eight times he was part of the US team, he won only once: 1999. Not because of inferior teammates, but because he himself played terribly when he wasn’t the soloist, but part of a team. In 37 appearances, Tiger Woods managed only 13 wins and lost a staggering 21 times (with 3 draws).
Harmonische Europäer
Time and again, the multimillionaire dozen from the USA faced a harmonious Team Europe full of team spirit, which functioned better especially in the doubles. Team spirit here, wrong role models there: At one point the USA invited war veterans for martial motivation. The shot backfired: a defeat, as so often.
Currently, Scottie Scheffler is the outstanding US player. In 2025 he won two of the four major tournaments, took Olympic gold in Paris, and leads the world rankings by a huge margin. But: in the Ryder Cup 2021 and 2023 he won only two of seven matches. His doubles loss with Brooks Koepka 9&7 in Rome 2023 was even historic. 9&7 means that the opponents (Viktor Hofland and Ludwig Aberg) had already won 9 holes, but only 7 remained to be played. No one had ever lost by a larger margin.
The worry of US fans: Has Scheffler also caught the paralyzing Tiger-virus (morbus woodsii)? Team captain (“Teamcaptain”) Keagan Bradley, as expected, would have picked himself due to his current magnificent form. He declined. Reason: the other guys, he said, were simply too good. Motivation or usual arrogance?
The opposite of Tiger Woods has always been the Englishman Luke Donald. He was more than a decade at the top of the world, also holding the world No. 1 for over a year, never winning a major. He played the Ryder Cup four times—and won the trophy four times. In 2023 in Rome he was Europe’s team captain. Because that went so well, he is again, contrary to all conventions, this year. And he has named almost the same team as in 2023, including five British compatriots like Tommy Fleetwood or Justin Rose.
Apparently it is inspiring for island golfers to play under the EU flag despite Brexit. And all, whether Spain’s Jon Rahm, Austria’s Sepp Straka, or the young Scandinavian stars, will listen with the Brits to Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy,” the Europe anthem. After that, around 50,000 fans daily around the greens will roar again; from the Old Continent they chant: “Europe, Europe.” The Ryder Cup – that’s football-frenzy on the golf course.
