Heading into the Monday singles, the U.S. trails Europe 9 ½ to 6 ½ in the Ryder Cup. It’s a daunting deficit, but America has overcome more, trailing 10-6 in the 1999 Ryder Cup before winning in the biggest comeback in Cup history.
There are some key differences, however, suggesting a rally this time will be much more difficult to pull off.
For one, this year’s Ryder Cup is on foreign soil. The 1999 rally was staged at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass. In this year’s event, the U.S. has proved particularly inept on the slow greens of Celtic Manor, saturated by rain.
Seriously, how many birdie putts have the U.S. left short? Even more amazing are the putts the U.S. players have failed to get to the hole when they needed to make them to simply halve. Doesn’t two practice rounds and three days of competition qualify as sufficient time to adjust to the sluggish greens?
Here’s another reason why the U.S. can’t come back – depth. For once, Europe is better, players 1 through 12, than America. In the past, the U.S. has had a decided edge in singles. Even in winning only four of the last 11 Ryder Cups, the U.S. has demonstrated its superior depth by winning the singles seven times.
But the format change in this Ryder Cup has allowed Europe to exploit its superior depth. In the last two rounds, when both teams were forced to employ all 12 players, Europe has an 8-2-2 edge.
If you still think the U.S. can pull off a comeback, consider this. In 1999, here were some of the less-than-illustrious players in the European lineup – Andrew Coltart, Jean Van De Velde, and Jarmo Sandelin – who were easy pickins for America.
There will be no such stuffs in Europe’s lineup on Monday.
