New Zealander Michael Campbell once admitted he struggled to get out of bed each morning for a year after beating Tiger Woods down the stretch to win the 2005 US Open.
Until recently, Europe’s victorious Ryder Cup team from Paris last year appeared to be suffering from the same symptoms of euphoria. Or, how on earth do you come up with an encore following the greatest weekend of your life?
Leave aside Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Paul Casey, who have all enjoyed themselves this season to varying degrees. Draw a veil, too, over Thorbjorn Olesen and his descent of a different kind (google it if you only read the sports pages).
Team Europe celebrate with the Ryder Cup following their victory in Paris last year
Let’s look at the other eight, the bulk of the team in other words, who all went into the three play-off events beginning in Turkey 12 days ago with one thing in common: their world ranking was worse than the one with which they began this year of great expectation.
In quite a few instances, the fall was precipitous. What’s happened to Swede Alex Noren, down from 19th to 60th? Even the experienced players, accustomed to dealing with the rapture that a momentous victory brings, have struggled to cope, with Henrik Stenson (down from 27th to 39th) and Sergio Garcia (26th to 38th) a world away from their usual consistent selves.
We chronicled the woes of Francesco Molinari — who scored five points out of five in Paris — last week, while Justin Rose is another to speak about his ‘disappointing year’. In all, the aggregate fall amounted to a hefty 102 places — and that’s leaving out Olesen. Yet, as the Ryder Cup qualification process begins in earnest with some big-money events this month, is the tide turning?
yrrell Hatton of England poses with the trophy after winning the 2019 Turkish Airlines Open
Tyrrell Hatton, another who had slipped badly this season from 24th to 48th, made amends with his spectacular win at the Turkish Airlines Open, followed on Sunday by a first victory this season for fellow Englishman Tommy Fleetwood.
Add a victory in China at the start of the month for McIlroy, and the team appear to be shaking off what Hatton refers to as the Ryder Cup hangover.
The last two Ryder Cup teams have seen lots of changes. There were eight in 2018, up two from the previous contest at Hazeltine, as against the usual three or four.
Events this month suggest that, for Wisconsin next year, we might be reverting to the norm.
Tommy Fleetwood celebrates winning the the 39th edition of the Nedbank Golf Challenge
Quote of the week
‘I hope we can have some conversations and change the rule. I came from such an innocent place, you could call it a careless place, but given there was no intent it’s surely a pretty harsh rule.’
American Russell Henley went from contending to missing the halfway cut after being assessed an eight-shot penalty at the Mayakoba Classic last week.
Henley noticed after completing his second round that there was a ball in his bag that was a variation on the normal type he plays — a violation of the one-ball condition of competition on the PGA Tour.
After pointing it out to officials, he was docked the eight shots because he had used it on four different holes for a two-shot penalty each time. I’d say ‘pretty harsh’ was the least of it. Wouldn’t a maximum of four strokes be more equitable?
Russell Henley plays a shot during the second round of the Mayakoba Classic on Saturday
A relief Rory is out of the race
Is it uncharitable to be relieved Rory McIlroy cannot win the Race to Dubai this week? Nothing against Rory, who was fully entitled to play most of the year in America, and how well it worked out for him. But to pitch up late and take the title of Europe’s No 1? That wouldn’t have sat well, would it?
I understand why the European Tour aped the Americans and made changes to the three play-off events, ramping up the totals and increasing the chances of everything coming down to the final few holes at the DP World Tour Championship on Sunday.
But it runs contrary to what the old order of merit was all about. As Open champion Shane Lowry told the Irish Times last week: ‘I feel you shouldn’t be able to back-door at the Race to Dubai.
Rory McIlroy hits a tee-shot during practice at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai on Monday
‘The European No 1 is a big thing, it should be about consistency over a whole year.’
As it turns out, the man in the driving seat is Austria’s Bernd Wiesberger, who has earned his points playing tournaments this year in England, Scotland, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Denmark, Belgium, Germany, France, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Italy and Turkey, as well as 11 other countries outside Europe.
His principal rival is Tommy Fleetwood, who has played 17 counting events himself.
If it all comes down to the final few holes between these two, everyone will be happy.