A Ryder Cup full of fabulous moments

United States defeats Europe 19-9 at the Ryder Cup

Exorcising decades worth of Ryder Cup demons, the younger U.S. Team run away with it and post a gaudy, historic final score of 19-9, perhaps signaling a change in the balance of power.

Where do the Americans go from here?

As for Whistling Straits, one might have guessed a blowout was coming. The U.S. Team had 11 of the top 16 players in the Official World Golf Ranking; the European Team had just three.

With so many highlights for the Americans, the only question is which ones stood out most.

Was it Dustin Johnson, the oldest member of the U.S. Team at 37, going 5-0-0? How about Tony Finau holing putts from all over as he and Harris English beat Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy in Four-ball on Saturday? The did-I-just-see-that Brooks/Bryson hug?

Here are the superlatives from the week in Wisconsin.

BEST PLAYER

Dustin Johnson became just the fourth U.S. player to go 5-0-0 in a Ryder Cup. He joined Arnold Palmer (1967), Gardner Dickinson (1967) and Larry Nelson (1979).

Meanwhile, five Europeans didn’t win a single match.

MOST UNFORGETTABLE SHOTS

This will get the crowd going. pic.twitter.com/0Q8p720DNg

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) September 26, 2021

Bryson DeChambeau’s 417-yard drive at the par-5 fifth on Friday afternoon, setting up a 72-yard pitch and an eagle as he and Scottie Scheffler tied super-duo Sergio Garcia and Jon Rahm.

“Well, I knew if it was a little downwind, I could take a unique line, and I luckily was able to have that wind today,” said DeChambeau, who went 2-0-1. It was 20-plus, and I said to myself, all right, I have to aim at the green, so I did. I just aimed at the green and bombs away.”

DeChambeau driving the first green Sunday, a poke of 354 yards – and making the eagle putt.

Jordan Spieth’s moon shot from below the 17th green, the trajectory of which looked like a rocket, after which he did well not to break an ankle or fall in Lake Michigan. “Once I started moving, I was like, I’ve got to keep moving until I find a flat spot,” he said. “Yeah, it’s kind of one of those shots that you practice as a kid for fun, and you don’t ultimately want to have it.”

Tyrrell Hatton’s seven-foot birdie putt on 18 as he and Jon Rahm salvaged a tie against Bryson DeChambeau and Scottie Scheffler in a Four-ball match Friday afternoon.

Shane Lowry’s 11-footer for par as he and Tyrrell Hatton preserved a 1-up victory over Harris English and Tony Finau in a Four-ball match Saturday afternoon.

BEST VISUAL

A man of the people. @Paul_Casey pic.twitter.com/DGDrGH33Io

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) September 25, 2021

Paul Casey climbing into the stands behind the first tee to dance and sing with European fans.

The two teams lined up to shake hands after the match had been decided Sunday.

Lake Michigan.

WORST 360-DEGREE LIP-OUT

Viktor Hovland at the 10th hole as he tied his match against Collin Morikawa.

Shane Lowry at the ninth hole in his 4-and-2 singles loss to Patrick Cantlay.

Jordan Spieth at the 13th hole in his and Brooks Koepka’s Four-ball loss to Garcia and Rahm.

BEST START

Captain’s pick Scottie Scheffler, ranked 21st in the world, making birdies on five of his first six holes on the way to a 4-and-3 win over world No. 1 Jon Rahm.

“Definitely nice to get off to that start,” said Scheffler, who went 2-0-1. “You know, Jon has had a really good week so far, so to get off to that start and put him down early was big.”

Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele, U.S. anchor team for the Friday morning Foursomes, went 5 up through five in their 5-and-3 victory over Rory McIlroy and Ian Poulter.

“I don’t know if anyone could have beat Xander and Patrick today,” McIlroy said.

BEST TEAM

Sergio Garcia and Jon Rahm went 3-0-0. “To be able to win those matches with him the way we did it, that is undoubtedly the most fun I’ve had on a golf course by far,” Rahm said.

Dustin Johnson and Collin Morikawa went 3-0-0. (They were split up Friday afternoon.)

Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele went 2-0-0 in Foursomes.

BEST NEW NICKNAME

“Patty Ice” Cantlay became “No Hat Pat” as he went 3-0-1 for the U.S.

BEST TEAM WITHIN A TEAM

Jon Rahm and Sergio Garcia, the new Spanish Armada, went 3-0-1

Daniel Berger and Brooks Koepka, Florida State products, went 1-1-0

MOST SPORTSMANLIKE GESTURE

Harris English, after losing his ball in the hazard, conceded his singles match to Lee Westwood, after which they laughingly helped each other climb the steep bank to the 18th green.

MOST HEARTFELT MOMENT

Rory McIlroy, who had gone 0-3 and been benched the first two days before winning his singles match over Xander Schauffele, crying at the end of a long and difficult week.

BEST INDICATION OF FUTURE U.S. SUCCESS

U.S. Captain Steve Stricker’s U.S. Team featured six rookies and eight players under 30. What’s more, all 12 American players won at least one match going into the Sunday singles. All of which would seem to portend good things for the 2023 Ryder Cup in Rome, and beyond.

QUOTES OF THE WEEK

“We wanted to send a message.” – Patrick Cantlay

“I think it’s the fastest I ever got over losing something.” – Xander Schauffele, upon seeing the heavily red leaderboards, signifying a U.S. rout, after Rory McIlroy beat him 2 and 1 on Sunday.

“I think I’m emotional, as well, because I wanted to do this for Padraig, too.” – Rory McIlroy

SOURCE: pgatour.com

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Sam Ryder, the man behind the Ryder Cup

The namesake: Meet Sam Ryder, the man who brought the Ryder Cup to life

When Samuel Ryder turned 50, he didn’t join the senior tour because there was no senior tour, or any other organized professional tour, this being 1908. No, the Englishman picked up golf in middle age not for a long-repressed passion for the sport but rather for his health, to get some fresh air and exercise, as his friend, a preacher and golf enthusiast, had suggested.

Financing his new hobby wasn’t a problem. Though Ryder grew up without great means, he’d found his way into prosperity. One of eight children of a gardener father and a dressmaker mother, he was on course to become a teacher — he’d even taught Sunday school as a youth — but ill health led him to drop out of college before graduating. This proved fortuitous, at least financially, as did having a falling out with his dad. In combination, these events led him to move to London to join a seed merchant firm and then to start his own company in St. Albans selling mail order “penny packets” of seed, at one cent each, from his house. Make a fortune from the comfort of home: Ryder was ahead of his time.

By age 50, Ryder had also risen from town councilman to mayor of St. Albans, and all that politicking on top of his business duties may have contributed to this latest bout of infirmity. Regardless, golf worked out wonderfully for both the man and the game. Ryder quickly became a single-digit handicap and must have been quite the straight shooter, as his home course, the extant Verulam GC, featured out-of-bounds on 14 of its 18 holes. Ever the leader, Ryder served on the greens committee for two decades and was also thrice the club captain, which is what can happen when you give generous donations to a place, as the philanthropic Ryder did.

The Ryder family holidayed each summer in Dorset, and it was there that Ryder had the encounter that would change the course of golf history. At Came Down GC, he met the Whitcombe brothers: Ernest (aka E.R.), Charles (C.A.) and Reg (R.A.). Ryder was agog at their skill and aghast to learn they sometimes didn’t play in big tournaments like the Open Championship because they couldn’t afford to. The seed of an idea planted itself in the seed merchant: Invest in golf to support the game itself, and talented amateurs and pros alike.

Ryder and his brother James were partners in an herbal remedy company called Heath and Heather, and under its banner in 1923 they sponsored a 36-hole medal-play invitational at Verulam for four dozen professionals. This was the first golf tournament with guaranteed prize money for all, so that at least players’ expenses were covered. Think of it as the inaugural no-cut World Golf Championship.

Ever the patriot, Ryder put the English pro Abe Mitchell on the payroll as his personal instructor in late 1925, largely to facilitate Mitchell’s own playing career, thinking him the man to challenge American dominance of the Open Championship. (Alas, Mitchell procured eight top 10s but never lifted the Claret Jug — still, that’s him atop the Ryder Cup itself.) The next year, 1926, England’s renowned Wentworth Club hosted a match between 10-man American and British teams prior to the Open Championship. While contemporaneous reports said that the competition was for the “Ryder Cup,” in fact, Ryder had held off on buying the bauble due to pre-match travel concerns about the American team because of a general strike in Britain. (Private chartered jets weren’t yet the norm.) The Brits won 13–1, with one match halved, their greatest triumph over America since the Battle of Brooklyn Heights in 1776.

In 1927, Ryder spent £250 — about $21,000 today — on a 17-inch-tall gold cup from venerable British jeweler Mappin & Webb, and the Ryder Cup was born, debuting at Worcester (Mass.) CC with a win for the Americans, the first of five straight triumphs for the host side. Samuel Ryder got to present his namesake trophy to the British captain, George Duncan, in 1929 at Moortown GC. Ten years later, Ryder died, on January 2, 1939, at the age of 77, before the inclusion of players from Northern Ireland, then Ireland, then continental Europe, before “The Concession” and “The Miracle at Medinah,” but no doubt with the sense that he had left a lasting mark on the game.

SOURCE: golf.com

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Get your creative juices flowing!

ART CONTEST

Sponsored by the City of Dearborn Heights in conjunction with the 100 year Celebration of the Warren Valley Golf Course in 2022. The golf course, designed by famed architect Donald Ross, is an integral part of our watershed system and helps to reduce local flooding. It is also a great place to have fun through the years and is an important part of our city.

Create 2D artwork (drawing, painting, etc.) with a golf and nature theme.
Include your name, phone number, school and grade on a paper with each artwork submission.

Open to school age children K-12
$100 • First Place | $50 • Second Place | $25 • Third Place

Entry Deadline is December 15th
Drop of your artwork to any Dearborn Heights Libraries.

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The European Team is finalized

Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter headline European Ryder Cup captain’s picks

Team Europe has finalized its Ryder Cup squad. Padraig Harrington announced in a press conference Sunday afternoon that Shane Lowry, Sergio Garcia and Ian Poulter will round out his team of 12 that will travel to Whistling Straits later this month.

“I have a great team,” Harrington said. “I have a great team of ball-strikers — probably the best team of ball-strikers Europe have ever sent out in a Ryder Cup … They’re good enough to deliver”

U.S. captain Steve Stricker finalized his team last week.

Garcia and Poulter were thought to be the most secure captain’s picks for Harrington as the two have anchored the European side for the last two decades. Garcia is the all-time European points leader with 25.5, while Poulter has served as the emotional spark for Team Europe, going undefeated in singles play in six Ryder Cup appearances.

Lowry, who just missed out on automatic qualification, bolstered his resume with a win at the 2019 Open Championship, and has been a steady player on the PGA Tour since. The Ryder Cup rookie had four top 10s and 10 top 25s in 21 starts last season as he missed just two cuts.

“Nobody thinks of him as a rookie,” Harrington said. “Shane is a big-time player … He delivers consistently under pressure in those sort of situations. It was an easy pick based on his form.”

Rory McIlroy, Viktor Hovland, Paul Casey, Matthew Fitzpatrick and Lee Westwood already earned their places on the team via the World Points List, while Jon Rahmm, Tommy Fleetwood, Tyrrell Hatton and Bernd Wiesberger secured spots from the European Points List.

Things were tight right down to the last round of the BMW PGA Championship as players jockeyed for position to secure their places on the Euro team. Wiesberger’s T20 finish was enough to earn him the last automatic qualification spot, enough to earn his first Ryder Cup berth.

“I just had to take deep breaths for every shot and I guess that’s what it means to be able to play for a Ryder Cup team,” Wiesberger said. “I mean, I don’t think I have to mention, it’s been a lifelong goal for me to be part of a European team and I’m very proud to have just done enough to get into that team and go to Whistling Straits in a couple weeks.”

Notably left off the team is Englishman Justin Rose. The 41-year-old has suited up for the Europeans in the last five Ryder Cups and has earned 14 points for his side since his first appearance in 2008. However, the former U.S. Open winner has slipped to 42nd in the world and is winless since 2018.

The Ryder Cup is scheduled for Sept. 24-26 at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wis.

SOURCE: golf.com

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U.S. Ryder Cup team to gather at Whistling Straits

U.S. Ryder Cup team to gather at Whistling Straits for 2-day practice session. Why it could give them an edge.

The U.S. Ryder Cup team won’t make the same mistake twice.

This time, local knowledge won’t be a problem. U.S. Captain Steve Stricker is scheduled to host a two-day practice session at Whistling Straits, Sept. 12-13, with as many of the 12-man squad as possible.

“There’s a bunch of guys who haven’t played the golf course,” said U.S. assistant captain Davis Love III. “We might get everybody but at least as many as 10 guys will be up there to play a two-day practice round during this week off (on the PGA Tour).”

The reason for doing so is quite simple, Love explained.

“They had us over a barrel in Paris because we didn’t have enough practice rounds at (Le Golf National),” he said of the course that the European Tour played regularly as the annual site of the French Open. “The other team knew the golf course way better.”

But Love said that won’t happen again.

“We’re going to focus on breaking down the course over the next couple of weeks until we get there,” he said. “It’s important for us to gather local knowledge and pass it on to the guys that don’t have the intimate knowledge as guys like DJ.”

Whistling Straits has hosted the PGA Championship in 2004, 2010 and 2015, and several members of both sides will have played it before, but there’s still much to learn, Love said.

“In 2016, even though Hazeltine was a course we’d played in major championships, did we really know the course that well?” Love said. “Tiger helped us learn what questions to ask and what to look for. It’s not everybody hit 7-iron on this hole and it’s a 6. He said, ‘Let’s talk to the head pro, the best caddie, the top players among the members.’ Tiger showed us how to get ready for the course in ’16. We learned a lot of why he beat us all those years.”

It’s not unusual for a U.S. Ryder Cup captain to host a reconnaissance session. Love recalled Dave Stockton suggesting he play Kiawah in 1991 in case he picked him – he didn’t. In 1995, Lanny Wadkins organized a side trip to play Ryder Cup site Oak Hill during the week of the B.C. Open. Other Ryder Cup captains have held practice sessions for the overseas match around the British Open – Tom Kite hired a Gulfstream to take players to Valderrama in Spain to prepare; Tom Lehman did it for K Club and Jim Furyk did it for Le Golf National.

The difference is the timing – less than two weeks before the biennial competition begins – and the number of players.

“If Stricker pulls off 10 or more, he’ll have the most,” Love said.

Love, a two-time Ryder Cup captain, brought players to Medinah in 2012 and Hazeltine in 2016, but he invited 20 players ahead of time, well before he’d know for sure who was going to be on the team.

So, while many members of the European side will be busy competing at the BMW Championship in England, the U.S side will be gathering at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin on Sunday, Sept. 12 and Monday, Sept. 13 to prepare for the Ryder Cup so that by the time the biennial competition begins, the hard work will be done.

“This time we’re going to know our 12,” he said. “I told Brooks Koepka that Sunday night at The American Club two weeks outs might be one of the great weeks of your Ryder Cup experience.”

Home-field advantage, Love noted, should mean more than just a partisan crowd,

“I’m lobbying to stay for four days,” Love added. “we’re going to have more practice rounds than them, more rounds in major championships than them and our captains will know the course better than them.”

SOURCE: golfweek.usatoday.com

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Comedy Show & Dinner

Motown Mark presents The Tom Massey Anniversary Show & featuring Bill Reno

Join us for a fantastic evening of laughs and a delicious dinner at Warren Valley Golf Course!

Comedy Show & Dinner

Dinner at 6:00 pm
Comedy Show at 7:30 pm

$50 per person includes dinner
*Cash Bar

BUY TICKETS ONLINE

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