WEBVTT - When in Rome! 0:00:06.280 --> 0:00:08.240 It's the Son of a Butcher podcast. We come to 0:00:08.400 --> 0:00:12.239 every Wednesday. It is not Wednesday, but it is Ryder 0:00:12.320 --> 0:00:14.120 Cup week, and I wanted to make sure that we 0:00:14.200 --> 0:00:16.720 got through all of the practice rounds of the Ryder 0:00:16.720 --> 0:00:19.640 Cup here in Rome and got the pairings for the 0:00:19.720 --> 0:00:22.160 first rounds, which we got a lot to talk about 0:00:22.200 --> 0:00:25.560 because this is one of the premiere weeks of the 0:00:25.560 --> 0:00:28.800 golf calendar every two years. It's special week. 0:00:28.960 --> 0:00:31.319 I'm here in Rome and lots to get to. 0:00:31.920 --> 0:00:34.519 But before we get to that, let's talk about our 0:00:34.520 --> 0:00:38.240 partners at AG one. You know about them if you've 0:00:38.240 --> 0:00:40.600 listened to the pod. If you've tried them, you probably 0:00:40.600 --> 0:00:43.479 love them. 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That's drink ag 0:02:23.560 --> 0:02:26.440 one dot com back ch three. 0:02:27.160 --> 0:02:27.760 Check it out. 0:02:28.680 --> 0:02:33.839 And now let's get to the Ryder Cup. It's going 0:02:33.880 --> 0:02:38.600 to be a very very interesting week. I'm excited. I've 0:02:38.600 --> 0:02:41.280 been going to Ryder Cups. Really. The first Ryder Cup 0:02:41.320 --> 0:02:43.480 I ever went to was the last time the US 0:02:43.520 --> 0:02:45.520 one on foreign soil. That was at the Belfry in 0:02:45.639 --> 0:02:48.760 nineteen ninety three, and I've been to the majority of 0:02:48.760 --> 0:02:52.519 the Ryder Cup since then. They are they're very special weeks. 0:02:53.040 --> 0:02:56.880 They're different. It's team competition. You're playing for your country 0:02:56.919 --> 0:03:01.800 and so as a golfer, you're rare doing that. You're 0:03:01.880 --> 0:03:05.160 playing for yourself, and I think that's what makes these 0:03:05.200 --> 0:03:08.480 weeks so unique. I'm over here with brooks Kepcho. We 0:03:08.520 --> 0:03:10.920 flew in Sunday night from the live event in Chicago. 0:03:11.480 --> 0:03:14.160 I hadn't seen the golf course before. It's a big 0:03:14.160 --> 0:03:18.680 golf course. I think the majority of the shots, second 0:03:18.720 --> 0:03:20.800 shots you were going to see, are going to be 0:03:20.880 --> 0:03:23.840 from over one hundred and fifty yards. It's a long 0:03:23.880 --> 0:03:27.640 golf course. It's a very very hilly up and down 0:03:27.680 --> 0:03:30.440 golf course. Ricky Ellittt and Brooks came over here a 0:03:30.480 --> 0:03:32.799 couple of weeks ago on the US team scouting mission 0:03:32.800 --> 0:03:36.120 and they mentioned that they thought the walk was one 0:03:36.160 --> 0:03:39.480 of the more difficult walks that they have in professional golf, 0:03:39.520 --> 0:03:45.800 and after being here since Monday, I can agree. It's uphill, 0:03:46.120 --> 0:03:49.480 then it's downhill, then it's uphill, then it's downhill. I 0:03:49.480 --> 0:03:52.200 think stamina is going to be a big, big part 0:03:52.240 --> 0:03:55.440 of this week. It is very hot here in Rome. 0:03:55.480 --> 0:03:57.760 It's in the nineties pretty much every day. 0:03:58.400 --> 0:03:59.640 They haven't had a lot of rain. 0:03:59.840 --> 0:04:03.120 It's hot in the mornings, it's hot in the afternoons. 0:04:03.440 --> 0:04:07.200 So I think, are we going to see players play 0:04:07.520 --> 0:04:10.440 all five rounds? I'm not sure we're going to see it. 0:04:10.520 --> 0:04:12.240 I think we're going to see some guys play four 0:04:12.360 --> 0:04:16.880 for sure, But I just don't know if from a 0:04:16.880 --> 0:04:18.600 fatigue factor, if you're going to be able to go 0:04:18.640 --> 0:04:21.360 all five, everybody is going to want to go all five. 0:04:21.480 --> 0:04:25.400 I mean, you come here wanting to play, you come 0:04:25.440 --> 0:04:28.440 here wanting to play. Basically every match, everybody feels. 0:04:28.160 --> 0:04:28.760 The same way. 0:04:29.400 --> 0:04:32.320 But I do think the way the golf course is 0:04:32.360 --> 0:04:36.360 designed and the conditions right now, it might be hard 0:04:36.680 --> 0:04:41.160 to play all five matches. From a US team perspective, 0:04:41.880 --> 0:04:43.680 They've got a hell of a side, right. They've got 0:04:43.720 --> 0:04:47.599 three of the major champions this year Brooks Koepka, Wyndham 0:04:47.600 --> 0:04:48.880 Clark and Brian Harmon. 0:04:49.240 --> 0:04:54.120 The Euros have one of the. 0:04:52.440 --> 0:04:55.320 Major champions in John Raman won the Masters. They have 0:04:55.480 --> 0:04:59.880 Rory McElroy arguably one of, if not the best player 0:04:59.880 --> 0:05:03.160 in the game. They have Victor Hovlin FedEx Cup champion. 0:05:03.560 --> 0:05:08.279 They've got major champions in Matt Fitzpatrick. They've got some rookies. 0:05:08.800 --> 0:05:13.080 They've got some very very row rookies, not just rookies 0:05:13.080 --> 0:05:15.719 to the Ryder Cup. Luda Alberg He's never even played 0:05:16.240 --> 0:05:20.080 a major. He was playing college golf earlier this year, 0:05:20.440 --> 0:05:23.600 so he's come out of the PGA Tour. You one 0:05:23.600 --> 0:05:27.039 of the Hoguard twins, they're both here this week. But 0:05:28.240 --> 0:05:30.040 how are they How's he going to perform? 0:05:30.279 --> 0:05:30.440 Right? 0:05:31.400 --> 0:05:35.000 What is being on a Ryder Cup team going to 0:05:35.160 --> 0:05:38.920 mean to you as a rookie? The US has rookies, 0:05:39.240 --> 0:05:42.880 Max Homer, Brian Harmony, They've They've they've got their fair 0:05:42.920 --> 0:05:46.080 share of rookies as well. But the captain, Zack Johnson, 0:05:46.279 --> 0:05:50.760 Luke Donald captain selections I mean, how are those going 0:05:50.800 --> 0:05:53.080 to turn out. The obvious one that is under a 0:05:53.279 --> 0:05:56.360 lot of scrutiny is going to be Justin Thomas. If 0:05:56.480 --> 0:05:59.719 Justin Thomas plays well, Zach Johnson's going to be vindicated 0:05:59.720 --> 0:06:02.599 for picking him. If Justin Thomas does not play well 0:06:03.080 --> 0:06:06.000 and the US were to get beat, z X and 0:06:06.520 --> 0:06:09.400 Justin Thomas are going to get scrutiny. There are going 0:06:09.440 --> 0:06:14.120 to be a lot of questions asked every year the 0:06:14.200 --> 0:06:17.880 Ryder Cup rolls around every two year cycle. The captains 0:06:17.920 --> 0:06:21.160 have choices to make right and I think there were 0:06:21.200 --> 0:06:23.880 some really balls he choices on both sides. I mean, 0:06:23.880 --> 0:06:26.760 if you're Luke Donald, you're picking a kid that was 0:06:26.760 --> 0:06:29.600 playing college golf earlier this year. 0:06:29.960 --> 0:06:31.480 Yes, he has. 0:06:31.360 --> 0:06:35.640 Won two tournaments. Yes, he looks like he's legit. Everybody 0:06:35.680 --> 0:06:38.640 that plays with him, everybody's singing his praises. He looks 0:06:38.800 --> 0:06:42.919 like a superstar in the making. But he's never played 0:06:42.920 --> 0:06:46.680 in a major, which comes with a lot of pressure, 0:06:47.080 --> 0:06:50.359 and a Ryder Cup is a completely different animal, and 0:06:50.400 --> 0:06:54.760 a Ryder Cup on kind of home turf. For the Euros, 0:06:54.800 --> 0:06:58.440 there's a lot of expectations. I think after Whistling Straits, 0:06:58.480 --> 0:07:02.560 everybody thought Hey, this is the next generation. It's kind 0:07:02.560 --> 0:07:06.040 of the golden generation of US Ryder Cups, right. I mean, 0:07:06.040 --> 0:07:09.840 this is where we are going to see a US 0:07:10.000 --> 0:07:13.200 dominance the way the US dominated at Whistling Straits. I 0:07:13.200 --> 0:07:15.040 think these matches are going to be a lot closer 0:07:15.080 --> 0:07:17.600 than people think. I really really do. I think the 0:07:17.640 --> 0:07:21.000 pairings are going to be really interesting in what are 0:07:21.040 --> 0:07:21.640 the pairings? 0:07:21.720 --> 0:07:21.920 Right? 0:07:22.160 --> 0:07:26.120 What do these captains? How do these captains make this choice? 0:07:26.120 --> 0:07:29.320 Having walked around with the US team for the last 0:07:29.920 --> 0:07:33.480 four days and walked around with captain Zach Johnson and 0:07:33.520 --> 0:07:39.080 all the vice captains, Steve Stricker, Stuart Sink, Davis Love, 0:07:39.480 --> 0:07:42.680 I think the US team, like the European team now 0:07:42.760 --> 0:07:48.720 in twenty twenty three, are relying heavily on analytics and 0:07:48.760 --> 0:07:51.080 statistics to try and figure out their pairings. 0:07:51.400 --> 0:07:54.920 Now is that important? Absolutely? You want to know. 0:07:55.120 --> 0:07:58.280 How your players are playing. You want to know how 0:07:58.320 --> 0:08:03.239 they statistically step or stand out, and what their strengths 0:08:03.280 --> 0:08:06.120 are and their weaknesses are. Not only from a partnership standpoint, 0:08:06.120 --> 0:08:10.480 but for the golf course. I talked to Hendrik Stinton 0:08:10.520 --> 0:08:14.160 and his caddy, Gareth Lord. Hendrick Stinton was going to 0:08:14.160 --> 0:08:16.080 be the Ryder Cup captain. He went to Live and 0:08:16.120 --> 0:08:19.800 then that went to Luke Donald. But in looking and 0:08:19.880 --> 0:08:21.640 talking to those two, they were talking about a lot 0:08:21.680 --> 0:08:23.640 of the stats that they were looking at, and even 0:08:24.040 --> 0:08:25.960 before the captain's picks, they kind of had an idea 0:08:25.960 --> 0:08:27.320 of who was going to make the team, and so 0:08:27.360 --> 0:08:30.920 they were looking at all the static the statistics. The 0:08:31.000 --> 0:08:33.959 US team led in a lot of those, but one 0:08:33.960 --> 0:08:35.840 of the areas that I think the Euros felt like 0:08:35.840 --> 0:08:37.920 they could make some gains, we're kind of in that 0:08:38.240 --> 0:08:41.560 one eighty to two ten range. They seem to have 0:08:41.600 --> 0:08:43.880 better statistics there. I think you're going to see a 0:08:43.960 --> 0:08:45.920 lot of second shots. With the way this golf course 0:08:46.000 --> 0:08:47.599 is set up, I think you're going to see a 0:08:47.640 --> 0:08:49.640 lot of second shots in that one hundred and eighty 0:08:49.640 --> 0:08:51.680 to two hundred range, and I think you're going to 0:08:51.720 --> 0:08:55.439 see some of the par threes kind of set up 0:08:56.040 --> 0:08:58.320 to match those yardages. So the Euros are trying to 0:08:58.440 --> 0:09:01.920 use analytics, trying to use data. They're trying to moneyball 0:09:02.320 --> 0:09:04.520 their way to a victory. The US team's going to 0:09:04.559 --> 0:09:07.800 try and do the same thing. However, I think if 0:09:07.840 --> 0:09:11.959 you're just looking at statistics and data in trying to 0:09:11.960 --> 0:09:13.600 figure out how to win a Ryder Cup and how 0:09:13.640 --> 0:09:15.839 to figure out your pairings. I think you're missing things. 0:09:15.920 --> 0:09:18.360 I think you're missing the human element. And I think 0:09:18.360 --> 0:09:20.600 if you're just going on the human element and just 0:09:20.679 --> 0:09:22.560 going on your gut and just going on kind of 0:09:22.559 --> 0:09:25.040 what you feel and not looking at the data and 0:09:25.080 --> 0:09:27.240 not looking at the stats, I think you're missing something too. 0:09:27.280 --> 0:09:30.000 So I think there's an art to blending these together. 0:09:34.080 --> 0:09:36.120 I've had Paul mcginneley on the on the pod in 0:09:36.160 --> 0:09:37.880 the past. If you hadn't had a chance to check 0:09:37.920 --> 0:09:40.680 that one out, go back and take a listen to it. 0:09:40.679 --> 0:09:41.079 It was. 0:09:42.600 --> 0:09:45.760 Right before Whistling Straits, and Paul talked a lot about 0:09:46.040 --> 0:09:47.880 kind of how he was a captain. And I think 0:09:47.920 --> 0:09:51.120 Paul was really the first one at Glenn Eagles to 0:09:51.200 --> 0:09:53.040 kind of moneyball this thing, to go ahead and take 0:09:53.040 --> 0:09:54.720 a look at the stats, to take a look at 0:09:54.760 --> 0:09:58.000 the data. I think a lot of what happened beforehand 0:09:58.120 --> 0:10:02.760 was just kind of gut instinc and kind of personal preference. 0:10:02.760 --> 0:10:04.800 Who wanted to play with who. I think Paul McGinley 0:10:04.920 --> 0:10:07.720 was one of the first Ryder Cup captains to say, hey, listen, 0:10:08.160 --> 0:10:10.160 my brain thinks like this let me get a data 0:10:10.160 --> 0:10:12.200 team in here, and let's crunch some numbers and let's 0:10:12.240 --> 0:10:14.360 take a look at what is going to happen. So 0:10:14.840 --> 0:10:16.320 I think if you haven't had a chance to go 0:10:16.360 --> 0:10:18.920 back and listen to that podcast, the one with Paul 0:10:19.000 --> 0:10:22.400 McGinley is a fascinating listen. But all of these captains 0:10:22.440 --> 0:10:25.560 are trying to figure out where they can have an edge, right. 0:10:27.040 --> 0:10:29.120 I think the way the golf course is set up 0:10:29.160 --> 0:10:33.839 every two years, the host team, the host captain sets 0:10:33.920 --> 0:10:35.800 up the golf course. They can set up the golf 0:10:35.800 --> 0:10:38.120 course any way they want. So if you look at 0:10:38.160 --> 0:10:40.880 the way the golf course was set up at Whistling Straits, 0:10:40.920 --> 0:10:42.319 if you look at the way the golf course was 0:10:42.320 --> 0:10:44.280 set up at Hazelteam not a lot of rough. 0:10:44.600 --> 0:10:45.839 The Americans have a bunch of. 0:10:45.800 --> 0:10:49.640 Bombers wide fairways, so they want to try and give 0:10:49.679 --> 0:10:52.480 the US wants their players to have an opportunity to 0:10:52.520 --> 0:10:56.200 stand up and pound driver Paris narrow fairways. The rough 0:10:56.320 --> 0:10:59.320 was brutal. It was set up for the Americans. This 0:10:59.400 --> 0:11:04.040 golf course, the rough is barutal. If you hit the 0:11:04.040 --> 0:11:08.000 golf ball offline, you're going to struggle to find it. 0:11:08.640 --> 0:11:12.120 I've watched players hit golf balls into the rough and 0:11:13.120 --> 0:11:15.959 over the last four days we've struggled to find them. 0:11:16.120 --> 0:11:18.400 And so I think the way the golf course is 0:11:18.440 --> 0:11:20.640 going to be set up. Luke Donald is going to 0:11:20.720 --> 0:11:23.160 try and set the golf club up, golf course up 0:11:24.160 --> 0:11:27.240 for him and his team. That's what he's going to 0:11:27.240 --> 0:11:30.120 try and do. But is that going to work? 0:11:30.320 --> 0:11:32.920 Right? Is that the way that they're going to win? 0:11:33.880 --> 0:11:34.640 I really don't know. 0:11:35.200 --> 0:11:38.040 I don't know what the answers are to that. What 0:11:38.120 --> 0:11:42.440 I do know is that this isn't one on paper. 0:11:42.480 --> 0:11:45.480 If it was one on paper, then the US over 0:11:45.480 --> 0:11:47.600 the years would have a lot more of these than 0:11:47.640 --> 0:11:50.719 they do because on paper it's looked like, you know, 0:11:50.800 --> 0:11:53.600 they're the studs, right, But this isn't played on paper, 0:11:54.120 --> 0:11:58.199 And to a large extent, this is. 0:11:58.160 --> 0:11:59.319 A putting contest. 0:12:00.160 --> 0:12:04.520 I've talked to a lot of former captains. It doesn't 0:12:04.600 --> 0:12:10.560 really matter what happens from a team selection, from a 0:12:10.600 --> 0:12:12.240 partnership selection. 0:12:12.640 --> 0:12:13.559 None of that matters. 0:12:13.840 --> 0:12:19.840 The only thing that really matters is how the players Friday, 0:12:20.080 --> 0:12:23.080 Saturday and Sunday, how they putt. 0:12:23.320 --> 0:12:24.400 That's the only thing that matters. 0:12:24.960 --> 0:12:29.480 This is a putting contest and Historically, over the last 0:12:29.520 --> 0:12:32.800 thirty years, the Euros have potted Us at times off 0:12:32.800 --> 0:12:36.440 the golf course. They have had players that weren't superstars 0:12:36.480 --> 0:12:37.040 that have just. 0:12:37.240 --> 0:12:38.320 Potted their ass off. 0:12:39.240 --> 0:12:42.200 I was at the last Ryder Cup that the US 0:12:42.280 --> 0:12:45.320 team won on foreign soil in nineteen ninety three at 0:12:45.320 --> 0:12:48.559 the Belfry. Peter Baker, who played the European Tour for 0:12:48.600 --> 0:12:51.360 a long time. He was a rookie and he made 0:12:51.360 --> 0:12:53.920 every putty. Looked at for three days it looked like 0:12:53.920 --> 0:12:56.439 the Euros are going to win. At the very end, 0:12:56.520 --> 0:12:59.440 the US snake to victory. Davis love Hold the winning pott, 0:13:00.120 --> 0:13:04.640 but Peter Baker made every putt, and if I remember correctly, 0:13:04.640 --> 0:13:08.720 on Sunday he made another really really long pott and 0:13:08.840 --> 0:13:14.160 Jim Lampley, the former US sportscaster, did work it. NBC 0:13:15.280 --> 0:13:17.280 did a lot work in boxing. He made a long 0:13:17.320 --> 0:13:21.240 pot hooped it from twenty five thirty feet on live TV. 0:13:22.040 --> 0:13:25.400 Jim Lampley said, mark it down. Peter Baker will not 0:13:25.440 --> 0:13:28.679 only win one Masters Championship, He'll win two. 0:13:28.760 --> 0:13:30.080 That's how great of a pottery is. 0:13:31.000 --> 0:13:32.480 He didn't go on to do any of that, but 0:13:32.640 --> 0:13:36.160 that just goes to show you that the focus is 0:13:36.160 --> 0:13:38.480 going to be on putting. Who can make the putts, 0:13:39.040 --> 0:13:42.480 the right potts at the right time, Who makes that 0:13:42.600 --> 0:13:46.720 six footer to get back to all square, Who misses 0:13:46.760 --> 0:13:50.800 that six footer to go one up, Who hoops it 0:13:50.840 --> 0:13:55.080 from thirty feet, forty feet, fifty feet and changes the 0:13:55.160 --> 0:13:58.200 momentum and kind of changes these matches. We see that 0:13:58.920 --> 0:14:04.560 all the time. See these matches change and momentum over 0:14:05.280 --> 0:14:06.640 the three days is. 0:14:06.720 --> 0:14:09.800 Such a massive, massive part of this. 0:14:10.360 --> 0:14:13.800 And when you're at these Ryder Cups. But for those 0:14:13.800 --> 0:14:15.520 of you that are going to be watching at home 0:14:15.559 --> 0:14:18.480 on TV, you can feel it, right, you can say, Okay, 0:14:18.520 --> 0:14:22.080 the US great example, you know, the just finished Solheim Cup. 0:14:22.080 --> 0:14:25.720 Hats off to Suzanne Petterson and her team. The Euro's 0:14:25.960 --> 0:14:29.720 big comeback. They were zero to four in the first 0:14:29.960 --> 0:14:32.200 in the morning matches, they're down and they lose every 0:14:32.240 --> 0:14:36.440 match and they come back to win the tie the Solheim. 0:14:36.080 --> 0:14:38.400 Cup, but they retain the cup. That's a win. But 0:14:38.880 --> 0:14:40.960 on Sunday it looked like the US team was gonna win. 0:14:41.520 --> 0:14:46.440 They need basically one more point, and the Euros in 0:14:46.520 --> 0:14:50.160 the matches that they needed to started making putts. Putting 0:14:50.760 --> 0:14:54.640 is key, is ball, striking important, absolutely, He's driving the 0:14:54.640 --> 0:14:59.120 golf ball important, absolutely. But if you can't putt, you 0:14:59.160 --> 0:15:02.440 can't make the at the right time. You are going 0:15:02.520 --> 0:15:05.440 to struggle. So I think it's going to be fascinating 0:15:05.440 --> 0:15:09.160 over the next three days. And I think these two captains, 0:15:09.240 --> 0:15:13.520 Luke Donald and Zach Johnson, they've got a big task 0:15:13.560 --> 0:15:15.880 ahead of them to try and get their sides ready. 0:15:16.480 --> 0:15:21.160 Let's go ahead and look at the morning pairings. Okay, 0:15:21.320 --> 0:15:24.800 these just came out. Scotty Scheffler and Sam Burns go 0:15:24.840 --> 0:15:28.360 out first against John Rahm and Tyrol Hatton, Max Homa 0:15:28.400 --> 0:15:33.600 Brian Harmon go up against Victor Howlin and Ludwig Aberg, 0:15:34.920 --> 0:15:40.720 Ricky Fowler, Calla Morikawa against Sepstraca and Shane Lowry, Xander 0:15:41.240 --> 0:15:46.480 Patrick Cantley against Rory and Tommy. So the US sits 0:15:46.760 --> 0:15:51.280 Brooks Koepka, they sit justin Thomas, they sit Jordan Speith. 0:15:52.720 --> 0:15:55.800 Do you make something out of that? I don't know. 0:15:57.600 --> 0:16:00.680 Scotty Schffler, Sam Burns, that pairing makes sense. They're boys, 0:16:01.200 --> 0:16:04.720 they grew up together playing high school golf, junior golf. 0:16:06.400 --> 0:16:10.240 Xander and Patrick. I think Xanders building the house next 0:16:10.240 --> 0:16:14.080 to Patrick in Jupiter that's how close they are. Ricky 0:16:14.160 --> 0:16:16.760 Collin Morikawa, I think you can make an argument that 0:16:16.800 --> 0:16:20.560 they play a similar type game. So in the morning, 0:16:21.840 --> 0:16:28.320 the euro send out three players that have majors, Roy 0:16:28.400 --> 0:16:33.560 McElroy four, Shane Lowry one, and John Rahm two. The 0:16:33.680 --> 0:16:37.040 US sends out Scotti, Scheffler. He's got a major, Brian 0:16:37.040 --> 0:16:41.040 Harmon's got a major. Colin Morrikalas got a couple of majors. 0:16:42.240 --> 0:16:45.560 But you sit a five time major champion in Brooks Koepka, 0:16:45.920 --> 0:16:50.720 you sit Jordan Spieth, and you sit someone that you 0:16:50.920 --> 0:16:54.920 chose as a captain's pick, as a two time major champion. 0:16:56.360 --> 0:16:59.320 I guarantee you JT is going to play in the afternoon. 0:16:59.320 --> 0:17:02.000 I think you're gonna he and Jordan go out. I 0:17:02.000 --> 0:17:06.359 think you're gonna see Brooks Kepka go out. And but 0:17:06.480 --> 0:17:10.600 the issue I think is going to be I think 0:17:10.720 --> 0:17:12.960 Zach is going to want to try and get everyone 0:17:13.040 --> 0:17:15.040 to play, and I think Luke's going to try and 0:17:15.040 --> 0:17:16.679 do the same thing. The last thing you want to 0:17:16.680 --> 0:17:22.000 do is what happened at Brookline, right, the big miracle. 0:17:22.600 --> 0:17:25.119 Ben Crenshaw, I got a great feeling about this. The 0:17:25.200 --> 0:17:27.120 US is down. It looks like they're gonna get beat 0:17:27.119 --> 0:17:29.480 and they come back. The Euros had a couple of 0:17:29.520 --> 0:17:33.479 players at Jean Vanderveld and I think Andrew Colhart, maybe 0:17:33.600 --> 0:17:36.840 Yarmo Sandalin. They had a couple of guys that never 0:17:36.880 --> 0:17:39.000 played until the singles. I don't think you want that. 0:17:39.080 --> 0:17:40.919 I think you want to get the guys out. I 0:17:40.960 --> 0:17:42.639 think you want to get them in the mix. I 0:17:42.680 --> 0:17:45.240 think it's important if you've got rookies on the team, 0:17:45.480 --> 0:17:48.520 you need to get them out. So Max Homa, Brian 0:17:48.560 --> 0:17:55.720 Harmon rookies, they go out, Sam Burns rookie. It's it's 0:17:55.800 --> 0:18:02.240 going to be interesting. Ludwig Ayberg, that's a big, big 0:18:02.720 --> 0:18:06.560 I think it's smart pairing him with Victor Hoblin. They're 0:18:06.560 --> 0:18:10.680 both Scandinavians, they both hit it miles. I think there'll 0:18:10.720 --> 0:18:13.320 be a lot of comfort in that. I kind of 0:18:13.440 --> 0:18:16.000 like the Tyrrilhatt and John ram pairing, right. I mean, 0:18:16.040 --> 0:18:19.080 you've got John Rahm, who's been number one in the world, 0:18:19.280 --> 0:18:24.720 current Master Champion, one of the top three best players 0:18:24.760 --> 0:18:28.600 in my opinion, four easily top five best players on 0:18:28.600 --> 0:18:29.480 the planet, and. 0:18:31.200 --> 0:18:31.840 He's a stud. 0:18:33.000 --> 0:18:38.000 The Euros have three guys that are their foundation. Rory 0:18:38.640 --> 0:18:43.600 John Ram Victor Hoblin. They are the foundation of that team. 0:18:44.000 --> 0:18:48.160 They are expecting a lot of points from those three. 0:18:48.840 --> 0:18:51.960 And then you've got Sepstraca, who's a rookie. You've got 0:18:51.960 --> 0:18:55.560 Shane Lowry who was captain's pick, and then you've got 0:18:56.080 --> 0:18:59.320 two of the best ball strikers around in Roy McElroy 0:18:59.320 --> 0:19:04.120 and Tommy Fleet. I think, based off of what those 0:19:04.160 --> 0:19:07.560 guys do in the morning, if Ludwig and Vic go 0:19:07.640 --> 0:19:09.960 out and play well, I think you could you could 0:19:09.960 --> 0:19:12.040 make an argument that they stick with them. 0:19:12.240 --> 0:19:14.119 And if Ludwig kind. 0:19:13.960 --> 0:19:17.720 Of plays really really well and is comfortable with Vic, 0:19:18.520 --> 0:19:23.040 I gotta think you ride them out, do Ricky and Moricau? 0:19:23.160 --> 0:19:24.280 I mean, if they go out and they get a 0:19:24.280 --> 0:19:26.800 big win, do you keep them together? 0:19:26.880 --> 0:19:31.840 So this is what this whole event is all about. 0:19:31.960 --> 0:19:34.400 It's trying to figure out who's got the hot hand 0:19:34.480 --> 0:19:38.040 coming in, who's not playing well, and then you're hoping 0:19:38.080 --> 0:19:40.680 your pairings in the morning. 0:19:42.480 --> 0:19:42.920 Produce. 0:19:43.600 --> 0:19:47.679 But if they don't, then We've seen this before on 0:19:47.760 --> 0:19:50.000 both sides. But I think we've seen this a little 0:19:50.040 --> 0:19:53.720 bit more from the Americans, have they as they've been 0:19:53.720 --> 0:19:58.639 on I mean in the last thirty years they've been 0:19:58.640 --> 0:20:01.840 on a losing streak. They they won last time, you know, 0:20:01.960 --> 0:20:07.320 resounding fashion. They won at Hazel Team, but they got 0:20:07.359 --> 0:20:10.040 smoked in Paris. Right, I don't think they figured out. 0:20:10.560 --> 0:20:11.879 I don't think they had the right team for the 0:20:11.880 --> 0:20:13.880 golf course. I think the euro set the golf course 0:20:13.960 --> 0:20:15.960 up for the team that they had, and I don't 0:20:15.960 --> 0:20:18.080 think the US maybe sent over their best team for 0:20:18.280 --> 0:20:20.600 that golf course. But that's what you're trying to do 0:20:20.640 --> 0:20:22.359 as a captain, right, You're trying to I mean, you 0:20:22.440 --> 0:20:25.240 don't know, right, you don't know if I mean, although 0:20:25.320 --> 0:20:29.320 Xander and Patrick Cantley are best of friends, right, you 0:20:29.359 --> 0:20:31.320 don't know if that's gonna work. You don't know if 0:20:31.359 --> 0:20:34.080 that partnership is going to work. And I think that's 0:20:34.119 --> 0:20:37.520 the fascinating thing about this. What I will say is 0:20:37.520 --> 0:20:40.800 is I've spent a lot of time around Zach over 0:20:40.840 --> 0:20:43.960 the last four days. He seems really, really calm. He's 0:20:44.000 --> 0:20:46.720 got guys on his team that you know. Zach's two 0:20:46.760 --> 0:20:52.840 time major champion, Davis Love's major champion, Jim Furick's major champion, 0:20:53.040 --> 0:20:57.040 Stuart Sinks a major champion, Freddy Couples is a major champion, 0:20:57.119 --> 0:21:00.520 and then Steve Stricker was the captain of the last 0:21:00.600 --> 0:21:04.080 Ryder Cup that the US dominated. So there's a fantastic 0:21:04.240 --> 0:21:07.560 backroom staff and I think a lot of this is 0:21:07.600 --> 0:21:10.320 going to come. But as I said earlier, none of 0:21:10.320 --> 0:21:11.600 this really. 0:21:11.320 --> 0:21:12.080 Makes a difference. 0:21:12.280 --> 0:21:14.640 The only thing that makes difference is how the players play, right, 0:21:15.040 --> 0:21:19.000 the players. I think the captains have a big role 0:21:19.080 --> 0:21:22.920 in this, but the biggest role is down to the players. 0:21:23.320 --> 0:21:26.639 And I'll give you the best example of that, right. So, 0:21:26.840 --> 0:21:31.960 the miracle at Medina Jose Mario o Thabo one of 0:21:32.400 --> 0:21:35.439 and I've seen him this week. If there's a nicer 0:21:35.440 --> 0:21:37.080 person in the game of golf, I don't know who 0:21:37.160 --> 0:21:37.439 it is. 0:21:37.560 --> 0:21:38.160 I really don't. 0:21:38.280 --> 0:21:43.919 He is a gentleman, he's multiple major champion, He's one 0:21:43.960 --> 0:21:46.760 of the nicest people I've ever met. And he was 0:21:46.800 --> 0:21:49.440 the captain at Medina. The US had a big lead 0:21:49.560 --> 0:21:52.320 going into Sunday, and very similar to what the US 0:21:52.359 --> 0:21:56.480 did at Brookline, the Euros had a massive, massive comeback 0:21:56.920 --> 0:21:57.920