I used to love the Ryder Cup matches especially after the European professionals joined the GB&I players to join the competition. The US dominated the matches throughout the history of the Cup but the addition of the European contingent evened things up. The players considered the matches to be an elite competition and a spot on the team was a cherished spot. Crowds were partisan but well behaved as in any professional golf competition–with silence and manners. The leadership and gamesmanship of characters such as Seve Ballesteros, Jose Maria Olazabal, Paul Azinger and Phil Mickelsen always provided the fireworks that made the competition exciting. Things started to change as the European squad started to win the Cup with regularity After another defeat in the 1989 Cup, Dave Stockton took over the captain of the US squad–the matches took on the mantra of the “War by the Shore” at Kiaweh Island, South Carolina. After a tough match, it came down to the 18th hole of the final match between Bernard Langer and Hale Irwin. Irwin’s tee shot on the 18th sailed left seemingly heading for oblivion but through an Act of God, the ball mysteriously emerged from the gallery into the fairway. I am convinced one of Donald Trump’s caddies was in that crowd as the ball mysteriously surfaced in the fairway. Both players would reach the green but Langer faced a tricky five foot putt for par to half the match and preserve an All Square match where upon Europe would have retained the Cup. Alas Langer would miss that putt and the American crowd cheered the miss and the birth of the jingoistic Ryder Cup became the new reality for this event. The Event became known as the War by the Shore and the nature of the Ryder Cup would change forever.
In my view, it was the beginning of a nationalistic series of matches where golf decorum would be tossed into the cultural abyss of the sporting world. The PGA of America could only see dollar signs and the event has now become a rodeo spectacle of wild screaming crowds booing the performances of the visiting team. Initially this irked the players but now even the players are embracing the cacophony that emanates throughout the matches. Some fans believe that the Samuel Ryder would never have tolerated this behavior but truth be told that Samuel Ryder was just a rich successful businessman who took up golf later in life and decided to sponsor the competition of match play between the USA and Great Britain and Ireland. I’m sure, if he was alive today, he would be an avid supporter of the current money grubbing PGA of America.
Fast forward to the 21st century and the Ryder Cup seems to be bigger than ever especially on the European side. The focus seems to me to make as much money as possible as I believe tickets to the next event at Bethpage Black start at $250/day. I’m sure both the US and European are trying to figure out some way to get some of the LIV players back into the event. The latest low point is the decision to pay the players a stipend of $200,000 for their participation in the event with an additional $300,000 available to them for donation to their favorite charity. The players were supposed to be playing for their country and now they are playing for money as if these players need to be compensated for the fuel purchases of their private jets that transport them to the event. The situation is so sad that it is almost laughable.
My minority opinion here is another sign of golf’s hierarchy is more interested in money than the quality of play and the unique features of match play. The boorish crowd behavior will continue unabated and represent all the negatives of the match play golf experience.
I’ll be watching College Football!
The Latest Professional Boring Match Play Event
Another attempt at attracting interest in the professional golf product during the PGA off season was the sponsorship of a match play pitting RoryMcIlroy and Scottie Scheffler against the LIV’s current best players, Brooke Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau. Dubbed the Crypto.com Showdown, the supposed PGA vs. LIV guys was a feeble attempt to create some competitive buzz with the winner taking home in 10 Million of CRO Crypto. I have no idea what one might do with 10 Million of CRO Crypto other than perhaps buying illicit drugs on the Dark Web. I think the event even had competing broadcasters in Trevor Immelman (PGA/CBS) and David Feherty (LIV) on hand to create some enthusiasm to hype this event–they both failed. DeChambeau and Koepka are strange bedfellows as a team and Scottie Scheffler will beat anyone, anytime at the current time so the match was a foregone conclusion from the get go. Scheffer and McIlroy waxed the LIV’ers decisively a boring setting–perhaps the LIV guys were missing the continuous music and their Bermuda shorts.
If you want to sponsor a cool off-season golf event, go back to the Skins Game format that used to be televised the day after Thanksgiving with the likes of Palmer, Nicklaus, Player and Watson competing. The PGA/LIV purported competition is just nonsense-get the top 4 players in the world to compete. Another great example is Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf which featured the best players in Match Play events.
Of course, it’s 2025 and the professional golf fan will continue to fall prey to this sort of nonsense. I’m sure the event had a sports line in Draft Kings or ESPN Bet to determine how much money you had to place on team PGA to make a few bucks. This is what professional golf is becoming and more MONEY decisions are in the cue.
Joe,
My first reaction to the headline was that I like the Ryder Cup, what could be wrong. But it has gotten out of hand, with both fans and the pros behaving in ways they never would during any regular golf match. And LIV’s effort in inject pop music into golf seems to follow the same pattern. No golf course I know of plays loud music at the first tee during Saturday morning tee times. But like corporations whose advertising misreads their customer base, professional golf is desperate to attract new fans, while chasing away their solid base.