Breaking the streak 🇺🇸

Hey there! The Ryder Cup is one week away, and I’m already nervous for the Friday morning foursomes.

For this special edition, I spoke with CBS golf writer Patrick McDonald about what it’ll take for the US to win in Italy (and more!).

If you dig this newsletter and learn something new, I’d love for you to share it with a friend who you know will be tuning into the Ryder Cup next week.

Alright, let’s dive in!

Breaking the streak: A conversation with CBS golf writer Patrick McDonald

Patrick McDonald is a regular guest on one of my favorite podcasts, The First Cut, and author of the amusing (and insightful!) golf newsletter, Status Update.

I’m a big fan of Patrick’s work, and I was super excited to chat. Here’s a recap of our conversation, edited for clarity and brevity:

Nick Bastone: We’ll hear this stat over and over again next week — It’s been 30 years since the US has won a Ryder Cup on European soil. There’s probably a ton of reasons for that, but what stands out to you? Why do you think it’s so tough for the US to win in Europe?

Patrick McDonald: I know it sounds really simple, but to me, the Europeans just seem to make putts when they really have to.

You think about Graeme McDowell against Hunter Mahan at Celtic Manor in 2010. There’s been the Mollywood pairing, Ian Poulter over the years, and Sergio Garcia, who always had that uncanny ability to raise his performance with his putter during the Ryder Cup.

I think some of that comes back to preparation. A term you hear a lot is “American exceptionalism” when it comes to the US team and their performance on European soil. Basically, you have this super talented roster each and every time thinking they can roll out of bed and win there based on talent alone. We’ve seen that’s not the case.

In 2018, only one golfer on the US team — Justin Thomas — played at Le Golf National at the DP World Tour event that season. And, he played pretty well at the Ryder Cup that year.

I think the new era of this team will certainly not fall into American exceptionalism. They know what they’re up against. They know it’s been 30 years. I think the US is in good hands to potentially break that streak.

NB: There’s been a ton of talk about the JT captain’s pick. And on the European side, a lot has been said about Ludvig. To you, what are some storylines that are under the radar or ones that you’re excited to see play out?

PM: I think the big one that I'm looking at is the changing of the guard for both teams.

You think about the United States side in 2018 — they had Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods on the team. At the Presidents Cup in Australia in 2019, Tiger was the playing captain, obviously. So, this is the first competition overseas that they'll have in quite some time without Phil or Tiger.

On the other side, you’ve got Rory McIlroy and all the young guns. Yeah, Justin Rose is there. But it's gonna be such a different dynamic without Sergio, Poulter, Westwood, Casey, Stenson, and really the rest of that European contingent.

A storyline within that one would be the lack of proven pairings on the European side. Only five times have the players on this year’s team been paired together in past Ryder Cups — all were in four ball format.

So, how Luke Donald will mix and match his guys, I think, is going to be extremely compelling. And, whether he’s able to do that effectively against Zach Johnson, who suddenly has the more experienced team.

Then, there’s the golf course. Everything I've read and watched looks like it's going to be a really physical test. Will that affect the strategy of the captains? Say Justin Rose is playing out of his mind and absolutely rolling — do you put an older guy out there Saturday afternoon for potentially his fourth straight match? Or, do you rest him?

NB: If the US were to win, what are one or two things that would need to go their way?

PM: I think they need to find their third duo. You got Xander and Cantlay and Spieth and JT. Is it going to be Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns, who weren’t great together at last year’s President's Club? (Granted, that was mostly Scottie’s fault.)

Who are you going to pair with Collin Morikawa to replace that Dustin Johnson duo at Whistling Straits? They tried it with Cam Young at Quail Hollow — that was a failure. I’ve heard murmurs it’ll be Brooks Koepka potentially, which I would love. But I’m personally hoping for a Max Homa and Colin Morikawa pairing. I think you could play those two in either four ball or foursomes, and that’s a very formidable duo with complementary skill sets.

So that third pairing, if they’re able to lock that in, would be huge for the Americans.

I also think an X-factor is just Brooks Koepka himself. Will you get big bad major Brooks, the guy who was yelling at the rules officials at Whistling Straits when he was worried about breaking his wrist and wanted a free drop? Brooks just showing up would put the US over the top and into a really good spot.

NB: What about the Europeans? What needs to go their way?

PM: I really think their top three — Hovland, Rory, and Rahm — have to outperform the US top three of Scheffler, Cantlay, and Xander. It's obviously possible and more likely than not given their recent runs, especially Rory and Hovland.

The bottom half of their team and their relative lack of depth compared to the US just puts added pressure on those three guys.

NB: Going back to the US pairings, do you think there’s any chance Zach Johnson breaks up a JT and Spieth or Xander and Cantlay duo?

PM: I think that's really what is going to define Zach Johnson’s captaincy — in addition to the Justin Thomas pick — is his timing on when to break things up with these guys because I think it’s going to come. It’s inevitable that someone doesn’t play up to par.

NB: The Ryder Cup’s in Italy, which means super early golf for us here in the States. How do you plan to watch? Any 3am Irish coffees?

PM: I wish I was there, obviously. But we live blog the big events at CBS from start to finish, so no Bloody Mary’s or Irish Coffees for me, unfortunately.

I’ll be at my computer from the first tee shot to the last putt, and then story and podcast to follow.

Typically, before a big day of writing and live blogging, I have to do a deep walk, like over an hour long. No headphones or anything. Just take it all in and get the legs moving because I'm going to be sitting down for most of the day.

Hopefully this time, I won't stumble into people coming home from downtown or have anyone think I'm breaking in while walking around at 3am.

NB: What’s your prediction? Who wins next week in Rome?

PM: I think we're finally going to get a tight, highly contested Ryder Cup, which we haven't seen since 2012. It's more than overdue.

And, it’s kind of a hot take these days — I think the US is going to come away on top. I think it will be somewhere in the neighborhood of 9-7 heading into Sunday and then the US pulls it off with a 15-13-ish type win.

Your MVP will be one of the Cali kids — Max Homa or Colin Morikawa.

What else I’m reading:

🏌️‍♀️ Ahead of this week’s Solheim Cup, the Fried Egg’s Meg Adkins highlights some of the top storylines to follow, including Danielle Kang’s lost (but now, found) golf bag. (Fried Egg)

• Meanwhile, US Captain Stacey Lewis is disappointed that the Solheim and Ryder Cups weren’t “marketed together.” (Golfweek)

🍻 Tiger Woods and Justin Timberlake opened a sports bar in Manhattan that stretches an entire city block and includes four virtual golf simulators. (Yahoo Sports)

US Open champion Gary Woodland underwent surgery on Monday to remove a brain tumor. (PGA Tour)

🐣 Jordan Spieth and his wife Annie welcomed their second child, Sophie, into the world last week. (Golf Digest)

• Let’s hope for their sake (and literally, the entire US side) that they’ve hired a night doula.

👀 Phil Mickelson shed new light on his gambling addiction this week, urging those placing wagers during this year’s NFL season to use “moderation.”

• “I wont be betting this year because I crossed the line of moderation and into addiction which isn’t any fun at all,” Mickelson wrote. (CBS)

And finally…

This weekend, I’ll send out some memorable moments from past Ryder Cups, including a deep dive on the last time the US won in Europe in 1993.

Here’s a sneak peak of Colin Montgomerie from the ‘93 event playing a shot out of a flower bed. (He ended up airmailing it over the green.)

It’s an incredible game we play.

Alright, that’s all for today! As I mentioned, look out for some Ryder Cup history later this weekend. I also might sneak out to the LIV event in Chicago to watch Brooks and of course, see if he’s gotten a haircut.

Will report back. - Nick B. 💇‍♂️