Breakfast Ball #90: Start Spreading the News

WOW. I was expecting an easy jog to the finish line, but that was not what we got. An incredible fightback from the American team, but Europe had the work done on Friday and Saturday.

This will be the first of two weeks of reflection on the 2025 Ryder Cup — this week will be mostly focused on the European team, while next week will be a more balanced analysis of the event and the U.S. team. Make sure to come back for it!

In the Ryder Cup Celebration Issue:

When the Going gets Tough: Europe WIN the Ryder Cup, 15-13

Clichés are often brushed aside because of how frequently they crop up in everyday conversation. Say something like “every cloud has a silver lining” or “the grass is always greener,” and you’re likely to earn nothing more than an eye-roll.

But the reason these phrases endure is that they reflect truths we can’t escape. Time and again, life serves up moments that prove them right.

This weekend at the Ryder Cup, one of the oldest clichés of all made itself known once more: when the going gets tough, the tough get going.

Led by the toughest squad ever, Team Europe won the 45th Ryder Cup with a 15-13 victory over the U.S.A. at Bethpage Black Golf Course in New York.

Europe started the weekend at a canter, winning the opening four sessions. They were the first away team ever to accomplish that feat, and the first to do it at all since 1979.

What made it even more remarkable was the hostile environment in which they achieved it. Players and their families endured verbal abuse throughout the weekend, particularly during the afternoon sessions, when the $19 beers gave the crowd much more confidence. Bethpage was brutal — but this time around it was the fans, rather than the golf course, that provided the biggest challenge.

While that kind of behavior may affect some, this European team was built to withstand it. Its leaders excelled during the first two days, with Tommy Fleetwood, Rory McIlroy, and Jon Rahm going unbeaten in their first four matches of the event. That built an almost unassailable 11.5 - 4.5 lead going into Sunday, giving the team a 96% chance of victory according to Datagolf.

However, to draw from the cliché well once again, this U.S. team was not going to go down without a fight. Keegan Bradley may have made some key strategic errors this weekend (more to come on that next week), but he did not lack the resolve needed to pick his team up from a dark place. The U.S. team came out firing, with Cameron Young and Justin Thomas taking the first two matches.

Bryson DeChambeau fought back from 5 down to halve a match with Matt Fitzpatrick, before Scottie Scheffler defeated Rory McIlroy, and Xander Schauffele beat Jon Rahm. All of a sudden, there was a distinct possibility that the U.S. could achieve the impossible.

However, when the European leaders were faltering, the supporting cast came to the fore. Ludvig Åberg secured a vital point against Patrick Cantlay, Europe’s only win in the 12 singles matches. That meant that Europe needed just half a point to retain the Ryder Cup.

Step up, Shane Lowry. He approached the 18th hole one down in his match with Russell Henley.

He was aware of the significance of the moment: “Walking down 18 I said I have the chance to do the coolest thing in my life here.”

After Henley missed his birdie putt, Shane Lowry ended the “toughest two hours of [his] life” with the putt that retained the Ryder Cup.

Bob MacIntyre and Tyrell Hatton secured two more half points to give Europe a two point victory.

Europe’s leaders stepped up to the plate on Friday and Saturday to set the stage — their teammates helped them over the line when they had nothing left to give. The going got tough, and the tough got going.

The Playbook: How did Europe pull off this historic win?

There are many qualities that shape a successful organization: leadership, culture, and talent are among the most critical. But what makes great teams fascinating is how inseparable these elements truly are.

It is nearly impossible to build a strong culture without effective leadership and talented people. Likewise, attracting and retaining great talent is difficult without a culture anchored by strong leadership. Each element fuels the others in a self-reinforcing cycle of success.

The real challenge lies in finding the spark that sets this cycle in motion. That elusive starting point is what separates good organizations from great ones. It is there, in the unknown, where great teams are built. All of the small details add up to create a sum that is better than its parts.

Luke Donald has found that spark as the Captain of the European Ryder Cup team. He is a perfect example of how great leadership trickles down through an organization to create great results. Luke Donald can’t go out and make the putt to win a Ryder Cup, but he can create an environment that makes that putt as easy as possible.

Nerves can creep into every part of a golfer’s game, but nowhere are they more exposed than on the greens. Putting produces the highest-pressure moments, demanding a perfect marriage of line and speed to find the centre of the cup. Under that kind of scrutiny, even the slightest tremor in the hands can send the ball veering off course.

In the first two days of the Ryder Cup, it was clear that the environment created by Luke Donald allowed the European players to play with freedom. Each player was partnered up with someone who they trusted entirely, bonds created in the familial culture of the European team.

The Bethpage setup with low rough made it easy to get to the green, with minimal punishment for wayward drives. Europe took advantage of the opportunities they had on the greens more often than not. The Europeans gained 8.4 strokes putting over the course of the weekend, dwarfing the American advantage from tee to green.

Interestingly, the U.S. team came in looking far stronger on the greens. Six of the top seven players in putting statistics were American. Yet at Bethpage, the script flipped. Russell Henley was the only U.S. player to finish inside the top seven in putting.

Could that have been luck? Of course. Putting can be streaky — a hot weekend can just as easily turn cold the next. But in this case, I don’t think so. Luke Donald’s meticulous preparation and steady professionalism built a team that delivered when the pressure was at its fiercest.

That’s the hallmark of a strong culture. And that, more than statistics, is why Europe won the Ryder Cup.

Some Notes from Bethpage

• There were so many nominations for shot of the week from Bethpage, but for me it has to be Jon Rahm’s chip-in on the 8th hole

• This was the first Ryder Cup in over a decade to be decided by fewer than five points — and the first away victory since 2012

• Cameron Young made an incredible debut for the U.S. team, putting up 3 points including the victory against Justin Rose in singles

• Shane Lowry’s performance on Sunday was only bettered by Justin Rose’s exhibition in the four balls on Saturday by pure strokes gained on the field

• Tommy Fleetwood now has a Ryder Cup record of 11 wins, 4 losses, and 2 ties. It is the 3rd best winning percentage of players who have played more than 10 matches

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