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This clip of Patrick Cantlay talking about the future of the Ryder Cup was bouncing around social all week even though it took place in 2021.
Here’s what Cantlay said.
Don’t know how I’m just coming across this clip.
Can’t wait for this guy to go 5-0 in the Ryder Cup.
— Golf Bet Caddie (@GolfBetCaddie)
1:34 AM • Sep 6, 2025
TL;DR — Even if we are more skilled than Europe, these matches don’t happen frequently enough for that skill to shine through in a meaningful way. It wouldn’t surprise me if the U.S. goes on a 20-year run like Europe has been on.
This is technically true, and it’s why guys like Jimmy Walker are major champions. If golf tournaments were 100 rounds long, guys like Jimmy Walker would never be major champions.
Look at tennis. Tennis matches are long enough that if you have tiny advantages, you will win a lot. And they are only played against one opponent, not 155.
Instagram post by @fryrsquared
Which is why you end up with five guys winning 33 of the last 35 grand slams.
Anyway, that’s not really the point here. The point here is that I was so bothered by what Cantlay said because it seems to abdicate the idea that the team part of a team event matters. The idea — which is not necessarily wrong — treats the Ryder Cup like it’s an individual performance and not the emotionally wavy three days that it actually is.
I’m not convinced that Cantlay doesn’t believe this, only that the reduction of all of this to 10,000 hands of gin (a math problem, more or less) does a disservice to what I’ve been yelling from the rooftops for years.
And what I’ve been yelling from the rooftops for years is summarized in Normal Sport 3 where I discussed what went wrong in Paris.
I wrote on Sunday how ironic it is that the group from nine countries is more unified than the group from one. If you don’t believe in intangibles or culture, it was an easy piece to mock. My rebuttal: How many times in a row does this have to happen before we start to think that maybe it’s about more than just golf?
How many times do Bob MacIntyres have to score more points than Scottie Schefflers before we start to consider that just playing better might not be the answer? How many times does Europe have to pull a Nicolai Hojgaard-shaped rabbit out of its hat until we allow ourselves to think that maybe, just maybe, team events are won with who has the best culture and not just who has the most talent?
There’s no way to prove this, of course, which is what makes it both a great talking point for those who believe it and also infuriating for those who do not.
The linchpin in it for me is something Max said on the NLU pod. He said that ZJ told his team to remember who you were, who you’ve been, what you’ve done. This sounds great. It sounds like good advice and a worthwhile thought exercise. But remembrance of self is so often where I find the most pressure to be found.
On the other hand …
Rahm on Sunday evening:
“We make it a point to forget about who we were for the sake of the team. It’s the ability to walk through those doors and forget about who you are outside of this week. What you have done or what you may do afterwards really, truly doesn’t matter.”
Remembrance of others is an act of humility that is done out of love. It’s why Soly said what he said about how the European way is inspiring and the U.S. method adds [Zinger voice] pressure!
Normal Sport 3
Anyway, I was mostly just annoyed that this Cantlay clip was being celebrated when I think it ignores the reality of the situation, which is that Europe’s culture is straight up better and more cohesive.
Would it be surprising if the U.S. went on a 20-year run like Europe has? Yes! Yes, it would! Because while the U.S. might be more talented, it has yet to unlock the chemistry secrets Europe has been enjoying the fruits of for going on two decades now.
