USA, captained by Steve Stricker, regained the Ryder Cup with a record 19-9 victory over Padraig Harrington's Europe at Whistling Straits; world No 2 Dustin Johnson won all five matches he played for the hosts
Monday 27 September 2021 22:01, UK
Three years on from a chastening Ryder Cup defeat to Europe at Le Golf National which resulted in an unhappy fallout among players, Butch Harmon assesses what went right for a dominant USA team at Whistling Straits.
This team is the star. Captain Steve Stricker is the star.
The way that they have handled everything is unbelievable, the way that Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka and the other guys (came together) with all the pillow fighting that was going on back and forth…
You have got to hand it to Stricker, he got these guys to believe in themselves the same way Paul (McGinley) and all the great European captains have done.
For some reason we haven't had that in the past, we do now with these younger guys. And these young guys are going to be around for a long time too.
Not having fans didn't help (Europe), let's be honest. Would it have made a difference? Probably not the way the USA played. But not having their fans here and the energy to feed off them is a special thing.
The American team played fantastically. Every single one of them played as well as they can play and that is what you have to do to win one of these.
Dustin Johnson was the only one to play all five matches and he won all five.
I think it is the first time in a long time they have been a team. These first-timers were amazing. They showed us what we need to do, it is a changing of the guard.
It needed to happen. Europe will do the same thing. I think they will get on the same page. I think they should have six picks like we have.
Right now the US has got to celebrate a really phenomenal victory. To win by 10 points in this event… I couldn't have imagined it. This particular week and five sessions we just played better than they did. That is the bottom line. It is not the captain's fault, it is not the European team's fault. We have been on the losing end of a lot of these.
We are looking at the strongest US team and it is going to get stronger. But I don't think Europe are going to go backwards. I think the European team is going to get a lot stronger. There are a lot of great players on the European Tour who are going to come forward.
Two years from now is a long time. A lot can happen. Yes, this US team will probably get a lot better before we get to Italy, but I think Europe will also get a lot better.
This US team is just special. It is amazing what Stricker has done this year. He has calmed down all the off-course controversy. He has no ego. He is very easy-going, a very level-headed guy. He was a phenomenal captain to these youngsters, he just let them be themselves.
It is going to be special in Italy in a couple of years' time, that is for sure.
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