2020 Ryder Cup – Page 2 – Syndication Server

Ryder Cup: Xander Schauffele switches drivers before matches start

Get the details behind Schauffele’s pre-Ryder Cup switch to a Callaway Epic Speed Triple Diamond LS driver.

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Golfers competing in the Ryder Cup are typically set with their equipment several weeks, if not months, ahead of the biennial competition. However, according to Callaway, Xander Schauffele is going with a slightly different driver at Whistling Straits after tinkering and working with the company’s fitters for the past few weeks.

Throughout most of 2021, Schauffele, who currently is ranked No. 5 in the world and who finished the last PGA Tour season ranked 22nd in driving distance, used a 45.5-inch Callaway Epic Speed Triple Diamond driver (from $529.99 at Carl’s Golf Land) with 9 degrees of loft fitted with a Graphite Design Tour AD BB 7 X shaft.

The Triple Diamond version of the Epic Speed is the most-played version of Callaway’s flagship driver on the PGA Tour. Compared to the retail version, the Epic Speed Triple Diamond is slightly smaller at 450 cubic centimeters in volume instead of 460. It has a higher toe, an adjustable weight in the back of the sole like the retail version and another weight in the front that the retail version lacks. It is designed to produce slightly less spin and a lower ball flight. It also has a neutral shot-shaping bias which pros tend to like. Using the adjustable hosel mechanism, Schauffele’s club has 8 degrees of loft.

Xander Schauffele — Schauffele’s Epic Speed Triple Diamond has a second adjustable weight in the sole. (David Dusek/Golfweek and Callaway)

However, after switching to the Callaway Chrome Soft LS ball before the U.S. Open in June (from $47.99 per dozen at Carl’s Golf Land and Dick’s), a low-spin version of Callaway’s Chrome Soft, Schauffele’s spin rates dipped too low. According to Callaway, he was generating between 1,900 and 2,000 rpm with a ball speed of 175 mph. That may sound great, but Schauffele needs more spin to create the tight draw off the tee that he likes to hit.

Xander did not want to stop using the Chrome Soft LS ball or the Graphite Design Tour AD BB shaft, but at the Tour Championship, he went with a Graphite Design Tour AD IZ 7 X shaft. That shaft has a softer tip section, creating a slightly higher launch angle and more spin.

However, according to Callaway, Schauffele, who lives in San Diego, did more testing last week at the nearby Ely Callaway Performance Center in Carlsbad, California. Eventually, he switched into an Epic Speed Triple Diamond LS driver with 10.5 degrees of loft adjusted to 9 degrees and fitted with his beloved Graphite Design Tour AD BB 7 X shaft. The Triple Diamond LS (from $529.99 at Carl’s Golf Land) is a lower-spinning version of the Triple Diamond. Lowering the loft opens the club’s face angle, so it appears to point slightly more to the right, which Schauffele and many elite players prefer.

That combination got Schauffele’s spin rate up to between 2,200 and 2,400 rpm and helped him hit the draw he wanted.

Driving during the Ryder Cup will be critical, and Schauffele, who finished 41st in strokes gained off the tee last season on the PGA Tour, can blend distance with accuracy. Armed with a new driver, he could be primed to help the United States win back the Cup.

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European chemistry has made the difference in past Ryder Cups, but the U.S. side is confident in its own at Whistling Straits

Can Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau come together this week?

HAVEN, Wisconsin – To Graeme McDowell, the difference between the team chemistry of Europe and America can best be summarized in the team room.

“The American side has a couple of ping-pong tables and they love to play that at night and that’s how they do it. In the European team room, we just have a bar,” McDowell said. “People always laugh and think I’m joking but there were several years where that was the truth. We just hung out and had a drink and intimate conversation and jokes and having fun and messing around and creating the vibe and the culture that way.”

It’s that camaraderie, that belief in themselves that many believe has been critical to Team Europe winning nine of the last 12 Ryder Cups despite typically being the underdog. As Rory McIlroy noted, “this tournament isn’t played on paper, it’s played on grass.”

“We play for each other,” McIlroy said. “I think that’s the best thing that you can do. You play for the guys that are beside you. You play for everyone that’s helping our team try to win this week. You’re obviously playing for your country and your continent and I guess your tour in some way, as well. But most of all, we play for each other.”

Meanwhile, the American side’s version of “playing for each other,” is agreeing to put their various feuds amongst themselves on hold for this week. Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau staged an interaction showing they can get along on the range, while DeChambeau alluded to “something fun coming up,” between them – could it be a trust fall in Lake Michigan?

Then there’s Koepka who in an interview with Golf Digest made it sound as if playing in the Ryder Cup was a giant inconvenience. NBC’s Paul Azinger, who captained America’s winning side in 2008, suggested Koepka should surrender his spot if he truly felt that way. Ian Woosnam, who captained the victorious European side in 2006, went even further speaking at Ilkley Golf Club last week ahead of a Legends Tour event.

“The article Koepka has just done, that’s not nice for his team. It’s not good,” Woosnam said. “He basically said, ‘I could do without this, it’s getting me out of my routine doing this.’ Christ almighty, get a life!”

In contrast, the Ryder Cup takes on a feeling of life and death for Ian Poulter, Sergio Garcia and those who represent Team Europe. Theories abound for why, and European Ryder Cup captain Padraig Harrington offered his own when asked to explain why that is.

“The Ryder Cup is our way of asserting Europe’s position in world golf, the European Tour’s position,” he said. “It’s just something that we want to do, we’re keen to do.

“A lot of the guys on my team, a lot of the Europeans, they seem to want to be team players. Shane Lowry thought he was going to be a Gaelic football player; Sergio thought he was going to be a soccer player. So a lot of them have that team background that they nearly crave more so than the golf.”

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To hear Harrington tell it, the sense of brotherhood and team unity that seems to materialize every time the Ryder Cup takes place for the 12-man Euro side already has taken form.

“The atmosphere is exactly where you would want it,” he said. “Literally, I don’t want to mess it up from here.”

But is this an oversimplification of a complex issue? Davis Love III, who captained the U.S. side in 2012 and 2016 and is a vice captain this time, said it’s an easy way out to say the U.S. team doesn’t get along as well or they are just a collection of prima donnas.

“There’s no chance the Euros want it more,” he said. “I ran into Collin Morikawa at a hotel during the Tour Championship and he stopped me and said, ‘I’m so excited I can’t stand it.’ Here’s a guy who has had an unbelievable run, young kid who has won majors and a ton of money, I’ve never seen him show that much emotion.

“Brooks Koepka in 2018 on Sunday afternoon at Le Golf National, grabbed me by the shoulders and said, ‘I don’t know what to do. I’ve never lost one of these.’ He was crushed. The passion these guys have for it is incredible. I don’t think the passion we have is more than Europe. They rise to the occasion. They come together as a team. I love what they do. I think it’s equal. It’s going to come down to as Darren Clarke always says, Who has the run of the greens? They couldn’t love it more than us and I don’t think we can love it more than them.”

If McDowell’s explanation of the difference in the two team rooms is the perfect analogy for Europe’s perceived strength in the team chemistry department, his theory for why the Ryder Cup may be a little more special to the Euros also is worth considering.

“When I look at that core group of Americans through the 2000s, they were the best players in the world and we managed to beat them more often than not. Only explanation I can come up with is that every year they are playing team events and eventually, it doesn’t wear you down but it becomes less special. Whereas we wait two years and put the Ryder Cup on a pedestal and give our absolute 110 percent,” McDowell mused. “Does it mean a little bit more to us? Yeah, I think just by definition of kind of the way we approach it and the fact that we don’t have Presidents Cup makes a huge difference. Because we’ve been dominant for the last couple of decades I think the intensity from the American point of view is starting to crank up a little bit. I feel a little shift, so it will be very interesting to see what happens this year in Wisconsin.”

That it will. Can U.S. Ryder Cup captain Steve Stricker get his 12-man side to play for each other the way the Euros typically do? That is one of the questions of the week at Whistling Straits.

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Ryder Cup key holes: Crosswinds could make this ‘beguiling’ par 3 a pivotal play

The par three 12th at Whistling Straits may be short, but it boasts a large challenge.

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Perched on the shores of Lake Michigan, the 12th hole is a seemingly innocuous par 3, measuring a mere 143 yards, however, during the matches this week it will play more exacting than the yardage might indicate.

With the winds forecasted to be out of the west, this hole will play in a left to right crosswind, typically the most difficult wind for a right-hander.

Any shot with a right to left shape will be fighting against the wind and controlling distance will be the most difficult obstacle the players will face. Understanding the nuances here will be paramount to conquering this beautiful, but beguiling hole.

From the tee, the green perilously sits high above the lake, and the intimidation starts at that very moment. The players can clearly visualize what Pete Dye intended; any miss short and/or right will fall some 20-30 feet below the putting surface. This hole plays ever so slightly downhill and the front two-thirds of this green appears large, however, it will play much smaller depending on the hole location.

Puttview Whistling Straits — The Puttview yardage book for Whistling Straits’ Straits Course, site of the Ryder Cup (Courtesy of Puttview)

The front-left corner has numerous knobs and humps to repel your ball from the hole and the back-middle of the green slopes away towards a cavernous bunker where golf balls will collect in a hurry, even with the slightest misjudgment of the wind.

Whereas the front portion of the green has a little margin for error, the back-right area of the green (where we should see the hole for at least one or two sessions) is the size of a living room and has absolutely zero room for any mistake.

What ultimately makes the shortest par 3 at Whistling Straits so devilish will be the forecasted wind direction from the west, blowing at 10-20 miles per hour. To top it off, the large grandstand sitting on the back left of the green will aid in fooling players from the tee as the flag could lay limper than the actual wind velocity at the short-iron apex.

Several balls could be missed short right of the green in the aforementioned fall-offs, so we may see players playing more conservatively (especially in foursomes) given the petite length of the hole.

We can’t wait to see how the Ryder Cup course setup team and Mother Nature challenges the players for all sessions this week, and this 12^th hole will serve as a key in the final outcome.

Steve Scott is the Director of Instruction for Golfweek and the author of the book “Hey, Tiger – you need to move your mark back,” released earlier this year (Skyhorse Publishing, $19.99). It’s available at movethatback.com. Aside from leading our lessons, Scott is also the PGA head golf professional at the Outpost Club, founder of the Silver Club Golfing Society and a PGA Tour Live analyst.

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Forget all the noise, Bryson DeChambeau’s sole purpose this week is to help Team USA win the Ryder Cup

“I’ve put full force focus into this event, and I think part of hitting it far is some of why I am so successful.”

HAVEN, Wis. – Bryson DeChambeau has already taken it on the chin this week.

Less than 12 hours after setting foot on the grounds of Whistling Straits for the 43^rd Ryder Cup, this summer’s punching bag got tagged again.

No, it had nothing to do with “Brooksie,” or the print media, or his equipment, or his ex-caddie, or COVID-19, or the South Course’s back nine at Torrey Pines.

Instead, Daniel Berger knocked DeChambeau around.

“I lost in ping-pong, which kind of stinks, to Daniel,” DeChambeau said Tuesday at Whistling Straits about his confrontation in the team room Monday night. “He beat me. There are obviously excuses I could make, but I won’t.

“I’m pretty sour about it. I’m going to get him back.”

It was a light-hearted moment during his first meeting with a large gathering of print media since the first week of August, when his controversial comments concerning his refusal to take the COVID-19 vaccine caused wicked backlash.

That was just part of a hard, turbulent summer for DeChambeau, highlighted by his public spat with Brooks Koepka, the two now teammates as the U.S. tries to win back the 4-pound, 17-inch tall gold cup that carries so much weight.

DeChambeau and Koepka has assured U.S. captain Steve Stricker that any friction between the two will not cause heartburn this week.

“A lot of this social media stuff has definitely been driven by a lot of external factors, not necessarily us two,” DeChambeau said. “We had some great conversations Tour Championship week when we had dinner, and then this week, as well. I sat down and had dinner with him last night, and it was fine.

“I think there may be something fun coming up here moving forward, but I won’t speak too much more on that.”

What that meant was unclear. But what was clear was the abuse DeChambeau took at the hands of spectators calling him “Brooksie” since May, with the behavior of a few fans moving PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan to say further such taunts could result in ejections.

At times during tournaments, the world No. 7 was visibly shaken.

“No matter what, we’re all humans at the end of the day, and I think there’s obviously a level of, I guess you could say, control that any human will ever have, and you can have a lot of armor and you can protect yourself with people around you and all that,” DeChambeau said. “Sure, there are times where it’s not comfortable, but there’s also times where it fuels me. I think this week is going to be an amazing example of it, and it’s going to be fun to be able to have the crowd behind us and pump them up and show them what I can hopefully do and what we can do as a team more importantly.

“This is about a team event. I’ve got a brass chest. I’ve taken a lot of heat. But I’m OK with it, and I understand I’m in the place where I’m at, and it’s going to be that way moving forward. I recognize it and all I’m going to do is my absolute best to show people who I truly am, and whatever people think about me is not important.

“It’s about the team this week. It’s about riling us all up and getting that Ryder Cup back here on U.S. home soil.”

DeChambeau also said his hands are just fine, thank you. He caused an uproar when he said his “hands were wrecked” after he did intense training for the World Long Drive Championships that begin next week. He has been criticized for concentrating on the long drive competition and neglecting his attention to the playoffs and the Ryder Cup.

Not so, he said. DeChambeau explained the intense training was the week before the FedEx Cup Playoffs, and he played well in the final three tournaments of the season, losing a 6-hole playoff to Patrick Cantlay in the BMW Championship.

“I’ve put full force focus into this event, and I think part of hitting it far is some of why I am so successful and how I could utilize my length on this golf course to potential advantage,” he said. “As well, I’ve been working on my wedging and putting nonstop.”

DeChambeau said his swing is faster than it was a few months back, and his length could give him a huge advantage on holes 1, 2, 5, 6 and 10, he said.

“There’s a whole list of holes where it’s going to be a huge advantage, I hope, if I’m hitting it in the fairway,” he said.

Or the green. DeChambeau could drive the 364-yard first, the 355-yard sixth and the 361-yard 10^th if the wind is beneficial. And he could destroy the 603-yard, par-5 fifth, where he could cut the corner.

More Ryder Cup: Check the yardage book: Whistling Straits for the Ryder Cup

“It was there in the practice session and I had like 120 yards into that green,” he said. “Guys are going to be hitting it over to the left maybe and having a 3-wood or hybrid in.”

That practice session came last week when 11 of the 12 players – Koepka’s wrist injury kept him from attending – gathered for the two-day reconnaissance trip at Whistling Straits.

“It was a lot of fun seeing the team here, a lot of camaraderie,” he said. “Coming here this week, it felt like we were prepared already, like ready to go already, which is cool. It’s going to be fun to see what we can do and rile up the crowd in the right way and get us behind our backs and moving us in the direction we all want to be in, which is taking home that Cup.”

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Drivers being used by the European Ryder Cup team at Whistling Straits

See which golfers European stars like Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Viktor Hovland and Ian Poulter will be using at Whistling Straits.

It’s finally here after a year’s delay, Ryder Cup week.

As we explained last week, Whistling Straits, site of the Ryder Cup, is long and tough. The PGA of America can stretch it to as long as 7,390 yards. Alongside Lake Michigan in Wisconsin, and has holes that wander over sandy dunes that are flanked by bunkers, fescue grass and rugged terrain.

Last week we shared which drivers the players on the American Ryder Cup team are going to use. This week, we give you the 12 members of Team Europe and the drivers we anticipate them using in the biennial event.

Ryder Cup: Loro Piana is outfitting Team Europe, a collaboration with Pádraig Harrington

Team Europe will be wearing Loro Piana at the Ryder Cup at Whistling Straights in collaboration with team captain Pádraig Harrington.

Team Europe will be playing in uniforms from Loro Piana at the Ryder Cup at Whistling Straights. The collection was in collaboration with team captain Pádraig Harrington, who will be alongside the team through all of its official engagements in style, both on and off the course.

Loro Piana prides itself as a company on its attention to detail and investment into research in curating golf clothing. This collection is sophisticated in its forms, colors and wearability. The apparel features waterproof items for inclement weather and uses a three-layer technique in its fabric.

The outer layer is a Wind microfibre fabric, and the waterproof central membrane is a Storm System fabric, which is a treatment invented in 1994 to transform many types of fabrics into water and wind-resistant fabrics. All seams and zippers are thermal-sealed.

For knitwear, Loro Piana uses super-fine wool, which is lightweight and breathable. This year, the wool has been elasticized to complement the players’ swings and movements. Loro Piana’s pants come in a soft wool and silk combination. The polo shirts come in a technical, breathable jersey made to handle a variety of climates.

“As captain, I want the players to feel as comfortable as possible throughout the week of the Ryder Cup, and the Loro Piana clothing is a key part of that,” Harrington said.

The U.S. Ryder Cup team seems like a reality TV show — we breakdown the key characters and storylines

Can the U.S. team get to the starting line without self-destructing?

When last we visited “As the Ryder Cup Turns,” Bryson DeChambeau said he had wrecked his hands preparing for a long-drive contest that had nothing to do with the Ryder Cup, Brooks Koepka was saying the Ryder Cup was a tough week for a player like him, Paul Azinger was saying if Brooks doesn’t love it, he should leave it and Steve Stricker was in the corner trying to figure out two-man pairings where the two players might actually have civil conversations during the round.

When exactly did the U.S. Ryder Cup team become a reality television show, complete with petty feuds and seeming indifference to the event itself? What in the wide, wide world of Kardashian is going on here?

The question as Ryder Cup week begins next week is not if the United States team can beat the European team, but if the U.S. team can get to the starting line without self-destructing. It has always been considered that Europe approaches the Cup matches more like a cohesive team while the Americans approach the matches as 12 rugged individuals. That has never been more apparent than this year.

Here are some of the key characters and storylines as the big event approaches:

Drivers used by the 2020 U.S. Ryder Cup team

Driving will be a significant factor at this year’s Ryder Cup. Here what the U.S. team will use off the tee.

In the parlance of tournament golfers, Whistling Straits is a big ballpark, like Torrey Pines South and Bethpage Black. It feels sprawling and massive when you are on the property, and during this month’s Ryder Cup, the PGA of America could stretch it to as long as 7,390 yards. Alongside Lake Michigan and covered with sandy waste areas, bunkers, fescue grass and dunes, it’s rugged.

As Jason Lusk noted last week when he wrote about the American team’s length off the tee, driving will be a significant factor at this year’s Ryder Cup. In match play, outdriving your opponent and hitting shorter clubs into greens can put pressure on the other side and create more birdie chances.

With that in mind, below is a list of the 12 players who comprise the American Ryder Cup team and the drivers we anticipate them using.

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Padraig Harrington’s captains picks: Garcia, Lowry, Poulter round out Europe’s Ryder Cup team

European Ryder Cup Captain Padraig Harrington selected Ian Poulter, Sergio Garcia and Shane Lowry.

European Ryder Cup Captain Padraig Harrington had half the number of picks to make – three – compared to U.S. Captain Steve Stricker but that didn’t make the decision-making process any easier in filling out his roster for the 43^rd Ryder Cup.

Harrington opted to go with veteran Ryder Cup stalwarts in Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter and rookie Shane Lowry.

On the final day of qualifying, Bernd Wiesberger and Lee Westwood squeaked on to the team as the final of nine automatic qualifying spots.

Harrington had previously said that Garcia and Poulter were virtual locks. That left one spot for first-timer Shane Lowry or a third veteran in England’s Justin Rose, 41, who went 2-2 in 2018 and had an overall record of 13-8-2 in his five previous appearances.

Lowry, the 34-year-old Irishman, won the 2019 British Open to stake his claim to his Ryder Cup debut for Team Europe.

“Nobody thinks of him as a rookie,” Harrington said.

Garcia, 41, didn’t play the BMW PGA Championship after competing in the FedEx Cup playoffs. A veteran of nine Ryder Cups, the Spaniard went 3-1 at the 2018 Ryder Cup to beoame Europe’s all-time leading points scorer with 25.5 points (22-12-7).

“This is something that he was made for,” Harrington said of Garcia’s Ryder Cup record. “He’s a very rounded player and there’s not a player on the team that doesn’t want to play with him.”

Poulter, 45, is set to compete in his seventh Ryder Cup. Nicknamed “The Postman” because he always delivers on Sunday – undefeated in six singles matches (5-0-1) – the Englishman went 2-2 in 2018 and owns an impressive lifetime mark of 14-6-2.

Captain’s picks date to 1979 for Team Europe and 1989 for the American side with the Europeans sporting a 74-71-14, and the American selections an all-time record of 49-54-20.

U.S. Ryder Cup team to gather at Whistling Straits for 2-day practice session. Why it could give them an edge.

It’s not unusual for a U.S. Ryder Cup captain to host a reconnaissance session.

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The U.S. Ryder Cup team won’t make the same mistake twice.

This time, local knowledge won’t be a problem. U.S. Captain Steve Stricker is scheduled to host a two-day practice session at Whistling Straits, Sept. 12-13, with as many of the 12-man squad as possible.

“There’s a bunch of guys who haven’t played the golf course,” said U.S. assistant captain Davis Love III. “We might get everybody but at least as many as 10 guys will be up there to play a two-day practice round during this week off (on the PGA Tour).”

The reason for doing so is quite simple, Love explained.

“They had us over a barrel in Paris because we didn’t have enough practice rounds at (Le Golf National),” he said of the course that the European Tour played regularly as the annual site of the French Open. “The other team knew the golf course way better.”

But Love said that won’t happen again.

“We’re going to focus on breaking down the course over the next couple of weeks until we get there,” he said. “It’s important for us to gather local knowledge and pass it on to the guys that don’t have the intimate knowledge as guys like DJ.”

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Whistling Straits has hosted the PGA Championship in 2004, 2010 and 2015, and several members of both sides will have played it before, but there’s still much to learn, Love said.

“In 2016, even though Hazeltine was a course we’d played in major championships, did we really know the course that well?” Love said. “Tiger helped us learn what questions to ask and what to look for. It’s not everybody hit 7-iron on this hole and it’s a 6. He said, ‘Let’s talk to the head pro, the best caddie, the top players among the members.’ Tiger showed us how to get ready for the course in ’16. We learned a lot of why he beat us all those years.”

It’s not unusual for a U.S. Ryder Cup captain to host a reconnaissance session. Love recalled Dave Stockton suggesting he play Kiawah in 1991 in case he picked him – he didn’t. In 1995, Lanny Wadkins organized a side trip to play Ryder Cup site Oak Hill during the week of the B.C. Open. Other Ryder Cup captains have held practice sessions for the overseas match around the British Open – Tom Kite hired a Gulfstream to take players to Valderrama in Spain to prepare; Tom Lehman did it for K Club and Jim Furyk did it for Le Golf National.

The difference is the timing – less than two weeks before the biennial competition begins – and the number of players.

“If Stricker pulls off 10 or more, he’ll have the most,” Love said.

Love, a two-time Ryder Cup captain, brought players to Medinah in 2012 and Hazeltine in 2016, but he invited 20 players ahead of time, well before he’d know for sure who was going to be on the team.

So, while many members of the European side will be busy competing at the BMW Championship in England, the U.S side will be gathering at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin on Sunday, Sept. 12 and Monday, Sept. 13 to prepare for the Ryder Cup so that by the time the biennial competition begins, the hard work will be done.

“This time we’re going to know our 12,” he said. “I told Brooks Koepka that Sunday night at The American Club two weeks outs might be one of the great weeks of your Ryder Cup experience.”

Home-field advantage, Love noted, should mean more than just a partisan crowd,

“I’m lobbying to stay for four days,” Love added. “we’re going to have more practice rounds than them, more rounds in major championships than them and our captains will know the course better than them.”