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: