The Masters that turned everything upside down

Amid talk that this might be the strongest U.S. team ever, Europe falls into an early 0-3 hole but roars back for a 17.5-10.5 victory over the U.S. at Le Golf National, the third-most lopsided U.S. loss ever in the Ryder Cup. Welcome to the Monday Finish, where the Americans ventured across the Atlantic with high hopes to end the losing streak that has seen them lose every Ryder Cup on foreign soil since 1993, but didn’t even come close to doing so despite looking like the better team on paper. FIVE OBSERVATIONS 1. This was a predictable result. There were problems for the U.S. even as they touched down in Paris. Although Tiger Woods had won the TOUR Championship at East Lake, Phil Mickelson looked out of sorts and finished last (30th). Bubba Watson finished 29th, Patrick Reed 28th and Brooks Koepka shot a second-round 78 and tied for 26th. Overall, the results were worrisome. Sure enough, Mickelson went 0-2 in France and was benched all day Saturday. Reed, the vocal MVP of the U.S. side that took down Europe in 2016, struggled after being split up from his usual partner, Jordan Spieth, and didn’t earn a point until the singles. Koepka played better but went 1-2-1, and the U.S. never looked fully comfortable with the course, where Europe came in having played a combined 236 tournament rounds compared to eight for the U.S. Justin Thomas (4-1-0), the best American player, had played the French Open this year; Koepka had played it during a stint in Europe early in his career. 2. This was an unpredictable result. Mere days after collecting the 80th win of his PGA TOUR career at the TOUR Championship, Woods went 0-4, the worst Ryder Cup performance of his career. Who saw that coming? After winning the first two stops in the FedExCup Playoffs, THE NORTHERN TRUST and the Dell Technologies Championship, Bryson DeChambeau went 0-3. Wait. Wasn’t he the hottest player in golf just a month ago? Patrick Reed didn’t win so much as a half point Friday and Saturday. OK, now that’s just borderline crazy. You could say that Europe was always going to win this Ryder Cup because, well, that’s what always happens in Europe. But the eye-opening seven-point winning margin was the result of a perfect storm. It was the smart/fortuitous pairing of Francesco Molinari and Tommy Fleetwood (Moli-wood went 4-0); Jim Furyk’s hotly debated decision to split up Patrick Reed and Jordan Spieth; the U.S. players’ wildness off the tee on the tight course; Mickelson coming into the week totally out of sorts; and Woods’ struggles on the greens, among other factors. In other words, the lopsided nature of this contest must be considered something of a fluke. 3. Momentum is everything. Still. The Europeans have the Ryder Cup in their blood and seem to have a visceral understanding of it in a way that the Americans don’t. One example: The Euros’ ability to harness momentum. The U.S. was on cruise control at the 2012 Ryder Cup at Medinah before Ian Poulter went on a crazy run of birdies and he and Rory McIlroy emerged with a crucial point for Europe. It set the stage for the wild European comeback in singles the next day. This time around the big swing came earlier, on Friday afternoon. Europe not only whitewashed the U.S., going 4-0, no match even reached the 17th hole. The Americans, who had gotten off to a 3-0 start in the morning, were immediately on their back foot, and they never recovered. “We just didn’t quite execute,� said Mickelson, who admitted this Ryder Cup may have been his last. 4. Europe’s team ethos paid off. Thorbjorn Olesen could have gotten down after losing his first match with struggling partner Rory McIlroy, but Olesen merely bided his time until Sunday, when he beat Spieth 5 and 4 to extinguish any embers of a U.S. comeback and run his Ryder record to 1-1. Jon Rahm could have sulked after starting his Ryder Cup career 0-2-0, but instead he went out and beat everyone’s golfing idol, Tiger Woods, in another important singles match Sunday. By the time it was over, every European had earned at least a point. Three Americans, meanwhile, went winless: Woods (0-4), Mickelson (0-2) and DeChambeau (0-3). 5. Hindsight is still undefeated. It seemed like four pretty easy decisions when it came time for U.S. Captain Jim Furyk to make his four picks, adding Woods, Mickelson, DeChambeau and Tony Finau. Somehow, though, Finau (2-1-0) was the only one to earn any points for the U.S. Mickelson looked lost, Woods tired and confused by the greens, and DeChambeau like the victim of circumstances and hot players for Europe. Meanwhile, European pick Sergio Garcia, who hadn’t shown much form all season, went 3-0-0 to become the winningest player in Ryder Cup history. Henrik Stenson, who has battled injuries but also got a pick from European Captain Thomas Bjorn, also went 3-0-0. Who could have predicted that? FIVE INSIGHTS 1. The U.S. struggled mightily off the tee Friday, finding the fairway or first cut just 57 percent of the time in the afternoon Foursomes compared to 74 percent for Europe. Not surprisingly, Europe won the session 4-0, taking a lead that that they would never relinquish. Mickelson, who came into the week ranked second to last on TOUR in Driving Accuracy, looked especially lost in trying to find the bowling alley-like fairways at Le Golf National. 2. The accuracy disparity only got worse. Saturday morning Four-balls saw the U.S. hit just 54 percent of fairways/first cut, while Europe was at 74 percent. In the afternoon Foursomes, where keeping it in play is especially crucial, the U.S. was at 67 percent, Europe at a telling 81 percent. Although the U.S. would miss several putts, their scattershot ways off the tees proved especially damaging to their chances while falling behind 10-6 in Foursomes and Four-balls. 3. Ian Poulter was not perfect, losing a couple of matches with partners McIlroy and Rahm, both times at the hands of the powerful U.S. team of Spieth and Thomas. But in beating Dustin Johnson, Poulter remained unbeaten in singles and ran his Ryder Cup record to 12-4-2. 4. Woods played better than his 0-4-0 record indicates, but he could be excused for feeling tired. After not playing a full schedule for years, he was competing for the seventh time in nine weeks. 5. Italy’s Francesco Molinari was the first European to emerge with a perfect 5-0-0 record, and the fourth overall, as Europe won for the seventh time in the last nine Ryder Cups. More good news for the top European point-earner: The 2022 Ryder Cup will be in Rome.

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If we were to publish a guide to compile the levels of comfort for every host course on the PGA TOUR, Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, would be a finalist for its cover. There are many ways to define comfort, but all apply at the DEAN & DELUCA Invitational. Whether it’s individual success, total appearances or the time it often requires to find form on the 81-year-old track, comfort exists everywhere you look. Monday’s Power Rankings detailed how age and familiarity have played co-protagonists since Sergio Garcia captured his first PGA TOUR victory here in 2001. Inherently correspondent to that theme, the average number of starts at Colonial before each of the 12 different champions in the last 14 years – Kenny Perry and Zach Johnson have won the tournament twice since 2002 – is 6.25. However, there’s been a gradual reduction in the average since ZJ’s first win here in 2010 as none of the last five unique champions made more than five starts prior to hoisting the hardware. Still, Colonial’s reputation as a comfortable place to unpack one’s bags is alive and well. Thirty-three of the 121 in the field (as of Monday) have made at least seven starts in the tournament. Eighteen have made as many as 10. For this is the leading factor in projecting success at the DEAN & DELUCA Invitational. The course itself renders opportunity for all, evident in just how differently even just the last three champions navigated their paths to paydirt. TALES OF THE TAPE As maddening as it might be to discern any direction from the last three winners, not to mention how weather influences things, rest assured that there are reliable factors to locate value. While proper positioning off the tee never hurts anywhere, if you reviewed how contenders have rated in both distance and accuracy over the years at Colonial, you’d quickly learn that Chris Kirk’s uninspiring splits off the tee tilt toward a majority. In other words, Colonial is much more of a scorer’s paradise than it is the kind of test that’s going to reveal the broadest skill set. The set of identifiers below focuses on frequency and accuracy on approach as well as getting after it on the greens. And because there’s a correlation between recent winners and last year’s noisemakers, odd as it is, par-3 scoring is injected as a potential game-changer. Golfers in this week’s field inside the top 10 in the following categories in last year’s DEAN & DELUCA Invitational: * – Currently inside the top 50 on the PGA TOUR in the stat. (Golfers who haven’t logged enough rounds are not tagged.) Greens in Regulation Rank Golfer (Tournament Finish) 1 Kyle Reifers (5th) 2 Ricky Barnes (T42) T3 Jason Dufner (T6) T3 Harris English (2nd) T3 Ryan Palmer (T3) T3 Brandt Snedeker (T17) T9 Martin Piller (T6) Proximity to the Hole Rank Golfer (Tournament Finish) 1 Kyle Reifers (5th) 2 Ryan Palmer (T3) 3 *Jason Dufner (T6) 4 Brandt Snedeker (T17) 5 *Webb Simpson (T3) 7 *David Hearn (T17) 8 Harris English (2nd) 10 Anirban Lahiri (T6) Strokes Gained: Putting Rank Golfer (Tournament Finish) 1 Chris Stroud (T13) 2 Jordan Spieth (Win) 3 *Harris English (2nd) 4 Anirban Lahiri (T6) 5 Matt Kuchar (T6) 6 Kevin Kisner (T10) 8 *Seung-Yul Noh (T42) 9 Chad Campbell (T10) Putting: Birdie-or-Better Percentage Rank Golfer (Tournament Finish) 1 *Anirban Lahiri (T6) 2 Harris English (2nd) 3 Jason Bohn (T34) 4 Webb Simpson (T3) 5 *Jordan Spieth (Win) 7 Chad Campbell (T10) T8 Ryan Palmer (T3) T8 Martin Piller (T6) Par-3 Scoring Rank Golfer (Tournament Finish) T2 Tim Herron (T29) T2 Kevin Kisner (T10) T2 Matt Kuchar (T6) T2 *Johnson Wagner (T34) T6 Jason Dufner (T6) T6 Charley Hoffman (T42) T6 Zach Johnson (T17) T6 *Seung-Yul Noh (T42) T6 *Jordan Spieth (Win) T6 *Chris Stroud (T13) T6 Nick Taylor (T47) Relative to this space every week are how the three classifications below are populated. Each is at the mercy of sliding scales based on depth of field, individual records and other factors that include recency of success and current positioning on one career bell curve. Take these into account if you’re ever curious as to why a golfer slots in a grouping you wouldn’t expect. In addition, the only prerequisite for inclusion below is that any golfer must have recorded at least one top 10 on the host course of a given tournament. This explains why contemporary hopefuls like Marc Leishman (6-for-6 with no better than a T13 in 2016), David Hearn (5-for-6 with three top 25s but no better than a T13 in 2012) and Graham DeLaet (4-for-5 with no better than a T14 in 2014) are omitted. NOTE: The groups below are comprehensive to assist in data mining. Inclusion doesn’t imply endorsement in any fantasy game. HORSES FOR COURSES Selected golfers with multiple cuts made sorted by rank on the tournament’s money list. GETTING COMFY Sorted by best finish, selected golfers who are either finally finding form on the course or are still relatively new to the tournament but have enjoyed some success. OTHER SIGNS OF COMFORT Sorted by most recent top 10s, selected golfers for whom it’s been a few years since their last.

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Jordan Spieth gets his 2018-19 season underway in Las Vegas, while Rickie Fowler returns to TPC Summerlin after a two-year hiatus as the PGA TOUR reconvenes on U.S. shores for a three-event push to its fall finish. Bryson DeChambeau, third in last year’s final FedExCup tally, and THE PLAYERS Championship titleholder Webb Simpson also highlight arguably the best field to hit Vegas in recent years, as Patrick Cantlay embarks on his first career title defense. FIELD NOTES: The lineup features nine entrants who competed in last month’s TOUR Championship at East Lake. … Tony Finau, who finished 6th in the FedExCup last season, makes it five members of the U.S. Ryder Cup roster set to compete at TPC Summerlin. Captain and 2010 FedExCup champion Jim Furyk  also will tee it up, his first start since a share of fourth at the Wyndham Championship in August. … Davis Love III, who won the 1993 edition, is joined by two fellow Hall of Famers in Ernie Els and Vijay Singh. … J.J. Spaun tees it up for the fifth time in as many weeks to start the season, the only man remaining who has yet to take a week off. … Freddie Jacobson, who sat out all of last season after hand surgery, tees it up on TOUR for the first time since the 2017 AT&T Byron Nelson. The 2011 Travelers Championship winner made three starts in Europe this fall, making one cut. … Kenny Perry, 58, makes his first TOUR start of the season and just his third since 2015. He’s playing on a one-time exemption afforded the top 50 in career earnings. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 points. STORYLINES: Spieth makes his first fall start since October 2015, getting an early jump after falling just below the cut line to qualify for East Lake. That left him with 24 starts last year, one shy of the minimum for players who didn’t add a new venue to their schedule. … DeChambeau and Fowler also make their first starts of the new season, with DeChambeau coming off two wins in last seaso’s FedExCup Playoffs. … Las Vegas has been prime territory for first-time winners, with Cantlay becoming the third in the past four editions and 11th in the past 16. … Former champions Ryan Moore (2012) and Kevin Na (2011) are among more than a half-dozen entrants with Las Vegas ties seeking to bring the trophy back to local hands. … Cantlay has a chance to join Furyk (1998-99) as just the second man to claim back-to-back titles in Las Vegas. … A total of 22 Shriners Hospital patients – one from each campus across the country – will serve as standard bearers during the final two days. COURSE: TPC Summerlin, 7,255 yards, par 71. Built on land in Las Vegas’ western reaches once owned by Howard Hughes, the Bobby Weed/Fuzzy Zoeller project opened in 1991 and begins its second decade as the sole locale for the TOUR’s annual visit. The layout winds through arroyos and canyons, building to four closing holes that make golfers weigh risk/reward – the drivable par-4 15th, the par-5 16th, the water-lined par-3 17th and a strong par-4 No. 18. Originally part of a three-course tournament rotation, a 2008 restructuring brought all rounds to a single site. 72-HOLE RECORD: 260, Ryan Moore (2012), Webb Simpson (2013). 18-HOLE RECORD: 59, Chip Beck (3rd round, 1991 at Sunrise GC). TPC Summerlin record: 60, J.J. Henry (1st round, 2013), Rod Pampling (1st round, 2016). LAST YEAR: Cantlay produced magic from behind a tree to make par on the second playoff hole, bringing a long-sought win to a career once derailed by injury and heartbreak. Cantlay, Whee Kim and Alex Cejka all bogeyed the first extra hole after surviving a windblown final round, and Cantlay appeared in jeopardy after his tee shot on the second replay at No.18 wound up in tree trouble. The former UCLA star, though, managed to thread a 4-iron under one tree and around another, his ball coming to rest at the back of the green. Cantlay nearly holed his putt from the fringe, too, brushing home the winner after Cejka missed his par save. Victory was especially poignant for Cantlay, pegged for early stardom as an amateur before a stress fracture in his back kept him off the course for more than two years. During that time he also lost his best friend and caddie, Chris Roth, in a hit-and-run accident as the two were crossing a busy intersection in Newport Beach, Calif. HOW TO FOLLOW TELEVISION: Thursday-Saturday, 4:30-7:30 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Sunday, 3:30-6:30 p.m. (GC). PGA TOUR LIVE: None. RADIO: Thursday-Friday, 2-7:30 p.m.; Saturday, 3-7:30 p.m.; Sunday, 2-6:30 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com).

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