Winning a Ryder Cup on the road is one of the most difficult tasks in all of professional sports. The last time it happened was in 2012 in Medinah, famous for being nicknamed “The Miracle of Medinah” because the European team had to make a surprising comeback to win.
In total, since 1979, Europe has won away from home on foreign soil four times (1987, 1995, 2004 and 2012), and the United States has won away from home on foreign soil twice (in 1981 and 1993).
While speaking with GolfWRX, Edoardo Molinari, who was vice-captain of the European team in Rome last fall, explained why he believes the Europeans have been better on the road than the American teams.
“Good question. I think it’s a combination of different reasons. I think we’re more used to traveling a lot, as a player on the European circuit, you go to South Africa, you go to Australia, you go to China, like half of our season is outside of Europe, and even when it’s In Europe it’s like a different country So you don’t play in your home country all the time.
“So when it comes to going to the United States, it’s actually better than a lot of other countries you go to and it’s not an obstacle in itself that we have to overcome.”
“And then I think the other part is like… there’s been a lot of talk about the team chemistry, how much everyone likes each other and tries to help each other. I mean, it’s amazing, like in some of the stories from Ryder Cup week, you always hear about guys like Rory going through Nicolai (Hojgaard) and Bob (MacIntyre).”
“I mean, literally Rory treating Nicolai and Bob, who (he must have seen) four or five times in his life before Ryder Cup week, and suddenly, on the practice trip we went on two weeks before that he (try) Nicolai likes his younger brother and Bob likes his best friend.
“It really makes you think about how much Rory, John and those guys care about the Ryder Cup, they really try, you know, try to help the younger guys and suddenly it elevates the whole team. I think, especially when you leave, that’s huge.
“That’s very, very important because suddenly you can be a rookie playing in front of a visiting crowd. Your first Ryder Cup is a very uncomfortable situation. But if you have someone like Rory or Jon saying, ‘I’ve been here before, this is going to be okay, you’re good enough,’ and they actually behave during the week and during the weeks leading up to it in a way that makes you feel a part of it. from a family. All of a sudden, I think it really encourages all the younger kids and if you play as a team, with everyone together, you can achieve amazing things.”
Luke Donald announced in January that Molinari would once again be one of his vice-captains as the European team heads to a hostile environment in New York at Bethpage Black in 2025.
Watch the full conversation with Molinari below.
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