Rory McIlroy has been told a key difference between Team Europe and Team USA ahead of the upcoming Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black
Rory McIlroy has received a fresh Team Europe verdict from Brandel Chamblee after the pundit’s confident prediction ahead of the Ryder Cup.
The prestigious tournament is set to get underway at Bethpage Black later this month, with the team selections now finalised. McIlroy is confident that he and his team-mates can earn the first away victory since Medinah in 2012 as he continues his preparation by battling to win the Irish Open.
Team Europe captain Luke Donald led his side to success in Rome two years ago, while Keegan Bradley has opted not to be the first playing captain since Arnold Palmer in 1963. However, American golf pundit Chamblee has confessed that the European team will be much more motivated to win the Ryder Cup than their opponents; a perspective highlighted by the two teams’ contrasting demeanours when the selections were announced.
“I’ve got to admit though, when I was watching it live, they did look like they were all in hostage videos, every one of them. They looked sad, like their dog had just died. They did,” he said on The Favorite Chamblee podcast.
“The Europeans, they had the benefit of probably seeing all of the posts and were like, ‘We’re going to give the opposite view’. People roll their eyes when you say this, but it is demonstrably true that the Europeans are more passionate about the Ryder Cup.
“It’s not to say that the US doesn’t want it. They do. But Europe wants it more. And if you doubt that, here it is: Sergio Garcia goes to LIV, but in order to be eligible and play on the Ryder Cup team, he had to pay a few million dollars in fines. He happily paid those fines so that he could be eligible and considered to play on the Ryder Cup team.
“So you’ve got the Europeans who will pay millions to be on the Ryder Cup team, and you’ve got the US team who’s asking to be paid just to play on the Ryder Cup team. Nothing to me screams ‘we want it more, we’re more passionate’ than that. That tells the story of both sides.
“One side will pay to play on it. The other side wants to be paid to play on it. And I think that’s the difference.”
McIlroy has had his eyes fixed on helping guide Europe to victory at Bethpage Black ever since their triumph in Rome two years ago. USA captain Bradley suggested that McIlroy’s past declaration would help fire up his team and fuel their desire to prove him wrong.
Despite Chamblee feeling Team Europe are more passionate about the Ryder Cup, the 63-year-old claimed that Bradley opting not to select himself as a player will provide Team USA with added motivation. Bradley sat 11th in the qualification standings but his self-sacrifice could prove pivotal in helping to push his team over the line. Chamblee likened it to a very different moment from Donald in 2023, which showed the importance of team chemistry.
“I think he may well have won the Ryder Cup in making that decision,” Chamblee said on the Golf Channel following Bradley’s announcement. “When you start to look at a captaincy or at a team, it’s never any one thing that makes a great player or a great captain, but it’s an assembly of a lot of little things like a mosaic.
“And in the same way you got the sense when Luke Donald, in opening ceremonies in 2023 got up and spoke Italian for two or three minutes, you thought, this Ryder Cup is over.”
He added: “So Keegan Bradley, just thinking about the decision to pick himself, that’s what a leader does, make a personal sacrifice for the collective good of a team. It’s the kind of thing a leader would do that would get his team to sort of run through a wall for him.
“Imagine the rest of that week; he’s going to look at them and be like, ‘I stepped aside to focus on every little detail to help you guys,’ and how empowering that must be for his team.”
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