Sports Geek by Rob Minto

Author:Rob Minto
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Published: 2016-03-16T16:00:00+00:00

*Reliable participation figures for Asia are not widely available, unlike the NGF and EGA, which publish data.

Golf’s great global shift

Where have all the American golfers gone?

The top 100 and the Ryder Cup show the US being pushed out by Europe

With Jordan Spieth the latest new golf sensation winning major titles at a Tiger-esque young age, US golf seems to be in good shape.

The truth is quite different. If top American golfers were wild animals, they would be on an endangered species list. Look at the evidence. First, the top 100 world ranking: once there were 60 US golfers on it. Now there are 40.

In the past decade (2006–15), they have won 28 per cent (18 out of 40) of the major titles. The decade before that it was 70 per cent (28 out of 40). Admittedly, that is helped by Tiger Woods winning quite a lot, but there were many others.

And then there’s the Ryder Cup. Once upon a time, it was just a US-British tournament (Britain plus Ireland for three editions). Then in 1979 it was widened to include Europe, after America had won it 18 out of 22 times. It took until 1985 for a European victory, but since then the pendulum has swung.

Europe has won 8 of the last 10 Ryder Cups. Once, the joke was to even things up it should be America vs. the rest of the world. Now, perhaps, the rest of the world should play against Europe. How can we explain the dominance of Europe in the Ryder Cup?

One reason often mentioned is team ethos – that Europeans seem to have a more natural team instinct. This is odd, given that there are almost no other competitions where players represent Europe, rather than their country. The closest comparison would be when the Lions play rugby.

How about preparation and tactics? Europe’s 2014 captain Paul McGinley managed the team with great attention to detail, and had learned the ropes as a vice-captain. His counterpart, Tom Watson, hadn’t been anywhere near the Ryder Cup for 20 years.

What about location? One theory is that American players play predominantly in the US. European players travel far more, so the US is less alien to them than Europe is to the Americans.

These are all plausible differences. But the clearest marker is talent pool. The top 100 chart shows that US stock has fallen over the years, while Europe’s has picked up.

The objection to this argument is that there are just 12 players in a Ryder Cup team, so why would it make any difference if there were 20 or 24 to choose from in the top 100?

Firstly, if you have just 15 players in the top 100, as Europe did in 1987, compared to 59 Americans, it’s clear which country has the better talent pool. That has now evened up, and the results show it. Many matches have been close: Europe has won by a single point, the smallest margin of victory, in four of its most recent eight victories.

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