A fast start, secret words and stability - how to win an away Ryder Cup

"Bring on Bethpage!"

That was the rallying cry from Rory McIlroy in the immediate aftermath of Europe's 16½-11½ Ryder Cup victory over the United States in 2023.

Perhaps the celebratory champagne had gone straight to his head, but the Northern Irishman was on a roll.

"One of the big accomplishments in golf right now is winning an away Ryder Cup. And that's what we're going to do at Bethpage," he triumphantly stated.

As the players and fans revelled in Rome, all demanding "two more years" for skipper Luke Donald, statisticians reached for the record books.

They would have revealed that the past five Ryder Cups have been won at a canter by the home side, with margins of five, 10, seven, six and five points.

There have been six away wins in the 22 matches since 1979, when the contest became Europe v the US. The once all-conquering US side have not won away since 1993.

European Ryder Cup legends past and present have explained to BBC Sport why they believe this is the best opportunity Europe have had to notch their fifth win on the road - and how they can do it.

Let's get the big one out of the way first. Even Donald is expecting a "bear pit" at Bethpage and the skipper has handed out virtual reality headsets to the players to replicate the abuse they are expecting.

Raucous home crowds have become a staple of Ryder Cups and while most of the partisan support is good natured, it can, occasionally cross the line.

"It's not going to come as a shock," Sir Nick Faldo, a stalwart of 11 Ryder Cups, told BBC Sport. "You're going to have to be mentally prepared for it.

"It's going to be down to discipline - something's going to go on, something's going to be said and we're saying to Luke, could you make it a rule that nobody will crack, or over-react.

I think you have a secret word between you and your caddie. You turn and look and say something, have a little laugh and then he says 'right job at hand, get on with it'. Get the golfer to click back in. This is a great golf course, we've got to play a great shot, that will keep you 100% focused.

It's not easy to block out though.

Colin Montgomerie was subjected to such bad abuse at Brookline in 1999 that his late father was forced to walk away from his singles match against then US Open champion Payne Stewart.

The Scot was leading by three holes when "things changed on the ninth tee".

"It got ugly, somebody shouted out and didn't allow me to hit my tee shot," he recalled.

"I turned round to the crowd and said if this happens again, or I'm not allowed to play, then unfortunately I'll have to walk in.

I was shaking at the time, I'm feeling it now talking about it. This is a game of golf.

Despite his own reaction, Montgomerie echoed Faldo's thoughts on focusing on the task ahead and how crucial a fast start could be.

Friday is massive for Europe," he said. "If we can get ahead and stay ahead, you'll probably find the American hostility could be directed at their own players.

Justin Rose, who will make his seventh appearance for Europe this week, has direct experience of that from 2012, when Europe mounted an epic final-day comeback at Medinah.

"The crowd in Chicago were rough and tough but for the most part the Americans had the upper hand," he said.

"But as soon as we were able to flip the script, the crowd did change, they did go quiet. They didn't like it and that's going to be our goal, to pacify the crowd.

"I don't think it's going to be easy. I don't think we should expect to pacify the crowd, that might not be possible. We've just got to be resilient as a team.

But Medinah proves it's possible.

And he believes the pressure and expectation from the home fans might be as tough for the US players to deal with.

"It's about not letting the environment affect us," he said.

But none of us, even the Americans, will have played in that before. Obviously it will be more pro for them but at the same time it's going to be different - so if we can deal with it we've got an awesome chance to win.

The fans chanting "two more years" towards Donald at Marco Simone in Rome was one thing, but the players joining in was the rubber stamp he needed to continue.

Not since the days of Tony Jacklin through the 1980s and Bernard Gallacher in the early 1990s has the European captaincy been anything more than a one and out deal.

But Donald has the continent's golden touch. Four wins out of four as a player - with two of those on American soil. One out of one as skipper.

Crucially, he was on the last team to win away, and set the tone for Sunday's singles in 2012 by going out first and defeating Bubba Watson to spark the record turnaround from 10-6 down.

And that experience and nous will be needed to deal with some of the feistiest fans in American sport and home players desperate to regain the trophy.

"This is a different challenge," he said. "I am aware we have lost three of the past four away Ryder Cups by significant margins. Some of our advantages from Rome are certainly not advantages anymore.

"A lot of my thinking revolves around crowd management and how we react as a team.

In terms of communication, to get my messaging across, that process started 15 months ago. Hopefully they will see some good results.

Rose, who is seeking a fifth Ryder Cup win, was a team-mate of Donald's in 2012.

The Englishman told BBC South: "Luke has a plan. The messaging has been consistent. He's not adding to the noise and keeping it as simple as possible for us.

I haven't felt like anything going differently and that's probably the genius of what Luke's been doing.

This is the 45th edition of the biennial contest and the visitors have made fewer alterations to their team than in any previous contest in the 98-year history of the event.

As Europe, the next fewest number of changes was three in 1985, 1987 and 2006 - and all three ended in victories.

Dane Rasmus Hojgaard, who was embedded with the team in Rome, is the solitary change, replacing his twin brother Nicolai, having qualified for his debut through the ranking system.

Montgomerie, who led the side to victory in 2010 and won five out of eight as a player, joked on BBC Radio 5 Live's Ryder Cup preview programme: "With all due respect Rasmus and Nicolai are the same person really. They shared the same egg, so we have the same team and that's huge."

With Donald looking to emulate Jacklin as the only captain to win home and away matches and cement his place alongside Europe's greats, he opted not to include any rookies in his six selections.

"If I was coming into a home Ryder Cup I'd be comfortable with a few rookies, next generation coming through, which is what happened in Rome," said Rose.

There is still tons of pressure, don't get me wrong, but I'm really happy the boys have experienced a Ryder Cup and they know what to expect in terms of the rhythm and flow of the week and the emotion.

And you can understand Donald's thinking, of seeking to take a settled community into what Montgomerie has called a "cauldron".

"It's important we have a good amount of experience in that team room with people that have dealt with it," said Donald.

Faldo, who amassed 25 points from 11 appearances, second only to Sergio Garcia's 28.5 - added: "Your big guys have got to do the heavy lifting.

You need half the team playing great, winning the point and hope one or two others have a great period. If you can get close to 10 points out of the first two days, you only need four out of 12 in the singles. That's the gameplan.

Faldo was talking about the likes of Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood, Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton and Rose, who have all won more than 50% of the points they have contested.

Major winners McIlroy (18 points) and Rose (15.5) also bring seasoned know-how, having been in the victorious 2012 side alongside Donald.

Fleetwood broke his PGA Tour duck by winning the season-ending Tour Championship last month, while Rahm was crowned LIV Golf's individual player of the year for a second time.

Hatton's major performances meant he claimed an automatic place despite also playing on the Saudi circuit and having limited qualification opportunities.

Robert MacIntyre, an inspired wildcard pick in Rome who has qualified this time round, could be added to that quintet given his performances since then.

After going unbeaten on his Ryder Cup debut, he has won the Scottish and Canadian Open titles - as well as finishing runner-up at the US Open in June.

Rahm needed a wildcard pick, as did Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Aberg, who impressed as a pairing in Rome with two wins from three matches.

Donald has also put his faith in Shane Lowry and Sepp Straka - who won one and lost one of their two outings together in 2023 - and Matt Fitzpatrick, despite his poor record of one point in three appearances, two of which were heavy away defeats in 2016 and 2021.

"They've had a dry run and made it work, they know the pairings," said Europe's first Ryder Cup-winning captain Jacklin.

You don't go in there complacent. The antennae is up and you're looking for weakness but I can't see anything other than a European win.

The American team is headed by the game's standout talent in Scottie Scheffler. Two more major titles in 2025, among six victories, have solidified his position as the world's best.

But Faldo believes the four-time major winner is the only player Europe will fear.

Scottie will be a target because he's meant to win," he said. "If you just get a half point against him, that's a victory.

Scheffler went unbeaten as a rookie in the US' record 19-9 mauling at Whistling Straits in 2021, but was reduced to tears in Rome after he and Brooks Koepka suffered a record 9&7 defeat at the hands of Hovland and Aberg.

Will he be motivated by the "redemption" McIlroy - who left Michigan two years earlier in tears - talked about after finishing as Europe's top scorer at Marco Simone with four points?

Scheffler, the Open champion, won two fourball matches alongside Bryson DeChambeau on the banks of Lake Michigan four years ago and the big-hitting LIV player returns in New York after sitting out last time.

But look at the other names," added Faldo. "They don't scare me. You've got Xander Schauffele but he's off the boil a bit. There's nobody in the team that any of our guys will look at [and fear].

A rib injury meant Schauffele had a slow start to the year and while the winner of two majors in 2024 had top-10 finishes at the Masters and Open Championship, an inconsistent season meant he missed the Tour Championship for the first time in nine years.

Justin Thomas and Patrick Cantlay may have something to say about Faldo's comments though, given they have the best Ryder Cup records on the US team.

Thomas, who has eight points from 13 matches, was chief cheerleader in 2021, firing up the fans by downing a celebratory beer before slamming the can on the first tee at Whistling Straits - and that was on the Saturday after just three of the five playing sessions.

Cantlay was the pantomime villain in Rome with 'cap-gate' and his caddie's spat with McIlroy. But he has won five of his eight matches and ground out a gnarly singles win over Rose.

Both were given wildcard picks by captain Keegan Bradley, as was two-time major winner Collin Morikawa, who has been out of sorts since two early-season runners-up finishes.

The skipper also selected newcomers Ben Griffin and Cameron Young - both won on the PGA Tour in 2025 - as he opted to leave himself out.

Bradley's 'will he, won't he' be a playing captain dilemma dominated the build-up and the world number 12 would likely have been in the team had he not been skipper.

Like Europe two years ago, the home side is blooding four rookies, with US Open champion JJ Spaun - who was beaten to the prestigious Players Championship in March by McIlroy - and Tour Championship runner-up Russell Henley having qualified.

Harris English and Sam Burns, who have both played in just one Ryder Cup, complete a relatively inexperienced US line-up with just 15 appearances between them, compared to Europe's 32.

Since Jacklin's dozen sneaked home in Ohio 38 years ago, Europe have won away once in every decade - 2012, 2004, 1995 and that all-important first one in 1987.

The US have only beaten Europe away in 1981 and 1993. Slim pickings. And you feel that only heightens the pressure when a home match comes around.

Both sides will claim underdog status this week, but as American golf writer Alex Miceli told BBC Sport: "Our top six is good, the bottom six is not.

The Europeans are slight favourites because their bottom six are better. Only slight, because they are away from home.

It is a thought echoed by Montgomerie. "I don't fear the American team the way I have in the past and I think Europe are going to do this.

I'm not saying this as a Europe fan. They are a stronger team, a stronger 12.

Bring on Bethpage indeed.

Source: BBC
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