Final Thoughts On The Ryder Cup, Handing Out Player Grades For Each American After Embarrassing Effort In Rome

Every other year when the Ryder Cup rolls around we're reminded just how special the event truly is. The fact that the U.S. team was embarrassed from the moment it stepped on the property on Friday to the moment it left Marco Simone on Sunday is irrelevant when looking at the Ryder Cup big picture and realizing that there is nothing in golf that compares to 12 players competing for their country and continent.

Alright, now that we've touched on the touchy-feely side of the Ryder Cup we can get to real business, and from start to finish the Americans were simply outclassed and grossly outplayed. The Europeans extended their streak of winning the Ryder Cup on home soil to 30 years with their 16.5-11.5 victory, but as per usual the score doesn't even begin to tell the story of what unfolded in Rome over the course of 72 hours.

Final Thoughts From The 2023 Ryder Cup

This Thing Was Over After Friday

European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald chose to start the Ryder Cup with foursomes instead of fourball for a reason, and that reason is that the Americans are historically horrendous in the alternate shot format, especially on European soil. It turns out that decision won the Europeans the Ryder Cup.

Not only did the U.S. lose all four matches in Friday morning's foursome session, it never grabbed a lead in any match. The Americans were quite literally shut out, momentum was non-existent, and absolutely nothing about the team's history suggested it could dig itself out of a 0-4 hole.

There was nothing inspiring from the U.S. during the 2023 Ryder Cup. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

Friday afternoon the U.S. was able to accumulate 1.5 points, but those points came via three tied matches. It marked the first day in the 44 editions of the Ryder Cup in which the U.S. didn’t win at least one match.

You simply cannot get shut out in any single session at the Ryder Cup and expect to win.

The U.S. was able to tie the Europeans 4-4 on Saturday, but tying a side that already had a five-point advantage on you does nothing. This isn't some Earth-shattering opinion, but it is true, the 2023 Ryder Cup was lost by the Americans on Friday.

We Put Way Too Much Stock In Ryder Cup Captains

One of the many variables that make the Ryder Cup so great from the simple viewpoint of a golf fan is how worked up everyone gets about the decisions from each team's captain.

Team Europe captain Luke Donald did not hit a single shot this week for the Europeans, but on Monday he's looked at as the greatest mind the golf world has ever seen because the pairings he put together resulted in a European win.

Zach Johnson, the U.S. captain and two-time major winner, is looked at as a complete and utter moron on Monday because the pairings he went with didn't pan out.

Zach Johnson deserves blame for the 2023 Ryder Cup disaster, but not all of it. (Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP) (Photo by PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

By no means am I saying Johnson doesn't deserve blame for the embarrassing effort from the Americans, but he wasn't the one hitting poor shots and missing putts for three straight days in Rome.

Also, the majority of the U.S. team hadn't played a competitive round of golf in five weeks. Johnson, just like everyone else, couldn't have possibly known who was in form and who was out of form. That's a reprimand on the system and timing in place for the Ryder Cup from a U.S. perspective more so than anything.

We humans have to point the finger somewhere when something goes bad, and oddly enough a majority of golf fans immediately point at the guy who simply puts together the pairings and then drives around in a golf cart watching golf for three straight days.

Has The U.S. Team Just Simply Stopped Caring About The Ryder Cup?

Waking up on Friday morning to see that the U.S. was down 0-4 and never led one single match, the first question that came to mind for myself and surely thousands of other golf fans was 'do the Americans even want to be there?'

Xander Schauffele didn't look like he was engaged for one second at the Ryder Cup. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/PGA of America/PGA of America via Getty Images)

The biggest storyline heading into the event was that this American squad was more of a brotherhood than ever, the good ol' boys club if you will, and that these guys who cared about each other and their country were going to snap the 30-year dry spell in Europe.

For them to essentially not get off the bus on Friday and relish the opportunity to play spoiler is the exact opposite mindset of American sports culture when you think about it. America loves the underdog story, those 12 players entered the event as the underdog in an away game and laid down from the opening tee shot.

Player Grades For All 12 American Ryder Cup'ers

Sam Burns: C-

Record For The Week: 1-2-0

The only reason this isn't a D-grade is that Burns was a rookie. He was downright bad paired up with Scottie Scheffler during Friday morning's foursome session as they were wiped away 4&3 by Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton.

He showed some life against Rory McIlroy in his singles match, but it wasn't nearly enough.

Patrick Cantlay: A

Record For The Week: 2-2-0

He was thrown to the wolves by a shotty report claiming he was going hatless to protest not being paid to be there. Cantlay relished the villain role, singlehandedly took down Matt Fitzpatrick and McIlroy on Friday afternoon, and then won his singles match on Sunday over Justin Rose.

Wyndham Clark: C-

Record For The Week: 1-1-1

Like Burns, this would be a D-grade if he weren't a rookie. Clark wasn't bad, but he certainly wasn't good. When the moment got big he showed his inexperience down the stretch and didn't flex his muscle as this year's U.S. Open champion against Robert MacIntyre on Sunday.

Rickie Fowler: F

Record For The Week: 0-2-0

He entered this year's Ryder Cup as an underwhelming player in the event and leaves it in even worse fashion. The U.S. would have been better off by sitting him until Sunday. Conceding the Cup-clinching putt to Tommy Fleetwood was the icing on the incredibly bad cake for him this week.

Brian Harman: B

Record For The Week: 2-2-0

For the most part, Harman did what he was expected to do. Seemed like the voice of reason among the American group and also found a major partnership with Max Homa by his side.

Brian Harman played his role as best he could at the Ryder Cup. (Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP) (Photo by ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Images)

Max Homa: A+

Record For The Week: 3-1-1

Nobody seemed to want to be in Rome more than Homa. The Ryder Cup rookie was exceptional throughout the week from a ball-striking and shot-making perspective and his up-and-down against Fitzpatrick on Sunday after having to take an unplayable on 18 was an all-timer.

Brooks Koepka: D

Record For The Week: 1-1-1

It never felt like Koepka was actually there. Absolutely nothing inspiring out of the five-time major winner and lone LIV player in the event. His lone highlight was beating Ludvig Aberg in singles, a killer in the making, but also a guy who was playing college golf earlier this year.

Collin Morikawa: D-

Record For The Week: 1-3-0

He got a point on the board, but only did so because he was paired with a fired-up Burns on Saturday. Like Koepka, completely uninspiring while also bringing an ice-cold putter to Marco Simone.

Collin Morikawa did not bring his stuff to Rome. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/PGA of America via Getty Images)

Xander Schauffele: D-

Record For The Week: 1-3-0

This should probably be an F, but he was able to earn a point. Reports of him nearly being booted from the team weeks prior because of a Netflix spat perfectly sum up his week and American golf fans' feelings towards him at the moment.

Scottie Scheffler: F

Record For The Week: 0-2-2

Not a single win for the world's No. 1 player. That's it, that's why he's getting an F. At least he showed emotion by shedding a tear or two after being embarrassed 9&7 on Saturday morning alongside Koepka.

Jordan Spieth: F

Record For The Week: 0-2-2

Zero Spieth magic at all during the week to go along with zero match wins. He's meant to be a motivator with his play and did absolutely none of that in Rome.

Justin Thomas: B

Record For The Week: 1-2-1

Thomas had more pressure on him than any American all week and put together an extremely formidable effort. He was unfortunately bogged down by being paired with Spieth throughout the week but still managed to serve as the trash-talker for the U.S. squad while securing 1.5 points.

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