A 30-year victory drought in any sport is a long time and there’s no hiding that is the glaring fact facing the USA Ryder Cup side teeing-up this week in Rome.
It was 1993 when a Tom Watson led American team last won the Ryder Cup on European soil with their 15-13 triumph at The Belfry.
However, when this was put to the now five-time USA Ryder Cup star Jordan Spieth he was having none of it and with the Texan declaring such a statistic does not rattle the visiting American’s cage.
“We’ve been made very aware of how long it’s been,” said Spieth.
“That’s been made very clear to us over the last few months. But over half the team wasn’t born yet the last time we won over here. It’s not something we really care about, to be honest.
“Most of the guys weren’t on any of those losing away teams. I was on two of them, but I felt like I played good golf. All you can try and do is have a winning record, and if everyone on your team does, you dominate the other team.”
Well said, but then Spieth hasn’t exactly endeared himself to the bienniel event over his four prior appearances representing the Stars and Stripes.
In fact, the now father of two is yet to win a Sunday Singles match, going the closest two years ago when he tied the penultimate Whistling Straits match against Tommy Fleetwood, and long after his USA team-mates had won back the gleaming gold trophy.
Spieth was much better in the company of team-mates as evident in having won two earlier team games when playing alongside Justin Thomas.
Spieth called ‘JT’ and good friend a “backbone” of the U.S. team and said the two-time PGA Championship winner relishes playing in front of raucous crowds, especially those across the Atlantic, and this despite Thomas’ wretched 2023 season.
“It creates maybe just a little extra level of focus for him,” Spieth said. “I’ve been beside him for these Ryder Cups, and he quite simply plays better golf than the guys across from him”.
Thomas responded to his selection saying: “After I was picked from the team, it doesn’t matter what it is, especially when it comes to people and stuff online, everybody’s got an opinion and theirs is right and everybody else’s is wrong, at least that’s what generally seems to be.
“So for that exact reason, I stayed away from social media and stayed away from stuff online because I knew nothing good was going to come from it.”
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