As of the time of this writing Team Europe is leading the Ryder Cup by seven points and seems destine to win only needing three points of the remaining twelve. Team USA is receiving a serious beat down and hopefully Europe continues this in the singles matches. So tired of the USA USA chants!
Last night I was thinking why is this happening? Team USA has great talent as well, and they are getting their asses handed to them. As a friend pointed out to me yesterday Team USA has a flag on their shirt over their heart, where as Team Europe has the team crest. Small detail, but a big one. Captain Bradley has been playing the patriot card from day one, even Pumpkin Head showed up to get the team motivated. The USA players wanted to get paid. They are getting paid! Team Europe voted no to getting paid . All they wanted is win a Ryder Cup. Once a Ryder Cup winner always a Ryder Cup winner.
However, to me what sets the two teams apart is Grit. Many people think talent is the separator but it is not. Talent and Grit need to meet. Talent disappears when adversity hits. Grit is what pushes talent through to the other side and permits exceptional play to occur. Grit is when passion and perseverance meet in the pursuit of long term goals. It is not a sprint it is a marathon. The marathon was started two years ago when the team decided two things. First they wanted to win on American soil and secondly and most important the players wanted Luke Donald to lead them. Right now they are looking pretty good, but it is sport and the game needs to finished to decide who is the winner.
The European team has the mindset to focus on team growth and when the team grows the player also grows with it. When the emotional and cognitive skills are focused on , the results are bountiful. The European team are trained for this whereas Team USA is hoping for it to appear. Case in point Fleetwood and Rose twelve under best ball in sixteen holes at Bethpage Black. They probably would have got to 14 under if the match continued.
They have so many play maker’s Rory, Tommy, Bobby Mac, Rambo, Shane, and Rosy. The play makers play with each other and not by themselves. That is the advantage.
The USA should be looking for someone to Coach the next team and not hire a cheerleader. Coaches make tough decisions and this team has some tough decisions to make.
Until Next Time!
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Between The Ears 