After his putt guarantees at minimum half a point and the United States victory in Ryder Cup, Collin Morikawa exhales the crowd. (0:26).
SHEYBOYGAN (Wis.) -- United States Ryder Cup Captain Steve Stricker is a crier. We all know that he can get a lot of good-natured, if not quite bitter grief. If you had bet the over on the moment when the tears started to flow during his opening ceremony speech, you could have made a lot of money.
He is a great player and one of the best in golf. He won 12 times on PGA Tour. He's a great putter and often had other players to offer advice.
Behind the nice-guy facade is a strong competitor. Stricker is known for being tough on himself and his caddies. He is a firebrand. He has suffered some terrible losses in relation to the Ryder Cup.
Stricker was a member of losing teams in 2012 and 2010. The latter resulted in a shocking loss for the United States. He went 0-4 in the one-point U.S. win, while the Europeans rallied from four points down the last day.
Stricker was a final player at the 2013 Presidents Cup. He then went all-in behind scenes. In 2014, he was the Ryder Cup assistant. He was present for both the Ryder Cup win in 2016 and the 2018 loss. He was also present for the Ryder Cup win in 2016 and the loss in 2018.
Stricker has seen many things. He also absorbed a lot of knowledge, both good as bad, and learned what to avoid.
He oversaw the transformation of the U.S. Team, which cruised to a record-setting victory of 19-9 on Sunday at Whistling Strits, behind six rookies and three other players who had only played in the Ryder Cup once. Brooks Koepka, Bryson deChambeau and even Brooks Koepka hugged each other afterward, which is a sign of something.
Patrick Cantlay went 4-0 in his rookie season, making it the most successful U.S. debut since Larry Nelson's 1979 appearance. "Because this will be the next generation of guys for America'''
Cantlay is right, record-breaking or not. The U.S. has a solid base of players that will give them a strong chance to succeed the impending captaincies Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, and other potential leaders.
Stricker stated, "I have learned a lot." "I have learned both what has worked and what hasn't." I've thought about this for a long time, trying to make sure these guys have a great experience. And hopefully, come out on top.
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Stricker learned a few key lessons from the negative atmosphere surrounding the U.S. fortunes at the Ryder Cup. Youth is better than experienced; finding players who are suited for the course is crucial; and adding people who can fit into particular partnerships is more important than necessarily who is the best.
Stricker was happy to bring the most rookies to this Ryder Cup, even though the 2008 team also won. This was Stricker's first Ryder Cup appearance as a player.
He wanted long hitters like Scottie Scheffler, Tony Finau and Harris English to play in Whistling Straits. They were better matches than previous Ryder Cup players Patrick Reed and Webb Simpson who were not selected.
Scheffler proved to be DeChambeau's partner, which was a huge talking point due to all the controversy surrounding DeChambeau. Stricker stayed with the partners he believed would be successful, like Dustin Johnson-Collin Morikawa and Cantlay-Xander Schaffele.
The best thing about this for Americans is the bright future. The future is looking incredibly bright, even though there are no guarantees at the Ryder Cup.
For many years, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Morikawa and Koepka should be the mainstays. DeChambeau is a valuable asset, and he brings his own sense of intrigue to competition. He showed this Sunday when he drove the first green. Johnson, who finished 5-0, has no reason to think that Johnson will slow down anytime soon.
You then look at Europe with its incredible run, which had seen them win nine of the 12 Ryder Cup competitions. It suddenly shows vulnerability. The team has relied on a series of stalwarts like Seve Ballesteros and Nick Faldo, Bernhard Langer, and Colin Montgomerie for years. In recent years, Padraig Harrington, Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, and Justin Rose took over the reins.
However, Westwood, Poulter and Casey almost certainly played in the last Ryder Cup. Rose was not even selected for this year's team. Sergio Garcia is 41, although he's still very viable. Henrik Stenson did not make it to the team.
It was striking that the U.S. had the highest-ranked player in 11 of the 12 singles matches played on Sunday. Scheffler beat No. Jon Rahm is the #1-ranked.
Rory McIlroy is still available, despite having a disappointing Ryder Cup but being only 32. Rahm should continue to be a force in the future. Similar with Viktor Hovland. Tommy Fleetwood was 4-0 with Francesco Molinari in Paris three years ago, but he wasn't on the field this week. Shane Lowry gained valuable knowledge.
But that's not the same firepower as the U.S. team. It doesn't include future additions like Sam Burns, Will Zalatoris, and Matthew Wolff as well as the possibility of Reed returning.
McIlroy said, "The U.S. Team, there's phenomenal talent that's on that team," adding that McIlroy has only played on two European losing teams in six attempts. "A lot of young men. The most important thing for the U.S. is to have a lot young players who are good at the Ryder Cup. This was something that I believe was missing from previous generations.
"But guys such as Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth, you see, the kind of heartbeat that U.S. teams have, they really believed in the team aspect Ryder Cups, Presidents Cups. And with guys like those on the team, yeah they are going to formidable opposition from now till I'm probably no longer playing Ryder Cups in hopefully 20 years.
@RyderCupUSA puts on a dominant performance! It was a great performance by @RyderCupUSA! Congratulations to all players, Vice Captains, and Captain @stevestricker. pic.twitter.com/Xc0AsFzet2 Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) September 26, 2021
Stricker was present that cold night in Scotland seven year ago, when Mickelson criticized Watson's captaincy in Gleneagles before the eight-time major champion. Mickelson later apologized to Watson, but maintained that he was not being fair. However, the impact was still felt.
Mickelson and others involved in the U.S. Ryder Cup effort became more frustrated at the lack of voice and the multitude of obligations. They desired a system that would allow them to build assistants and captains, and more collaboration.
Although it was ridiculed, a task force was eventually formed. It has always worked. It is Stricker's product. All of these teams have included Stricker. Maybe he was too comfortable after the 17-11 victory by the United States at Hazeltine five year ago.
That team was full of promise, with Johnson, Koepka, and Spieth. They were not the only team in Wisconsin. There were many players, including Mickelson and Zach Johnson, and Matt Kuchar. Reed was also close to or at the end their Ryder Cup run.
Stricker stated, "I believe [the task force] worked." "We continue to learn as we go. Sometimes, you just can't change the fact that it's not your team playing well. There are times when the captain does everything right. That's what I've seen too. The players, however, just haven't done it on the course.
"I believe we are constantly learning as we continue to play these and we'll be learning more after this week."
Next? Next, learn how to win on the road. It will be 30 years since the last time they won in Europe when the Americans arrive at Rome in 2023.
Spieth stated that "We had to win this one" and that it was a huge stepping stone for the team and the group of people that we have known since grade school. He also said that they will continue to work hard to get on these teams. It's one thing winning it over here. But it is much easier to do it over there.
"If we play as we did this week, it will be the same score over there in a few years." This is what we are here for.
Stricker will not be present, but it will be in the background. His voice is heavy.
Stricker stated, "This is a new age for USA golf."
He was obviously in tears.
