European Ryder Cup Team Believes Its Camaraderie Is an Edge Over U.S.

Even with four rookies among their 12, the sense on the European team is that its togetherness could make the difference in yet another home-soil victory.

SURREY, England — The prevalent theme has always been that the Europeans want the Ryder Cup more than the Americans.

That would be hard to tell that if you looked at the history of the Cup, where the USA has dominated 27-14-2, but since 1995 the Europeans have closed the gap in winning nine of 13 editions.

This year's youngest European Ryder Cupper, Ludvig Aberg, is starting to see why after traveling with the team on a scouting trip to Rome and Marco Simone Golf and Country Club.

“So just kind of getting to know them outside the golf course was a lot of fun,” Aberg said Wednesday at the BMW PGA Championship. ”I think that's what separates us Europeans, the European team a little bit from the American side, where we have that camaraderie.”

Tommy Fleetwood and Luke Donald were captains at the Hero Cup earlier this year, now Fleetwood is on Donald's Ryder Cup team and the camaraderie is said to be strong :: Oisin Keniry/Getty Images

With four rookies on the European team, this year could be viewed as a transition period, but the Euros see it more as an opportunity—even an adventure—with no concerns.

“It's exciting,” Rory McIlroy said. “Start with Rosey (Justin Rose) and Shane (Lowry) and myself, the three oldest on the team, which is amazing to say. I felt like the 12 of us are on the same level, there's no type of hierarchy on the team.”

McIlroy can remember his first Ryder Cup in 2012 at Medinah, where he was the No. 1 player in the world with two majors in the previous two years and didn’t feel like he could speak in the team room.

He sees 2023 differently with this group of 12, as all interests are aligned toward a common goal: to win the Cup back and continue what has been a 30-year winning streak on home soil.

As you would expect, he’s not alone.

“You have players that have more experience, but there's no hierarchy,” Jon Rahm said. “On this team, we're all the same. It's all for one and one for all. That's kind of how it is. We are all there to accomplish the same goal. We are all part of the same team, and what you've done before and what you might do after that week, doesn't matter at all.”

European Ryder Cup lineage is all about either bringing the Cup back to Europe or keeping it on this side of the Atlantic.

In 2002, the Ryder Cup was held for the fourth and final time at the Belfry, a potato farm. It was a similar circumstance to this year in that the Europeans lost a gut-wrencher the previous time out in 1999 at the Country Club, with the U.S. storming back in singles to win 14.5 to 13.5.

The loss was hard to take on many levels, but with a four-point lead going into the singles, the Euros felt good about their chances on Sunday.

It’s hard to comprehend Europe's 10-point loss in 2021 as gut-wrenching, but the sheer embarrassment of the 19-9 defeat two years ago at Whistling Straits made it so.

In 2002, on the first day of Ryder Cup week, Thomas Bjorn, who would be a captain 16 years later in France, talked about the importance of the Ryder Cup and being victorious.

“We have a lot of responsibility on our shoulders to make the European Tour grow, and a lot comes with this tournament,” Bjorn said. “And we put a lot trying to give something back to our Tour by trying to win this tournament. And that's just been, since the time of the Faldos, Seves, that's just been the trademark of those players, that they wanted this so bad, and that's just brought down through the ranks of the guys that play in this team now that it's very, very important to us.”

Bjorn went on to say that golf careers are made by winning the Cup, a belief never expressed by any American player.

Europe won 15.5 to 12.5 in 2002, starting a 7-3 run coming into this year.

“I don't think any of these guys need their hand held in any way,” McIlroy said. “I'd rather them look across to me than look up at me if that makes sense. That's the way I'd hope they see me in that way. We are all part of a 12-man team and we are all trying to do our bit, and certainly no one is more important than anyone else.”