2014 Ryder Cup Recap

The Europeans bested the U.S.A. once again with a decisive victory in Ryder Cup 2014. We want to thank all of our fabulous Premier Golf clients for your unwavering support of our team. You showed a tremendous amount of class and enthusiasm for our squad. Again, thanks for making the trip across the pond and sorry we couldn’t return with that Cup. It was a fabulous week of pageantry, great golf and loud crowds that sent roars across the Perthshire countryside at Gleneagles Resort. This Ryder Cup will be remembered for its great organization, gigantic and well behaved crowds and the warm and hospitable Scottish people.

Here are some observations and musings from our last day at Ryder Cup 2014, the Sunday Singles Matches, when all twelve members of each team played:

• Amazingly there was no rain all week. While it got a bit breezy on a few days, the precipitation held off providing great conditions for both players and spectators.
• The cuisine at the food court included a lot of standard fare like fish and chips, hot dogs and hamburgers. However, there were a few items for adventurous diners such as: Scottish smoked salmon with cream cheese and chives, a hot dog topped with onions and Haggis, minted mushy peas, a pickled free-range egg and a slow roasted pork sandwich with smashed apples, sage and onion.
• The retail store at the Spectator Village had an amazing array of clothing and memorabilia for sale. It had just about everything you could imagine. They even had a goat (not a real one) selling for 95 pounds. Didn’t really see any takers on the goat…
• I stood along the ropes about 30 yards from the first tee for the singles match between Rory McIlroy and Rickie Fowler. The atmosphere was amazing. The crowd really got into the festivities with lots of songs and chants. Earlier, when Graeme McDowell first appeared on the tee, they serenaded him with “We’ve got G-Mac and You’ve Got Big Mac”, a subtle dig at Americana.
• One of the fun moments on the first tee before the singles matches is when the pony-tailed Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez showed up (he’s a European vice-captain). He got the crowd into a frenzy when he mimicked his gyrating warm-up routine.
• Patrick Reed hammed it up with the crowd and never looks intimidated. In fact, Reed was 3-0-1 in his Ryder Cup debut.
• While the U.S.A. may have lost again at Ryder Cup, the future looks very bright for 2016 at Hazeltine in Minnesota. Our youngsters, Jordan Spieth, Patrick Reed and Rickie Fowler all played well and with their added experience and home field advantage next time, hopefully, the results will be different.