ROME — Who is the favorite at the 44th Ryder Cup between Europe and USA? It depends who you ask.
During Team USA Captain Zach Johnson’s press conference on Tuesday, an Italian journalist asked him why the media has tabbed the Americans the favorite to retain the Cup and win on European soil for the first time in 30 years.
“The media is saying we are the favorites? Well, the media knows everything, so that makes sense,” he said with a wry smile.
Despite the U.S. having won the biennial bash two years ago at home at Whistling Straits by the largest margin in the modern era, Johnson has been adamant his team is the underdog. He argued playing on the road places the U.S. at a disadvantage and singled out the role of the 13th man for Team Europe.
“It’s hard to win outside of your comfort zone,” Johnson said. “The way I see it when it comes to favorites or this, that or the other, we are not the favorites when we step onto the first tee because of the crowd. We are not the favorites because of what’s happened and transpired over the last so-many-odd years, and they have got a really, really good team playing well. So, hey, I love that. Our backs are against the wall, and that’s the way we are going to approach it.”
NBC lead analyst Paul Azinger, who was the winning U.S. captain at home in 2008, said he couldn’t believe the U.S. is being judged as the favorite.
“The Euros are the favorite by a mile,” Azinger said. “They have the home course advantage, and that’s becoming a huge thing.
“This is an emotional event for the players,” he continued. “It means the world to them. I think for Europe it’s immeasurable what it means for them to win the Ryder Cup. I think it’s more measurable for the Americans. I always feel that Europe should be the favorite in these events.”
Max Homa is a Ryder Cup rookie, but he didn’t hesitate in naming the Euros the favorite based on history alone.
“It’s almost impossible to think we’re the favorite just considering we haven’t won (on European soil) in 30 years,” Homa said. “I would imagine it is very even. It would be impossible to say we are some glaring favorites considering how great their team is and our lack of success over there.”
But European Team Captain Luke Donald has staked claim to being the underdog too and pushed back that the U.S. are the favorites. Donald cited the bookies as naming the Americans the favorites.
“If you look at betting forecasts, we would be the underdogs, and we’re fine with that. Americans are very strong,” he said. “Obviously they are coming off an amazing win two years ago, but I have full faith in our team.”
Speaking with Golfweek recently in Napa, Johnson compared the talk of who is the favorite to mattering about as much as college football’s preseason polls.
“This is one tournament, this is like one game, the first game of the year and in preseason polls who gets all the love? Well, it’s Alabama, Georgia, USCs and Texas, the big schools because they win. And Europe has won a lot over there,” Johnson said. “Plus their best players are playing really good. The guys that qualified for the team are playing great. So I think there’s a lot of truth in the matter that it’s hard to win over there. They usually rise to the occasion and on paper, they’re really good.”
Perhaps the most interesting part of this debate over who is the favorite is how each captain is seeking that mental edge. Has traditionally being labeled the favorite been a burden to Team USA that Johnson is attempting to minimize. Homa mused, “I guess both sides are doing it (touting themselves as the underdog) to take some pressure off.”
Padraig Harrington, who was captain at Whistling Straits, has his own theory that touches on the mental aspect of the competition and the pressure of expectations.
“We go to try to win the Ryder Cup, whereas the U.S. tries not to lose it,” he said. “Because they’re favorites, because they should win, they’re afraid, whereas we’re the country cousins. We have a point to prove. Even if we did find oil in our backyard, we’d still have a point to prove.”
And to Azinger it all adds up to a 1 percent advantage to the Europeans.
“I always looked at the Ryder Cup, in my generation, my era, as being razor thin. I would compare it to being in Vegas. There’s only a 1 percent advantage in blackjack, but they’re building some pretty nice hotels on it.”
