American singles powered home on the final day of the 45th Ryder Cup. It was not enough to get them over the line but a big effort, just the same. The US golfers always do well in the singles format, have you noticed that? Whether it be Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup, when they are at it individually, they shine. For the perspicacious among us, this fits with their cultural messaging. In America, it is always about the individual rather than the group or community. America is singularly individual. Therefore, it adds up that they suck at Foursomes and even Fourballs to some extent.
“Ugly scenes broke out at golf’s Ryder Cup in the United States after a beer was launched from the crowd, almost hitting Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy and his wife, Erica.
Europe dominated at the New York course to retain the trophy, having claimed victory 13 out of 19 times since 1979.”
US Golfers Individually Struggle With Team Events
Europe is a team and the US are a bunch of individual golfers. A star team will always beat a team of star golfers. It did seem to get close on Sunday, however. Matchplay is a tough game and getting the points are no easy task. The American fans made their presence loudly felt and too many of them crossed the line as far as behaviour at an international golf tournament goes. Again, those abusive individuals in the crowd wanted to stand out. Do you see a bit of a theme here? For the individual it is always about them. They struggle to play any kind of supportive role. America is singularly individual.
Trump’s America Wrapping Selfish Losers In The Flag
Me, me, me is the name of the game for Americans. Donald Trump is making it USA against the world via his economic tariffs and foreign policy statements. I always wonder about the type of person who drapes themselves in their national flag? What are they really hiding? I mean, get a life loser! You spend 24/7 worrying about yourself and what you can get out of every opportunity and yet you play the patriot card. What is really going on there? I would ask these folks, ‘what have you ever done for your country?’ Dressing up in the stars and stripes don’t make you anything special. It does not confer any status upon you. Except making you look like a dick.
Golf Is Mostly A Solo Thing
Golf is primarily a singular pursuit. We do not play a lot of team events in club land. The individual goes about his or her golf unaided by others on most competitive days. Therefore, it makes sense that most golfers are this way inclined. Generally, it comes down to the solo performance of each golfer. This is why things like the biannual Ryder Cup are big events and well outside the usual run of things. Unfortunately, the fans, not all of them, but some, took things too far in their passionate rooting for the home team in New York. Throwing beer cans at player’s wives and abusing international golfers is not OK. Not sure, if these characters were really there for the golf or to cause trouble? Ugly Americans are loud and in your face. Like Donald Trump.
Scheffler & The Crowd Behaviour
Scottie Scheffler is a quiet guy and I reckon he was pretty horrified by the crowd behaviour at Bethpage Black. The whole thing would have been off-putting for all the competing golfers. If you compare the crowds from Rome with Bethpage Black the Europeans were loud but they were light and funny with it. The Americans, by contrast, had a nasty edge to it all and a tendency to take things too far. It was like some kind of war rather than a playful sporting contest. They brought their own partisan hateful flavour to this international golfing event and everyone suffered for it. America has real problems and Trump is making everything worse. White supremacist overtones permeate the words and actions of MAGA Republicans. I did not see many black faces in the Ryder Cup crowd, except for MJ.
Turning Away From America
The world will, and is, starting to turn away from the American ugliness perpetuated by the Trump regime. Nobody actually thinks that screwing poor people in favour of billionaires is a good thing. Few folk would agree with the excesses of ICE and the vile treatment of the labour force that was previously enticed to American farms and construction sites. I haven’t met anyone who reckons taking comediennes off the air because they make fun of the president is a good idea. The stench of corruption surrounds Trump everywhere you look. Donald Trump is an infamous golf cheat and he dares to front up at the Ryder Cup as some sort of inspirational factor. It has been a decade of freak show global interest in Trump but we are all tiring of the ugliness.
America is singularly individual. One of the key reasons behind this cultural messaging over decades is that it is easier to control lone rangers. If you make people think it is all down to them they don’t complain so much when they get shafted. The fact that the odds are heavily stacked against them in favour of the sons and daughters of the very wealthy, like Donald Trump, is invariably downplayed. The old ‘pulling yourself up by your bootstraps’ furphy is embedded deeply in their cultural psyche. This is why they slander and fight against unions because there is strength in numbers. The GOP bangs on about individual rights all the time, whilst being run by the super wealthy. Reagan, Bush and Trump are a succession of wealthy agents and sons for the oligarchs who control America. The other mob are not much better, of course. It is a rigged game from start to finish. Golf is traditionally a game favoured by the powerful and wealthy. Old white men knocking a small ball around on manicured real estate.
Show Me The Money!
“What a surprise? There is a brouhaha over money involving elite men’s golf and the Ryder Cup. The split over money: Europe vs Team USA. The European players are happy to play for their nations, whilst the Americans want to be paid for their time. This is a crystal clear illustration of the different cultures at play here at the top of world golf. The fact that Donald Trump is skulking around somewhere paints a further mercenary picture of the stars and stripes approach to life. Putting aside the fact that these American players earn squillions of dollars via their elite golfing performances on their tours, it is a very real reflection of the lack of respect in which they hold their institutions and governing bodies.”
Robert Sudha Hamilton is the author of The Stoic Golfer; Money Matters and America Matters: Pre-apocalyptic Posts & Essays in the Shadow of Trump.
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