American Hunter Mahan denies the bonding among the European Team has been the key to the overwhelming success in recent Ryder Cup encounters.
The European Team will step out onto Gleneagles later this week seeking to capture an seventh Ryder Cup in the past nine matches.
Much has been written and spoken about the key to Europe’s domination since 2002 and with the majority singling out the bonding between the European Team.
Hunter Mahan disputes Europe’s Ryder Cup domination results from better team bonding. (Photo – www.golfbytourmiss.com)
However Mahan, who is representing the USA Team for a third occasion, does not believe this notion and stating in the two prior teams he was a member he believes there was no less bonding than what would be present in the European side.
“You try to watch past ones and see if there’s anything and some people say it’s because Europe are a tighter-knit group but then I would
dispute that,” said Mahan.
“I feel like our guys have always been pretty tight. I’m not sure if it’s the — I think sometimes, it seems like other times maybe Europe always
seems to be the underdog, and they always kind of really — I mean, they really use that almost as a rallying cry between one another and there’s
something to prove.
“And maybe the U.S. has played tight because they’ve had such great teams and such unbelievable players on the teams. They don’t play
as loose as Europe, and Europe is just out there firing away. At times it looks like they’re having more fun. I remember, in ’99, Sergio is running around and Jesper and these guys are just letting loose, like they’ve got nothing to lose. I think we’ve started to do
that a little more, started to buy into The Ryder Cup emotion and I think we’ve played better.
“In 2008, I remember Zinger was all about that, all about using the 13th man, all about using the crowd and everybody to use that emotion as a great thing and just feel it and use it. I think maybe, like I said, in 2012, I thought they played great, the team played
great, just came up a little bit short.
“But you know, I don’t think it’s a team bonding thing. I think we are bonding great this week and having a great time and partnerships have been great. I think everybody has a great idea of who they’re going to play with this week, which I think is big. I don’t know, I think
everyone’s so relaxed with one another.
“There’s just absolutely no tension in the team rooms. We are just so excited and eager to play.”
And the 32-year old Texan who captured the recent Barclays Championship was asked about Paul McGinley’s comment of a European Team ‘template’ that’s been around for a while and gets tweaked ever so slightly at each Ryder Cup.
“A template? I think it’s important to kind of get your groups early and really start working that bond. It’s hard to bond 12 guy together,
but it’s a lot easier to bond two or three guys together and play with each other and develop that chemistry and that communication,” he responded.
“It’s hard to play with somebody you haven’t played with all week, and now all of a sudden play on Friday and try to learn how
they play, the pace they play and kind of what they want from you. Every player wants something different. Some guys, they don’t want to talk to you at all.
“They just want to stay in their own game and that’s perfect, that’s perfectly fine. Finding a good rapport with somebody, understanding what they want out of you and what you want out of them; like I said, getting that close bond between three or four guys is a lot easier than 12. We all want to get to know one another but that’s hard to do in such a short amount of time. I just like the process that
Zinger had.
“It was so easy for us to know who we were going to play with, and we played with each other every day, and kind of ate with one another and
just felt this incredible chemistry in a short amount of time and felt great.
“That’s what this week feels like. Feels like everybody is in tune with one another and developing great relationships very quickly.”
