Europe’s Youth Experiment Didn’t Pay Off
Team Europe’s total of six rookies raised some red flags heading into the week at Hazeltine. This represented the largest rookie contingent for an away match since 1999, when the USA won at Brookline.
Despite Clarke backing up his men in the presser, some of his rookies failed to back him up on the course. When it counted most on singles day, the rookies went 2-4-0, far below the standard necessary to challenge the Americans.
Danny Willett (0-3-0) was disastrous, 22-year-old Matthew Fitzpatrick (0-2-0) failed to make crucial putts, Andy Sullivan (0-2-0) hid from the spotlight and Chris Wood (1-1-0) remained in the background. The only two (very) bright spots for the Europeans were Rafa Cabrera-Bello (2-0-1) and Thomas Pieters (4-1-0), who proved to be two of the team’s strongest players throughout the tournament.