While the 2016 Ryder Cup was not as one-sided as the 2021 edition at Whistling Straits, it is fair to say that the trip to Hazeltine may not be remembered too fondly by some of the European team.
Europe went into 2016 looking to win the Ryder Cup for a fourth time in a row, while the Americans were looking to atone for what happened at Medinah four years earlier – with Davis Love III getting another shot at captaincy. Unfortunately for Darren Clarke, Europe endured an extremely tough week.
USA won the opening session 4-0. And when they also won 3-1 on Saturday afternoon, Love III’s men had a 9.5-6.5 lead. Another Medinah was required if Europe were going to continue their incredible run.
Of course, USA would extend their lead. Patrick Reed was sensational as he beat Rory McIlroy in the opening game of the singles. And Ryan Moore would be the man to seal the winning point in just the seventh match of the session.
Danny Willett reflects on making his Ryder Cup debut in 2016
Danny Willett made his debut in the event that week. It would prove to be a disappointing occasion for The Masters champion, as he lost all three matches he featured in. And speaking to Life on Tour, Willett explained why Europe were facing such an uphill battle at that particular Ryder Cup.
“That ’16 team that we had was a really strange team, we had four or five rookies, but four or five rookies who’d never played in America,” he said.
“So it wasn’t just four or five; the rookies that you’ve had for the last few years, they’ve come out of college, they’ve played three or four years in college, they’ve played PGA Tour, they are far from being a rookie. Whereas I think when, back in the day, when I was there, a lot of the young Europeans, like myself, we only played World Golf Championships, majors, we’d not been over there loads. So to actually play an American golf course that is that biased to hitting it that far back then, I just think there was a few of us that were just not quite ready and not quite used to it.”
How each European rookie performed at Hazeltine
In fact, Europe had six rookies on the team that week in Minnesota. In fairness, they did not all struggle as much as Willett did. Both Matthew Fitzpatrick and Andy Sullivan also failed to win a single point – though both men only featured in two matches.
Chris Wood also only featured in two games, but did win alongside Justin Rose in the Saturday foursomes.
The two shining lights – arguably of the entire European team – were Rafa Cabrera-Bello and Thomas Pieters. Cabrera-Bello was the one European who went unbeaten, winning 2.5 points from three matches. He also played a crucial role in the fightback on Friday afternoon alongside Sergio Garcia.
And Pieters was actually the leading points scorer on either team, as he won four of his five matches. It was an amazing return for one of Clarke’s captain’s picks.
What is particularly remarkable – and certainly backs up Willett’s comments – is the fact that just one of the six rookies has featured in another Ryder Cup, with Fitzpatrick playing in the last two.
It is little surprise that Europe have since altered the qualification structure, with more points generally awarded for performances on the PGA Tour than the DP World Tour.
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