It seems almost impossible to call which team is going to emerge victorious at the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black, with both the USA and Europe having numerous reasons to be confident.
Of course, Europe are the defending champions and have arrived in New York with 11 of the 12 players who won in Rome in 2023. They also have the same captain in Luke Donald.
But the USA will be looking to make the event as intimidating for the visitors as possible. Donald Trump is set to attend on Friday morning, while the crowd at Bethpage are expected to create an incredible atmosphere.
Keegan Bradley can also call upon the best player in the world in Scottie Scheffler.
What the Europeans always do better than Team USA at the Ryder Cup
However, there is one part of the event where Europe will almost certainly have the upper hand, according to Tony Finau.
Finau made his debut at the Ryder Cup in 2018, hitting the opening tee shot at Le Golf National. He was also part of the American team who won by a record margin at Whistling Straits three years later.
But despite the success in Wisconsin, Finau admitted to Straight Facts Homie that Padraig Harrington‘s men put the home side to shame when asked about the celebrations.
“I hate to ruin the vibe here, but to be honest with you, the Europeans party way better than the Americans. Like way better, it doesn’t matter if they win or lose, you feel like you think they won,” he said.
“The party is at the European side, and that’s just point blank. Even when we won in ’21, it was an amazing vibe, we had a great time, but the party was on the European side. If you want to have a good time, that’s where the party is at. Even though we have guys who party, and we had Xander with the cigar and stuff, the real party is on that side.
“We’ve got to up our game in terms of celebrating, there’s no question. But that’s a good problem to have. At the end of the day, I hate to disappoint people, but the Americans don’t party and celebrate nearly as well as the Europeans. If you guys didn’t know that, that’s just a fact.”
Why the 2021 Ryder Cup was such a significant week for Team Europe despite their record defeat
Finau’s comments certainly play into the idea that the players representing Europe have a better bond than their opponents. For many years, the Europeans were galvanised by the fact that they were the underdogs. And that chip on their shoulder has not gone anywhere.
The 2021 event was such a disappointment for the Europeans. But they did have reason to celebrate, with a couple of legendary players well aware that they had potentially made their final appearances in the event.
Lee Westwood was 48 years of age while Ian Poulter was 45. Paul Casey and Sergio García had both passed their 40th birthdays too. And Westwood was emotional after his match with Harris English on Sunday.
There was speculation about a new league starting up in the near future. And a number of players may have known of the controversy making the jump would cause.
With that, those veterans who sensed their time on the Ryder Cup stage was potentially over may have wanted to make the most of the party afterwards despite the scoreline.
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