Playing on a Ryder Cup team is the pinnacle of most golfers’ careers.
Some elite players may prefer to win majors and that’s fair enough, but nothing quite gets the blood pumping more than the Ryder Cup.
The upcoming clash between the United States and Europe at Bethpage Black is one of the most eagerly anticipated contests in the history of the competition.
The New York crowd at Bethpage will create a hostile Ryder Cup environment for the European team.
However, Luke Donald and his players will be fired up for the 45th edition of the competition.
The 24 players on both the US and European teams will all be desperate to win the Ryder Cup later this month.
However, there was one American player who didn’t care much for the competition at all and he made that very clear 23 years ago.
11-time PGA Tour winner slammed the Ryder Cup as ‘the most overblown thing’
Scott Hoch was a very successful golfer during his time in the game.
He won 11 PGA Tour events and recorded 15 top-10 finishes in major championships throughout his career.
Hoch also played on two Ryder Cup teams – in 1997 at Valderrama and 2002 at The Belfry.
And 23 years ago, Hoch opened up on how overrated he found the Ryder Cup to be, as quoted by the Edwardsville Intelligencer.
“I thought it was the most overblown thing I’d ever been a part of,“ Hoch said. “This is what all this buildup was for? I was hacked off that I put so much emphasis all those other years trying to make the team.
“It’s a great event, but I think the press, the PGA of America, the PGA of Europe, and TV have made it much bigger and much more inflammatory than it should be. It’s designed to be competition. It’s about players and country.“
What a bizarre take on the Ryder Cup from Hoch. Perhaps his attitude is the reason why the Americans have struggled over the last 30 years, with Team Europe having won 10 out of the past 14 meetings.
The general consensus is that the Ryder Cup means a lot more to the European players than it does to the Americans.
Keegan Bradley and his players will be desperate to dispel that myth at Bethpage next month, though.
Scott Hoch labelled St Andrews as the ‘absolute worst course’ he’s ever played
Hoch is clearly no stranger to controversy.
Back in 1996, he withdrew from The Open Championship at Royal Lytham St. Annes because he ‘wasn’t interested’ in playing in Britain.
Hoch said: “I’m not interested. My wife doesn’t want to go back either. The main thing I dislike about it is that you go from nice conditions here to cold, windy, rainy weather. I don’t care for that. If you don’t really want to be there, you’re probably not going to play well.“
The American then described St Andrews as ‘absolutely the worst course I’ve ever played’, after his appearance there in the 1995 Open.
Hoch said: “All it needs is some sheep and goats and cows. I think some of them have died and they’ve just covered them over.“
It’s little wonder the American wasn’t one of the most popular players!
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