Carlota Ciganda's Fairytale Solheim Cup Ending, Tiger Woods Caddies Charlie To Win, Bryson DeChambeau Wants A Phone Call, Early Ryder Cup Prediction
Well, if the Ryder Cup finish this weekend is a fraction as dramatic as the Solheim Cup's then we're in store for one hell of a weekend.
While it absolutely stung to see the U.S. come up half a point short of bringing the Solheim Cup back to the States, it was impossible not to appreciate Carlota Ciganda's heroics on her home soil in Spain. From a cold shank to burying Nelly Korda down the stretch, my goodness did she have herself a day.
Carlota Ciganda closed out the Solheim Cup for Europe in a movie-like scene. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)
In other news, Tiger Woods is walking. After the internet lost its mind seeing the big cat hit a couple of wedges at Liberty National earlier this month, Woods is back on an actual golf course as caddie for his son, Charlie. To the surprise of no one, Team Woods won the tournament over the weekend.
Speaking of winning, Bryson DeCahmbeau is back in the winner's circle after picking up a victory on LIV in Chicago. While the win is a solid story in and of itself, DeChambeau's comments about wanting a phone call from U.S. Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson is the biggest takeaway from his Sunday.
Ryder Cup week has finally arrived, and with the festivities beginning Friday, it's time to officially give a prediction and circle players I think could thrive or lay an egg in Rome.
Carlota Ciganda, Have A Day
You couldn't have written a more perfect ending to the Solheim Cup for Carlota Ciganda. The fact that she has struggled down the stretch in previous tournaments and hasn't won on the LPGA Tour since 2016 simply didn't matter; she was playing in her home country of Spain and was bound and determined to make her opportunity count.
All she did was go 4-0-0 for the week and be the woman to officially retain the cup for Team Europe.
Ciganda, the only Spaniard on the team, undoubtedly felt pressure throughout the week and certainly during her Sunday's singles match against Nelly Korda, but thrived when it mattered most.
The 15th, 16th, and 17th holes for Ciganda were pure mayhem on Sunday. On the 15th she hit a cold-hard shank with her approach shot and lost the hole to make the match tied with three to play. All Korda needed was a tie and a half-point in the match to win the cup for the U.S., but Ciganda simply didn't allow that to happen.
Somehow, some way she shook off the shank and threw a dagger into the Par 4 16th. Korda was in tight for birdie as well. But after missing her birdie chance, Ciganda seized the moment and took a one-up lead with two to play.
Then came the shot on the short Par 3 17th.
In a 45-minute span Ciganda shanked a shot to give real life to Korda then managed to follow it up with two approach shots with tap-in birdies with the Solheim Cup on the line in front of a home crowd is movie-like stuff.
While Ciganda deserves all the praise in the world, we can't close the door on the 2023 Solheim Cup without mentioning Caroline Hedwall. The Euro turned around a 3-down deficit on the back-nine on Sunday into a win over Ally Ewing to earn a full point for the winning side.
Tiger Woods The Caddie
A father caddying for his son is a very normal thing. When the father is Tiger Woods and the son is Charlie Woods it makes for a headline.
It's always awesome to see Team Woods out on the golf course together because it gives us a chance to see just how similar Charlie's swing and mannerisms are to his old man.
Charlie fired rounds of 71-66 with his dad on the bag.
One fellow caddie in the junior tournament reflected on what it was like to be out there alongside Woods. He had an unbelievable line too, saying "this will be a story my family talks about on my deathbed one day."
Bryson DeChambeau Wants A Phone Call
LIV Golf returned to action this week in Chicago, and Bryson DeChambeau was able to take it deep on Sunday to hold off Marc Leishman and Anirban Lahiri for a one-shot victory. DeChambeau has now earned two wins in just six weeks' time as he rounds out a sneaky solid season.
To go along with his two wins on the Saudi-backed circuit, the 30-year-old finished T-4 in the PGA Championship and T-20 in the U.S. Open. With his win coming less than a week before the Ryder Cup, DeChambeau reflected on the moment. He made it clear that he would have liked to at least have had a call with Johnson about the team.
Bryson DeChambeau wouldn't have minded a spot on the Ryder Cup team. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images)
“I am playing better than Winged Foot,” DeChambeu said, referencing his 2020 U.S. Open victory, per GOLF. “It would have been nice to at least just have a call. There’s numerous people that I think Zach should have called out here (on LIV), and we didn’t get that.
“I understand it. I get it, but we’re nothing different. We’re still competing. We’re still working super hard to be the best we possibly can be. Brooks is obviously going to kill it for Team USA next week and excited for the team. But yeah, it definitely does sting a little bit, but say what you want, we’re still golfers, and I personally think that given the way I played this week, I could have definitely racked up some points for Team USA. But that’s neither here nor there. As time has gone on, hopefully I’ll be in line for it in a couple years.”
DeChambeau ultimately finished 54th in U.S. team standings as he and every other LIV player could only earn points at major championships. It'll understandably be a tough - or at least weird - weekend for DeChambeau watching the U.S. team in Rome having been a part of each of the last two Ryder Cup teams.
An Early Ryder Cup Prediction, Standout Players For Both Sides
The U.S. Team hasn't gone to Europe and returned home with the Ryder Cup since 1993. That is the storyline heading into this year's event. You'll hear the tagline no less than 686 times throughout the week. While it'll get old rather quickly, it's history that you can not ignore or influence a prediction.
To put the U.S. drought in European Ryder Cups into perspective, of the 12 Americans on this year’s team, only six were alive when the U.S. last hoisted the cup in Europe. Of the six, 36-year-old Brian Harman may have been the only one not still in diapers.
READ: JUSTIN THOMAS ‘CONFIDENT’ U.S. RYDER CUP TEAM CAN END DROUGHT IN EUROPE, BUT ISN’T IGNORING HISTORY
Nevertheless, I'm going out of my own comfort zone of being a pessimist when it comes to all things Team USA in the Ryder Cup and predicting a comfortable win for the red, white, and blue.
When I say comfortable, I mean very comfortable, as in a 17-11 win for the U.S. It's rather obvious, but the only way a U.S. win happens is if the team gets out to a roaring start during Friday's sessions, which is exactly what I think happens.
Sam Burns is flying under the radar heading into the 2023 Ryder Cup. (Photo by Michael Wade/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
I think this group of Americans is sick of hearing the 'they just can't get it done in Europe' storyline and is a team full of players who will thrive among the raucous European crowd that's already written them off.
Typically playing with anger isn't a recipe for success on a golf course. But it will be for this group in Italy. Nothing about this team screams 'we just want to go win in Europe'. I think the mindset going in is 'we want to embarrass the Europeans on their own turf.'
Maybe I'm just being a typical, naive American. Or maybe I'm right and the U.S. puts on the show of all shows across the pond.
When it comes to standout players from each team, I've had the same two names circled for weeks now, and it's two players flying well under the radar.
Justin Rose has been nothing but dominant in past Ryder Cups. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)
Justin Rose simply isn't getting the respect he deserves heading into this event. It's likely to do with being 43 years old on a team filled with young stars. But all he's done over the years is go 7-2-1 in Ryder Cups, and been a thorn in America's side for 15 years now.
On the American side of things, give me Sam Burns to go unbeaten this week. While he's making his Ryder Cup debut, Burns has the ability to fill it up in a hurry. All while keeping things in check between the ears. He was not great in the Presidents Cup a year ago going 0-3-2. But I think he's out for a vengeance after that poor performance and will thrive on the biggest stage in team golf.
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