It starts tomorrow and it has the makings of a very memorable event.
It's being played right after the death of the great Arnold Palmer. Arnie was a global ambassador for golf and was beloved in Britain and Europe, but it should inspire the Americans even more than they are already. The outpouring of grief and all the tributes to The King have been amazing this week as Golf Channel (co-founded by Palmer among his countless other accomplishments) has covered his passing almost non-stop and any golf fan and Arnie fan has to be moved. His death has hit me harder than that of anyone who wasn't in my family. Just a huge loss for the sport and really for the last remnants of the America we yearn for but which keeps slipping further away by the day.
The Americans have "home field" as this year's event is being played at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Medina, Minnesota outside the Twin Cities. The Europeans have been beating the Americans like clockwork for the past two decades. After the most recent defeat two years ago, Phil Mickelson publicly criticized the leadership of Tom Watson and in the aftermath all kinds of "task forces" and other changes have been made in an attempt to end the Euros' hegemony. So losing to the Europeans again, at home and right after the death of Arnold Palmer, will really leave a bitter taste.
And to make it even more interesting, Peter Willett, brother of '16 Masters champion Danny Willett, unleashed an epic anti-American rant (more of an anti-American DWF rant in reality) that will make the atmosphere even more charged for the three-day event. Don't know how much I'll get to watch between football and various obligations but it should be must-see TV for golf fans.
Here's Willett's rant (read down through the whole article to get the full extent of it): https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/golf...cup-storm-with-astonishing-rant-on-americans/
It's being played right after the death of the great Arnold Palmer. Arnie was a global ambassador for golf and was beloved in Britain and Europe, but it should inspire the Americans even more than they are already. The outpouring of grief and all the tributes to The King have been amazing this week as Golf Channel (co-founded by Palmer among his countless other accomplishments) has covered his passing almost non-stop and any golf fan and Arnie fan has to be moved. His death has hit me harder than that of anyone who wasn't in my family. Just a huge loss for the sport and really for the last remnants of the America we yearn for but which keeps slipping further away by the day.
The Americans have "home field" as this year's event is being played at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Medina, Minnesota outside the Twin Cities. The Europeans have been beating the Americans like clockwork for the past two decades. After the most recent defeat two years ago, Phil Mickelson publicly criticized the leadership of Tom Watson and in the aftermath all kinds of "task forces" and other changes have been made in an attempt to end the Euros' hegemony. So losing to the Europeans again, at home and right after the death of Arnold Palmer, will really leave a bitter taste.
And to make it even more interesting, Peter Willett, brother of '16 Masters champion Danny Willett, unleashed an epic anti-American rant (more of an anti-American DWF rant in reality) that will make the atmosphere even more charged for the three-day event. Don't know how much I'll get to watch between football and various obligations but it should be must-see TV for golf fans.
Here's Willett's rant (read down through the whole article to get the full extent of it): https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/golf...cup-storm-with-astonishing-rant-on-americans/
