and there were the normal players who were overlooked. One of the reasons for allowing six Captain’s picks was to assure the hottest players, could be granted spots on the team. No one, except for Viktor Hovland, was playing better than Lucas Glover, who won two consecutive events in August. He won the final event of the regular season, the Wyndham Championship and then added the first FedEx Cup Playoff tournament, the FedEx St. Jude Championship, for back-toback victories. Glover ended the season just shy of the number of points necessary to automatically qualify for the team and was not chosen as a Captain’s pick by Zach Johnson. Instead, Johnson chose Justin Thomas, who had a less than spectacular year. Thomas was not much of a factor in the Ryder Cup earning a grand total of 1.5 points for the American Team. Patrick Cantlay created more drama and disruption during Ryder Cup week by complaining about not receiving compensation for his Ryder Cup participation. He actively demonstrated by refusing to wear a cap during play and many feel his actions created a huge rift in the team dynamic. With all the drama surrounding Team USA, the European Team did what they always do, they bonded and beat the Americans handily. Led by Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland they swept the first session 4-0. Team USA only managed three halves in the afternoon session. The Europeans led by 3.5 points after the first day and never looked back. For the eighth time in the last 11 Ryder Cups, the Americans were vanquished by a final score 16.5-11.5. Rory McIlroy keeps up the Good Fight When the LIV began luring top players like, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Patrick Reed and later Cam Smith to the rival tour with gigantic monetary
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