Where the likes of Tommy Fleetwood, Francesco Molinari and Jon Rahm are properly hailed for their fine play during Europe’s triumphant march to victory outside Paris two years ago, six members of the preceding Old World side have seen themselves lost in the shuffle to varying degrees. Victims of circumstance—or a law of averages that inevitably produces an occasional United States victory—their unfortunate fate noted only by golf’s geekiest followers. They are mere footnotes, asterisks amid an overwhelming tide of recent European success (11-5-1 in the biennial affair since 1985).

Chris Wood. Rafa Cabrera-Bello. Matthew Fitzpatrick. Danny Willett. Andy Sullivan. Thomas Pieters. All were part of captain Darren Clarke’s team four years ago, one that went down, 17-11, to a powerful American team led by Davis Love III. But none of the six retained their places as Europe, under Thomas Bjorn’s captaincy, regained the trophy two years on.

And don’t imagine any of them are not well aware of their collective place in Ryder Cup history. While making the 12-strong side is surely a pressing ambition for just about every European golfer, for Wood, Cabrera-Bello, Fitzpatrick, Willett, Sullivan and Pieters, a second appearance would bring with it the possibility of a fulfilling redemption.

All six, no matter how many points they did or did not accumulate in Minnesota, admit to having unfinished business with the biennial battle. Not one, not even Pieters, who won four and lost only one of his five matches, looks back on his ultimate experience with anything other than a feeling of deflation. And within each man lurks a deep desire to heal a festering wound.

“I ended up massively gutted that I didn’t score a point,” says Sullivan, his reaction typical. “And massively disappointed that my career hasn’t kicked on from there. I’ve had trouble moving on, to be honest. It took me until the back end of last year to start playing good again. I’m not saying that was all down to what happened at Hazeltine, but it was definitely a big part.”

Matthew Fitzpatrick, Danny Willett and Andy Sullivan couldn’t hide their frustrations as Team Europe’s chances for victory at Hazeltine were slipping away.

Which is hardly a new phenomenon, of course. Oliver Wilson was part of the losing European team in 2008 at Valhalla, a fact that had an ultimately negative effect on the Englishman’s career. Twice in the intervening years, he has lost his European Tour card.

“It’s a black and white thing,” Wilson says. “I still look on the Ryder Cup as the best week of my golfing life. Even if it wasn’t the incredible experience more recent teams have had. Any loss for Europe sticks out because we have done so well generally. But what is the same is that, whether you win or lose as a player in that environment, you come away thinking you never want to miss another one. That actually cost me. At the end of 2009, I turned down my PGA Tour card because I thought I wouldn’t be able to play both tours and still qualify for the 2010 Ryder Cup. If I hadn’t done that, my career today would be in a very different place.”

Still, perhaps no one has ever suffered more during and after a losing Ryder Cup experience than Willett. In 2016, the then-Masters champion was subjected to all kinds of vitriolic abuse in the wake of his older brother, Peter, penning a magazine column many felt was insulting to America and Americans. At the post-match press conference, the younger Willett summed up his feelings, his despair epitomized by a 5-and-4 trouncing administered by Brooks Koepka in the singles.

“S**t,” was Willett’s succinct response.

Asked to expand, he did so.

“Really s**t.”

“It took me a while to play well after Hazeltine,” Willett says now. “But I think our collective fate is natural in a way. No one wants to remember losers. The course was set up for the Americans. It was long and wide open. Plus, I wasn’t playing that well going in, which was unfortunate, and my main issue regardless of anything else that went on. If I had been playing well, things would have been a lot better.”

RELATED: U.S. captain Steve Stricker sees his 2020 Ryder Cup challenge with clear eyes

Ah, but that isn’t necessarily true. Despite the success he enjoyed in tandem with Rory McIlroy and his 3-and-2 victory over J.B. Holmes in the singles, Pieters’ memories of the week remain clouded.

“I get that we have been a little bit forgotten in the middle of so much success,” Pieters says. “Plus, first time round, you don’t really feel part of it. I didn’t really know what was going on. But my motivation to return is unaffected. I so want to play again, then again and again.”

There were good moments for Team Europe, as Thomas Pieters went 4-1 on the week, and Chris Wood and Rafa Cabrera-Bello pulled out team wins.

Pieters’ point about the role of most rookies is well made. Another thing the “Hazeltine Six” have in common—with the possible exception of Willett—is that they arrived as the bottom half of Clarke’s side. Not many were expected to play more than three times in the five series of matches.

“It can be a bit of a shock to the system,” says Andrew Coltart, who played under Mark James’ captaincy in a losing European effort at Brookline in 1999. “You make your first Ryder Cup team by playing well. So you get there thinking you are going to play three games, maybe four. Then you end up being out there only twice. That’s a bit of a kick in the crotch. You play only once before the singles, just to make sure you get a game before Sunday. Maybe, like me, you play only in the singles. Whatever, you are very aware of your place in the scheme of things. It’s never said out loud, but you have a relatively minor role. And that can be a blow to your confidence going forward. Especially if you are part of what turns out to be a losing team.”

The news hasn’t been all bad, though. Cabrera-Bello was widely viewed as unlucky not to merit one of Bjorn’s three captain’s picks in 2018 and is a strong contender to make his return this year. Fitzpatrick is even more likely to qualify. The baby-faced Englishman is off to a strong start in his effort to put behind him the memories of Hazeltine.

“Maybe only Fitz and Rafa have gone on to play anything like their best in the last four years, and they didn’t make the 2018 team either,” Sullivan says. “The rest of us have ‘softened’ up.”

Not Fitzpatrick, though. Mention Ryder Cup in his presence and the 25-year-old Yorkshireman almost immediately becomes animated. He is clearly a man with a score to settle.

“It’s not just that we lost,” he says. “My biggest disappointment was playing only once other than the singles. I could have been picked for four games and only got one. That wasn’t a great experience. Maybe I built it up too much in my mind, both when trying to qualify and after I did actually make the team. The event itself turned out to be disappointing because of that.

“Going forward, I am focusing on playing well for myself,” Fitzpatrick continues. “And if that is good enough to make the team, then great. I spoke to Rory, and he said the same thing: play well for yourself, and the team is a bi-product of that. What I do know is that if I play like I did last year, I will be in the team.”

Tim Clayton – Corbis
Captain Clarke’s spare use of several first-timers at Hazeltine remains a sour point.

Sadly for them, the same cannot be said of either Wood or Sullivan. The former has just returned to the tour after a long-term injury to his wrist and neck, and the latter is nowhere near the form that saw him qualify four years ago. Neither looks back on their Hazeltine experience with any great fondness.

“I was standing with Fitzy on Wednesday night when we were told we weren’t playing Friday morning,” Wood says. “It was hard to take. I played one foursome and a single, and I was the best putter on the team. That was disappointing. But in Darren’s defense he wrote me a really nice letter afterwards. He realized I was playing well and was under-used.

“Playing on a losing team does add to the motivation to get back in,” he continues. “We have been brushed under the carpet in a way. Other guys have taken our places. And that hurts. But that is professional sport. It is ruthless, which is as it should be. We got sent a couple of boxes of stuff after the matches. In one was a replica of the Ryder Cup. I’m dead proud that I’ve played in one. And I have it on display. But every time I look at it, I know it wasn’t a winning Ryder Cup. It’s odd really. You don’t often get trophies for losing.”

Keyur Khamar/PGA Tour
The 2016 European team was the first to lose to the U.S. since 2008 and only the third to lose the Ryder Cup since 1993.

Still, there was at least one moment of light relief for one member of the Wood family.

“Playing in a Ryder Cup in the States isn’t a lot of fun,” says Chris. “My wife was getting abuse during my match with Dustin [Johnson]. They were shouting some really unpleasant things. But my Dad had it worked out. He was walking alongside Paulina [Gretzky] quite a lot. My Mum was a few yards behind.”

A rare smile then amidst a prevailing mixture of frustration and distress. History, they say, is always written by the winners. But equally, it is never forgotten by the losers.

The post The Hazeltine Six: Europe’s 2016 Ryder Cup rookies still feel the pain of a disappointing loss appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By E. Michael Johnson
Hannah Green felt Hazeltine National G.C.’s bite as she bogeys three holes in a four-hole stretch to turn a nice cushion into a precarious one, but parred the final six holes to win the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship by one shot over defending champion Sung Hyun Park.

To say Green is an unlikely champion would be an understatement. Take away two top-10 finishes in her homeland of Australia and she would have none in her other 33 starts on the LPGA tour. She has just one top-10 this year (a T-10 in her second start of the season), and missed the cut in her last event, which might have led to her win at Hazeltine.

“When I missed the cut [last week], on Saturday and Sunday, I really worked hard on my ball-striking, on the range for quite a long time,” she said after the third round.

It showed. Through 62 holes, Green only endured three bogeys on her card, courtesy of a solid tee-to-green game, which included hitting 17 of 18 greens during a third-round 70. For the week she hit 52 of 72 for a 72.22 per cent clip.

Green’s irons are Srixon’s Z 785—a forged cavity-back made from 1020 carbon steel. The set features compact-sized short irons and progressive sole widths along with extra mass behind the hitting area to promote a soft feel. The sole design also changes through the set to match the attack angles of long and short irons. Her sand wedge that she used for the winning up-and-down from the bunker on the 72nd hole is a Cleveland RTX-4.

“I’ve been getting lucky but I guess winners do get lucky,” she said. “You need to take it while you can.” And on Sunday, she did just enough to take the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. Unlikely as it might have been.

What Hannah Green had in the bag at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship

Ball: Srixon Z-Star

Driver: Srixon Z 785, 10.5 degrees

3-wood: Srixon Z F85, 15 degrees

Hybrid: Srixon Z H85, 19 degrees

Irons (4-PW): Srixon Z 785

Wedges: Cleveland RTX-4 (50, 54, 58 degrees)

Putter: Ping Sigma G Darby

The post Winner’s Bag: Hannah Green’s clubs at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Keely Levins
On Saturday night, Hannah Green, a relative unknown from Australia, was leading the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Hazeltine National, same as the Wikipedia-less LPGA pro had been after the first and second rounds. You might be asking, why didn’t we write a piece explaining who exactly is the 22-year-old days ago? Well, honestly, few necessarily expected her to remain in this position, one stroke ahead of former LPGA player of the year Ariya Jutanugarn and three strokes up on Lizette Salas and Nelly Korda. Players who have never contended in a major championship sometimes pop up into the lead, but they don’t usually stay there.

Hannah Green has proven that she is not such a story.

The way that she has handled herself during the opening three rounds, you’d have thought she’d been here before. She missed just one green on her way to a two-under 70 on Saturday to get to nine under for the championship. Since she hasn’t actually been here—specifically, holding the 54-hole lead of a major—before, and as such has stayed out of the LPGA spotlight, we’ll share a bit of what we know.

Green grew up in Perth, and like every young Australian player, calls Karrie Webb her idol. In 2015, Green attended the U.S. Women’s Open at Lancaster Country Club as a recipient of Webb’s scholarship. Each year, Webb brings the two top amateur players from Australia with her to a tournament to give the young players a look at what the LPGA Tour is like.

“That was my first time seeing Karrie play in-person,” Green said of the 2015 journey. “I had seen her play on TV multiple times. You never see what the shots are like in-person, especially that week there was a lot of long holes, just seeing her, how well—how good she hits it. I think that’s what she was pretty much known for in her career. Just how you see that in-person and for her to be in contention in the U.S. Open, that was even more amazing to see all the crowds and see how she handles herself.”

That experience has come full circle, as Green is staying in a house this week with Webb and the two current scholarship winners.

The methodical, composed manner that Green walks around the course with is the same way she handles herself in the press room. Though she has experience winning on the Symetra Tour (three wins in 2017, earning rookie-of-the-year honours), she’s never won an LPGA event and never led a major (her best finish this season is a T-10 at the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open).

Green talks humbly about how she feels like she’s gotten some lucky breaks this week, but exudes steady confidence and self-aware humour. Even when she came into the press room after her third round, her lead down from three, she was the same as she’d been all week.

Reigning LPGA player-of-the-year Aryia Jutanugarn is winless so far in 2019, but just one back. (Streeter Lecka/PGA of America)

As calm as Green appears, there’s no denying that finishing on Sunday as the champion will be a difficult task. Just one off Green’s lead is Jutanugarn, already is a two-time major winner and a 10-time LPGA champion, but she is still seeking her first LPGA title in 2019. The 22-year-old Thai native’s best finish so far is T-3 at the LOTTE Championship.

Green spoke about the intimidation factor of playing with Jutanugarn, one of the longest players on the LPGA Tour. Jutanugarn averaged 291 yards off the tee on Saturday, hitting only 3-wood as she didn’t carry a driver for the round.

Nelly Korda is starting to come into her own in 2019. (Jamie Squire)

Four shots behind Green are Salas and Korda. Salas, 29, has won once on the LPGA Tour, the 2014 Kingsmill Championship. Korda, 20, has won twice on tour, including the 2019 ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open. Both Americans are T-5 in fairways hit this week, hitting 79 per cent of the fairways in their first three rounds.

Behind them, there are seven players within six shots of the lead, three already having won major championships (Sung Hyun Park, Danielle Kang and Inbee Park). As calm and cool Green is, she knows that she’s on the precipice of something big, but that there are plenty of people around her trying to achieve the same thing.

“I’ve said all week I’ve been getting lucky but I guess winners do get lucky,” Green said. “You need to take it while you can and I know, yes, I have thought about the outcome tomorrow come the 18th hole. I think I just need to keep my cool and just have fun out there and embrace it. If it does come to me winning I want to make sure I remember and have fun. I don’t want to be miserable and sick during the round.”

The post Who is Hannah Green and how is she still leading the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship? appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Sam Weinman
The sad story of Lucas Glover’s domestic dispute last week prompted John Feinstein, best-selling author and Golf Digest contributing editor, to write this poignant column about the complicated personal lives of professional athletes.

The underlying premise? Even with outsized talents, athletes face many of the same personal struggles as everyone else.

To further the point on this week’s Golf Digest Podcast, Feinstein relayed the story of a brief exchange he had with Patrick Reed in the aftermath of Reed’s Masters win.

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WATCH NOW: MASTERS CHAMP PATRICK REED CELEBRATES WITH CHRIS ROCK, AZIZ ANSARI & J.R. SMITH

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Feinstein had recently published his latest golf book, The First Major, in which he went behind the scenes of the 2016 Ryder Cup, and where he spoke to Reed at length about the matches at Hazeltine National, his career on tour, and a little bit about the complicated road Reed took to professional golf. That road, as has been reported here and elsewhere, included bumpy stints in college and a dramatic falling-out with his family. When Reed broke through to win the green jacket, his parents and sister were down the road at their Augusta home, unable to celebrate the golfer’s crowning achievement with him.

The next day, Feinstein said he wrote Reed a short note of congratulations.

“I didn’t expect to hear from him anytime, but within an hour he wrote back saying, ‘Thanks a lot.’ “ Feinstein said. “But then wrote, ‘Thanks so much for taking the time to get to know me.’

“I wrote back and I said, ‘I should be thanking you because you were willing to give me the time to open yourself up the way you did,’ “ Feinstein said. “That shows he gets a lot of things that other people don’t get.”

It was a small exchange, but to Feinstein, it illustrated that Reed does care about perception of his complicated story, even if he’s reluctant to discuss it publicly.

Feinstein’s experience writing The First Major was just one highlight of this week’s podcast. He also elaborated on expected changes to the PGA Tour schedule, what went wrong at the annual tour stop outside D.C., and the biggest differences professional golfers and other athletes he covers.

Have a listen:

https://soundcloud.com/user-96678684/john-feinstein-on-ryder-cup-intrigue-schedule-changes-and-players-complicated-private-lives

The post A short note from Patrick Reed that says plenty about his mindset appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.