No excuses. The European team has great golfers. But are they better golfers than the Americans? No way. It’s not even close. A quick comparison of Major Championship wins, PGA Tour wins, and earnings is precipitously in the US favor. Then why, pray tell, has the US been getting absolutely annihilated in the Ryder Cup the past decade? For the answer to this tiring question, all one has to do is to examine the faces of Monty and Tiger following good and bad shots. Neither changes much. Tiger is a sour puss. Monty is smiling. The Europeans are a great team. We have great players. The great Team win’s 9-10 times.

Collin Montgomery, who may be as the best European player in the history of the Ryder Cup player, yet he has never one a major PGA Championship event. Moreover, his meltdowns in clutch situations are epic with his most recent failure occurring at the 72^nd hole of the 2006 US Open. Needing only to make par from the fairway on a par 4 to win, he made double bogey and missed a play-off by one stroke. Then there is Tiger who is arguably already the best player to have ever played the game. He has won one 12 Major Championships, and is touted for his ability to make the critical putt, or execute the impossible shot when absolutely required.

So what accounts for Monty’s Ryder Cup Success and Tiger’s lack thereof? The answer is simple; fun. Monty has fun while Tiger has none. Rarely, even when playing well does Tiger ever look like he’s having fun. He looks miserable – always. This is true today, but it was even more pronounced early in his career. He reacts to victories with relief rather than joy. Even after well executed shots, he looks angry (hyper pumped-up) rather than happy. It’s a visceral emotional rollercoaster that leaves his ‘teammates’ in pieces. Tiger’s not unique among the US team for this reaction.

Golf, as played in the PGA is an individual endeavor and largely played within one’s own mind. On the PGA, a player’s actions, reaction and consequences thereof, are limited to that player’s paycheck for that tournament; that’s it. Nobody else in the field is impacted by how a player reacts to poor shots or missed putts.

Monty hit numerous horrendous shots in the opening day of the Ryder Cup, including two shots into the water and hitting a simple lay-up into the rough. Did he care? Of course he did. But, rather than throwing a temper tantrum and acting as if he never misses a shot, he laughs it off, and jokes with his partner and the crowd. He affords the same courtesy to his partners as well. And by the way, he made a critical putt on the last hole and won the match – nobody will remember the ‘bad’ shots. Conversely, those playing with Tiger play with the fear of ‘letting Tiger down.’ Who would you rather play with? Which would be more fun and hence allow you to hit your best shots? The Europeans have fun playing and beating America. If they loose, oh well. They’re only Europe. But if they win, they’ve defeated the ‘arrogant Americans’ who think they’re better at everything (because we are).

Attitude is everything. It’s a cliché as old as the game, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t true. Having fun and relaxing are central elements to playing one’s best golf. This is especially true in team events. The US team, typified by Tiger doesn’t have fun. Having fun is not what made this the best country in the world. We’re the children of immigrants who knew nothing but hard labor and literally built this country. We value hard work and winning. We’re winners, and we will work hard to do whatever it takes to win! Unfortunately for us, successful team golf is predicated upon a team’s ability to truly enjoy playing with each other, having fun and allowing one’s best golf to flow from that. The US team doesn’t need to practice more, they need to have couple of pints and enjoy kicking some Euro-behind!