The Ryder Cup is not for the faint of heart. From the golf fans to the 12 players who make the team and their captains, it is all about making their countries proud and getting that precious silverware home. However, it is not always easy. With individual skills, the team needs camaraderie. At this point, it is hard to deny that most of the time, the European team wins that battle.

In 2023, the American team faced a heartbreaking loss, as the Europeans clinched 16.5 points and won the cup at the Marco Simone Golf Club. Yes, they played better on the course, but their comradeship also surpassed the Americans. It all started when the 12 European golfers were made to spend three weeks before the Ryder Cup with each other and be vulnerable. A part of Captain Luke Donald’s plan. What also helped was Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy assisting with this team-building plan.

The Ryder Cup shared an hour-long video, Una Famiglia, on YouTube revealing all the behind-the-scenes work of Team Europe on how they became the winner. There, Donald revealed what he wanted for his team. He said, “My biggest goal was to try and take that hierarchy away a little bit.” And that’s when the Spaniard and the Northern Irishman stepped up.

To ease the team environment, they intently listened to everyone’s story. Ludvig Aberg, a 25-year-old Swedish pro who made his Ryder Cup debut last year, without playing any major at the time, recalled the same and said, “I hadn’t met Jon Rahm before I hadn’t met Rory before. These guys have won multiple major championships, but yet they’re listening to me telling a story about how I played golf when I was younger.” 

Slowly and steadily, before Team Europe teed up at the Marco Simone Golf Club, the hierarchy among them was fiddling out, and once it disappeared, they won it all. And here the American team lacked, or so it was said.

The issues surrounding the American team at the Ryder Cup

It has been the case since the start of the Ryder Cup whenever Team USA loses the team battle, the rumors flare up that the team did not have any camaraderie and even fought with each other. The 2023 Ryder Cup was no different. Nonetheless, for the golf fans, it was quite apparent that the American team was not as close to each other as the Europeans, but would it affect their pairing?

While people could see the lack of a team bond between the Americans, including Scottie Scheffler, Wyndham Clark, and others, the rumors of the fight among players made it stronger. For reasons unknown, it was speculated that the Americans fought with each other in the team room, and it was also said that Patrick Cantlay decided to go hatless because he argued about not getting paid at the Ryder Cup. Although rumors were not confirmed, Assistant Captain Jim Furyk later described that nothing of that sort happened.

And the only reason Cantlay didn’t wear a hat was because he could not find a comfortable size. Even if the American team didn’t find them, there was a rift among them in 2014. Phil Mickelson had spoken against the strategies of then-captain Tom Watson and defined it as one of the reasons for their 16.5-11.5 loss. It is not the first time that Team USA has failed to have a more united team, but for the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage, Keegan Bradley would surely want them to have better camaraderie and this time beat the Europeans on home soil without any fight or rumors of such.