The Round Table: Team USA ekes out a Solheim Cup win; Rory stumbles at home

Each week, we ask our panel of writers, PGA members and golf industry experts to weigh in with their views on the hot topics of the day.

Last week at the Solheim Cup, Team USA jumped out to a hefty lead after Day 1 and managed to hold on for the win with a score of 15 ½ – 12 ½. Team Europe won the Sunday singles and made it closer than the final score suggests. For a while on Sunday, it looked like Europe might actually overtake the Americans if a couple of matches had gone heir way instead of being tied. What was your biggest takeaway from the Solheim Cup?

Jim Deeks, Fairways Magazine (@jimdeeks): The quality of the golf was just terrific, much better than, say, fifteen years ago.  It was also interesting to see the “infusion” of Asian genes on the American team (five, that I counted); that’s not meant to be a racist statement, rather a recognition of the growing influence of Asian-born or -raised players in women’s golf.  Even though I was personally rooting for the Euros, I thought the outcome was great for the event going forward, halting the dominance of the Euro team.  I just wish both Ryder and Solheim would alter the teams to include ALL eligible players regardless of nationality: i.e., Team North America (including Canada and Mexico) vs. Team Rest of the World.  But the Americans will never do that.

Craig Loughry, Golf Ontario (@craigloughry): The American team won, but my biggest takeaway was that Woman’s Golf really won last week. I watched each day’s matches, and the shotmaking and playmaking was exceptional. The final day singles matches and lead changes into the back 9 was entertaining.  It really could have gone either way.

Michael Schurman, Master Professional / Hall of Fame Member, PGA of Canada: I marvel at how well the ladies play every time I watch a highly competitive LPGA-level event. I still believe The Presidents Cup should consist of men & women with a ’round the world league’. Nothing would help the game grow more. My takeaway is the absence of ladies from other than the USA and Europe. It was a very entertaining event.

TJ Rule, Golf Away Tours (@GolfAwayTJ): I thought it was a great event and showcased the lady’s game very well. There were so many great shots, it was fun to watch.  The setting was nice as well, a beautiful course with some fun holes that worked for match play.  It was nice to see the Europeans make a charge on Sunday and make it a close competition, but the US was the stronger team all week and deserved the win.

Hal Quinn, Freelance Writer, Vancouver: Beyond all the chants and champagne spillage, the home course advantage really made a difference. Before the first tee shot, this US team looked like a lock, and it looked even more that way by Saturday evening. But the Euros won Sunday’s singles and could very well have defended the Cup but for a couple of bounces and putts.  Stacy Lewis won’t be doing a stats-analytics-driven three peat, so the Yanks have to admit it was real close and figure out how to win on foreign soil.

Peter Mumford, Fairways Magazine (@FairwaysMag): Second-guessing a coach’s decision is a pointless exercise, but I’m still puzzled why Pettersen left Leona Maguire on the bench and kept sending Linn Grant (0-4-0) out. Grant was clearly not on form and outmatched at every turn. Overall, this latest Solheim is a solid reminder why team golf is the most exciting thing in professional golf outside the majors. Despite calls for more of it, as there are with pleas for the best players to play against each other more often, the team events and the majors are special because they’re rare. Attempts to duplicate them will just water down the product.

Rory McIlroy enjoyed home field advantage, not to mention home cooking, as he led the Irish Open at Royal County Down until a stumble on Sunday allowed Rasmus Hojgaard to overtake him. McIlroy commented that, “Unfortunately, I’m getting used to it this year,” a reference no doubt to his painful stumble at the U.S. Open. McIlroy is 35 years old, and ten years removed from his four majors and not at all the dominant player he once was. He can still get himself into contention, even at the majors, but failing to close the deal now seems more the norm than the exception. So much more was expected of the young phenom. Moving forward, should we temper our expectations for McIlroy?

Deeks: I think there’s one or two more majors left in Rory’s game, if he can avoid bad luck (something I’ve never mastered in my game!), and not let these unfortunate stumbles play with his mind.  Off-course personal circumstances also may have had their effect on his game as well.  So, yes, in view of the great expectations we had fifteen years ago, we should dial down our hopes for Rory.   But he’s been a great player nonetheless, a fine person, a good ambassador, exciting to watch, and I hope there’s at least a Masters win in his future.

Loughry: Rory is an exceptional player, but I’m not surer we should peg him to rattle off 10 more majors or 10 in total for that matter. There are too many players who are prepared to win, it was always hard to win, it still is.

Schurman: Rory has become an enigma. He has and should be the best player in the world but does not have that special something to get on the GOAT list. All of the best played consistently well except for the majors when they had another gear they could call on. Rory has the extra gear, but he can’t call on it. If the Golf Gods decide he should win, he is good enough, but they decide. The GOAT players didn’t wait for the Golf Gods to render their decision; they simply took the trophy. BTW His play from 150 to 75 yards still isn’t good enough.

Rule: A bad three putt on 17 against Hojgaard’s unlikely hole out from the bunker was the difference and once again he comes up just short.  He hit two clutch shots into 18 to give himself a chance, but just doesn’t finish when he needs to like we all expect he should.  I still believe he has the game to win multiple majors in a year but he’s running out of time a bit.  Hopefully with all his PGA Tour commitments and marriage issues behind him, he can come out next year and dominate like we all know he can.

Quinn: His year would be the envy of most players, but the manner in which he piled up the second place and top 10 finishes was troubling. It was beyond frustrating and hard to watch. He certainly doesn’t have to spend the off season in the gym or on the range. Maybe he should just get comfy on a shrink’s couch. Who’s the 2025 Bob Rotella?

Mumford: Young Rory had more fire and passion. He built insurmountable leads or crafted brilliant charges from behind, based on emotion. Current Rory seems more even keeled and more conservative, like he’s playing not to lose, rather than stepping on the gas to close out a win. The talent is still there but hard to say if he can harness it like he did 10 years ago. If he continues to put himself in contention, you expect he should get a few W’s, even in majors, but it would be easier if he could figure out how to light that fire again.

The PGA Tour is into it’s Fall Series and we won’t see most of the big names until January. Looking back on the 2024 season, what’s one thing you would like to change about the Tour schedule or format?

Deeks: I don’t mean to be the boring old man that I am, but I miss the days when the golf season ended in September, then was followed by the unofficial “silly season”, when we had events like the Skins Game, the Wendy’s Three-Tour Challenge, the Shark Shootout, and others.  I pay zero attention to the Fall Series, although I recognize that it gives a lot of good unknown players a chance to gain experience and make money.  It makes no sense to me that the “regular” season now ends, and the next season starts two weeks later, with four months left in the calendar year.

Loughry: I’d just like to see the best players play against one another more frequently, that’s it, full stop. We don’t get to see that enough.

Schurman: Not so much a change in schedule or format but I’d still like to go back to the instant when Jay Monahan heard Greg Norman was forming a competitive tour. Why didn’t he pick up the phone with Norman and ask, “What are you planning and is there a way to work together”?

Rule: The timing of the Canadian Open.  It’s such a great event that has such history, and it deserves more attention, more top players, and thus a better spot on the schedule.  I know it’s not likely to happen anytime soon, but that’s my one wish when it comes to the Tour schedule.

Quinn: It’s pretty well unanimous that the whole FedEx Cup thing and especially its playoffs have not captured the imagination — or interest — of fans. Too much money has already been spent and tonnes more are already committed for the next while, so sadly it won’t go away soon. It would not be missed, but not having a Major in August already is.

Mumford: Outside the majors, my favourite tournament was always the Tournament of Champions – before the recent alterations that saw highly ranked non-winners included. It used to be filled with winners only and all the best were there. The #1 objective of competitive golf is to win, and champions should be celebrated appropriately. Last season, there were 29 distinct winners on the Tour. Instead of a FedEx Tour Championship comprised of the Top 30 who arrived via a points system only a few understand and even less care about, fill the final field with winners only and let them play for the big bucks. It would be a much better finish to the season.