Rookie Responses to 1st Tee Cauldron Could Define Early Part of 2014 Ryder Cup
GLENEAGLES, Scotland — This week, the United States team are hoping Patrick Reed proves to be an iconoclast rather than an irritant.
The 24-year-old—who earlier this year declared himself to be among the top five players in the world, to some amusement—has been far and away the most bemusing of the three rookies on the visiting team, especially in practice rounds, where his concentration and interest appear to have waxed and waned with every hole.
Stories have abounded of him paying little attention to his preparation—firing drivers off holes other players have been playing long irons, for example, and leaving greens long before other players have completed their mapping of the various breaks and contours.
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It appears increasingly likely that captain Tom Watson has decided to partner Reed with Jim Furyk, with the veteran clearly asked to be a positive influence on the maverick within the ranks.
"I'm one of those wheelmen, and I could end up with a bunch of different partners," Furyk acknowledged earlier in the week when asked about possibly playing with Reed. "It's kind of the blessing and a curse I've had for my career."
Reed clearly seems to be a question mark for Watson although the man himself is supremely confident in his chances this week and dismissive of suggestions he is apart from the rest of the team.
"I was 6-0 [six wins, no losses] in matchplay throughout my [college] career," Reed said on Thursday. "Golf is an individual sport. I get out there in the morning, I pop in my headphones just to kind of get tunnel visioned onto what I'm trying to do.
"This week is completely different. I feel like the camaraderie we have as a team is very high."
Of the other two rookies on the U.S. side, both appear to have assimilated more easily into the team setup. Jordan Spieth looks set to tee it up with Matt Kuchar, at least initially, with Kuchar saying the 21-year-old is someone "anybody on the team would love to play with." Spieth, for his part, says he does not even feel like a rookie, having played in last year's Presidents Cup.
The long-hitting Jimmy Walker, at 35, is the most mature of the new boys, with his burgeoning relationship with Rickie Fowler a potentially dangerous fourball dynamic for Watson to use.
The Europeans face different dynamics with their rookies. Victor Dubuisson is their Reed, the young Frenchman taking umbrage this week after being described as the "Greta Garbo"—French, reclusive, unknowable—of golf. He practised with Graeme McDowell on Thursday and is likely to partner with the Northern Irishman at some point this week.
The other two rookies are Jamie Donaldson and Stephen Gallacher, 38 and 39, respectively. Gallacher, the only Scot in the team, will have the home crowd on his side (and on his shoulders) while Donaldson, a man whose self-confidence has driven him to greater and greater heights, will have that put to the test under the biggest pressure of all.
"I think there's no doubt, we have three rookies who are very different," McDowell said this week before elaborating on Dubuisson's integration. "His sort of relaxed mood, personality, could be confused with maybe intimidation and nervousness.
"I've kind of been trying to sort of get close to him the last few months and spend a little time with him. He's a great guy. We do have a great team room this week with some dynamic personalities, and Victor I think can bring a huge amount to the team this week."
Golf is a game for different mindsets and approaches, but what is clear is that all six rookies will have to steal themselves for the sheer horror of that opening tee shot. Over 2,000 fans are expected to be on the first tee this week, with all the players forced to walk through a long, atmospheric subway from the practice area to the tee. The wall of sound will build to a crescendo, with that first shot likely to be the most pressurised one they hit in their life.
"I was nervous on the first tee at Valderrama, and that was without the 3,000 seats at the first tee and all the hype," Lee Westwood said. "I would imagine for the rookies, it's going to be a bit of a shock.
"You have a big atmosphere when you finish at the 18th green, and it prepares you well for all that, standing on the first tee, and having all the hype so early in the day. It really sort of gets you going and gets the juices flowing. [It's] changed a lot, though."
"At the time, their stomach will be churning, they will be incredibly nervous...but afterwards they are going to remember that for the rest of their lives," McGinley, who has been credited with the idea of the tunnel, added.
Others are not so sure.
"I can't even remember my first shot as a rookie," Jesper Parnevik, a member of three European Ryder Cup teams, told the Golf Channel on Wednesday. "It is going to be pretty much torture to the guys, especially the rookies.
"When your heart races fast, it is hard to do anything about it. You just have to accept you aren't going to know much about it. I would not be surprised if one guy whiffs it."
The players, however, have already been warned about what to expect.
"Strick [Steve Stricker, a U.S. vice-captain] told me that when I step on the first tee and they announce the European team, you will not be able to talk to your caddie," Walker revealed. "It's going to be too loud.
"You just have to be ready for that hit that's going to happen."
That first tee experience will not define their tournaments, but it could offer a significant insight into how the six rookies are going to fare this week.
Reed and Dubuisson are the two players who are struggling to be understood by their teams. Maybe, however, it is those very qualities that make them so inscrutable that will prepare them best for the challenge that awaits.
"I think we all have good nerves," Walker concluded. "That's why we're here."
All quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise stated. Golf Channel quotes transcribed from live broadcast.
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