On one hand, it’s hard to argue with Justin Rose’s assessment of Team USA ahead of the Ryder Cup. On the other, it would be shocking if the Americans don’t use his latest comments as fuel at Bethpage Black.
The countdown to the 2025 Ryder Cup is approaching single digits, and with the international showdown getting close, tensions are starting to rise. And if Team USA needed any extra motivation, Rose might have just provided it with his commentary on the Americans’ attempts to prove they are tightknit.
“I think American have tried too hard to become a team, whereas Europe is a bit more natural and organic, and I think it comes from deeper roots,” he told The Times.
Justin Rose: Team USA Trying ‘Too Hard’ to Become Team
The Americans, under first-time captain Keegan Bradley, have made a concentrated effort to prepare together ahead of the late-September clash. Bradley has coordinated multiple team dinners, and even more notably, 10 of the 12 Team USA team members played the PGA Tour’s Procore Championship last week in California.
That should help, at least in terms of keeping the Americans sharp, but whether it brings them closer together only they can say. And they have done just that, claiming the vibes are good. However, the Americans have a longstanding reputation that dates back to the Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson days of being super talented but not being able to make it all gel together.
“I think the US team have definitely bonded a lot more in recent years, and they do have good pockets of friendship,” Rose observed, per The Times. “But I think the Americans think being a great team is about being best mates. I really don’t think that’s what being a great team is.
“Being a great team is having a kind of real good theme and having an identity that has come from the players before you, and you all buy into that vision. You don’t have to be having the greatest time in the world to do that.”
Europe Has Clear Edge in Team Bonding, Strength
Rose’s assessment is even more interesting if you go back and look at what the Americans have said into the lead-up. Reading the comments through, ahem, Rose-colored glasses, it doesn’t sound as if the Americans are one big happy family — even if they don’t dislike each other.
“A lot of great vibes throughout the meetings and dinners we’ve had. That’s what you ask for. I think we’re all very close,” Collin Morikawa said at a pre-Procore press conference. “I mean more than half of these guys on the team I’ve known for over 10 years, so it’s that much more comfortable and I think a lot of us have been fairly close. ”
Saying he “thinks” they’re close and then again insisting they “have been fairly close” is a lot different than what we’ve seen from Team Europe over the years. It’s hard to imagine two American players lying in bed together with the Ryder Cup in between them the way Francisco Molinari and Tommy Fleetwood did for a spoof after winning in 2018.
Ultimately, though, it hasn’t mattered much. Regardless of how much they like each other, the Americans have held serve at home since 2012, and hosting the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black gives them the clear advantage.
And if they do regain the Cup, expect to hear plenty of reaction about just how close they were, regardless of how true it is.
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