MEDINAH, Ill. — Xander Schauffele says he wants a larger sample. Give him and his fellow Americans more shots at alternate shot — he believes 200 cracks should do it — then talk to him.
But Schauffele also understands what might come for him first.
“I’m going to die before that happens,” he said. “So unfortunately, we’re not going to get that look.”
Instead, we get the current scene, which is also a bit morbid. At the Presidents Cup here at Medinah Country Club, the USA will enter Sunday’s final day down 10.5-7.5 to Team International, which alone are alarming numbers given previous meetings — the Americans have fallen just once in 15 previous Cups. But it’s how the sides got there that has the red, white and blue feeling just sort of pale. They’ve played nine alternate shot, or foursomes, matches this week. The INTs have won seven of them, earning seven points.
And the U.S. has two points. Which is the same number it had last year at the Ryder Cup, out of a possible eight. Two years ago at the Presidents Cup, the Americans went 3-6 in alternate shot. Three years ago at the Ryder Cup, their mark was 1-7. That’s eight wins. And 26 defeats. And a few questions, though mainly it’s just: How?
“It’s the million-dollar question, right?” U.S. captain Brandt Snedeker said.
“I don’t know.”
Is it the pairings themselves? The golfers play the golf, after all. The thing is, the American rosters, if you use the world rankings as your guide, have had more talent over the past four team events — the U.S. average world ranking per player is 12.75, and it’s been 26.8 for the Europeans and 42.5 for the Internationals. Snedeker, for his part, said his team had practiced alternate shot and that “we tried to put guys in scenarios so they get used to it and comfortable with it.” But the occasional funky pairing happens; this year, you could question why the Americans’ two shortest hitters — Russell Henley and Jacob Bridgeman — played two foursomes matches. They lost both.
The counterpoint to that would be that Henley and Bridgeman would be able to play from familiar spots, albeit short. They’re also friendly with each other, and those who aren’t can be an issue, said Kelan McDonagh, a GOLF Top 100 Teacher to Watch — who grew up in Ireland playing all kinds of alternate shot.
“It’s a weird one because on paper [the Americans] are some of the best players in the world when playing their own ball and game,” he said. “Once paired up, that changes, it seems. A lot of it comes down to the partnerships and the relationships within those partnerships. From my experience, I always did well at foursomes when my partner was a close friend, someone I was comfortable with.
“There were times when my partner was someone I didn’t know as well and that can play a part in performance.”
Still, at this Presidents Cup, the friend groups of Xander Schauffele-Patrick Cantlay and Scottie Scheffler-Sam Burns both lost on Friday in alternate shot, and there’s also the grouping of Henley-Bridgeman that lost twice. Maybe some of the issue is golf ball-based — in alternate shot, golfers play a different ball than their own for a hole, but that issue is usually addressed in advance and accommodations are made.
But is the problem systematic in another way?
Do American golfers prioritize alternate shot?
And should they?
“My guess is we just do not spend much time playing or practicing it — in other words, you can still win without being great at it, so it is not prioritized because it is not how most high-level golf is played,” Dr. Bob Rotella said to GOLF.com on Saturday via text; he’s one of the world’s best sports psychologists and has worked with hundreds of golfers.
“If it was viewed as crucial, we would have college tournaments that are foursomes, we would have pro tournaments on all tours that are foursomes, we would have junior and even amateur tourneys.”
Could that change?
“My guess is if USA does not start winning the Ryder Cup more frequently by getting better at foursomes it might change,” Rotella said, “but only if the perception by team leaders is that foursomes is what is keeping us from winning versus a perception that we can win by dominating in fourball and singles, so why put a lot of time and effort into foursomes.”
Rotella also said this:
Most people would rather just play golf, the one-ball style.
Speaking of golf — could the problem be simply golf itself, then?
On Saturday, the Americans’ Chris Gotterup, a team event rookie, saw just over half of the back nine with partner Cameron Young in a 6-and-4 win over Adam Scott and Sungjae Im. Cantlay and Schauffele won, improving their foursomes record at team events to 5-2 since pairing together at the 2019 Presidents Cup. Wyndham Clark and Sam Burns, meanwhile, won their first two holes against Ryan Fox and Min Woo Lee, then won just one more and lost 3 and 2. And sometimes you chunk one, like Henley did on the 15th hole, which you can watch by clicking here. He and Bridgeman won their first three holes, only for Corey Conners and Nick Taylor to win 1-up.
So where does that leave things?
More questions, for sure, heading into next year’s Ryder Cup.
But in the immediate future, just Sunday.
Where they’re playing just singles.
“You do feel, whether you put pressure on yourself to make something happen or a couple weird things happen on the course, you’ve only got 12 holes to regroup and try to get something done,” Schauffele said. “There’s something to be said about getting off to a good start and being in sync early and then kind of riding the wave through.
“There’s also something pretty satisfying from clawing your way back in and coming from behind and getting it done that way too. So current, call it a tough stretch, but not too worried, to be completely honest.”
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