My boss's boss, who is from Aberdeen, kindly lectured me this morning on Tiger not being a "team player". Honestly, I like the team aspect of the Ryder Cup, and I wish there were more high profile team golf events. I always felt team athletic competition had a specialness that was absent in individual events. None of that has anything to do with the American dick stepping, just an observation.
I play a Ryder Cup-style tournament every year (it's coming up in three weeks, actually). Clearly, the stage is much smaller, but I can tell you from vivid personal experience that team chemistry matters. The need to "ham 'n' egg" the team games is massive. If your partner isn't having a good time, you
have to pick up your play to balance him out. The team that does it, wins.
Even in the singles, we go out in fours. So, even though you aren't playing the same match, you can still help rally a flagging team member with your own play, or simply with a slap on the back and an encouraging word (no actual "help" allowed in the singles).
Team spirit is pretty strong with us Euros, as we have a very consistent team make up (we have a much smaller pool of players). The US team changes a lot and has a lot of politics. Often, pairs aren't familiar/comfortable with each other, and it shows in the results.
