Tommy Fleetwood’s Ryder Cup comments make us believe Europe will win at Bethpage
A big talking point at this week’s Hero Dubai Desert Classic is the Ryder Cup, which has us believing the underdog Europeans will win again.
I believe the Europeans will win at Bethpage, even though they are currently underdogs at +155, according to FanDuel.
Here is a long-winded reason as to why I feel this way nine months out:
On the U.S. side, all the talk is about money this and money that — $200,000 here or $300,000 there. Will it all be donated to charity? Or will it remain in their pockets? Regardless of what happens with that additional capital, it’s a bad look and smears the favored American team, which has the two best players in the world, Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele.
Meanwhile, the Europeans said they would pay for the right to play in the Ryder Cup. For them, it’s more than just a competition.
Look no further than what happened last week in Abu Dhabi.
Tommy Fleetwood helped lead Great Britain and Ireland over Continental Europe in a Ryder Cup preview at the Hero Team Cup. This event not only gets the Europeans in a match-play mindset but also helps the Euro side identify up-and-coming talent who fares well in these formats. Tom McKibbin, Aaron Rai, and Rasmus Højgaard come to mind. Maybe the U.S. team should adopt something similar. The Hero Team Cup occurs only during Ryder Cup years and was established in 2023. Coincidence? I think not!
Many who played in the Team Cup are now teeing it up at this week’s Hero Dubai Desert Classic, which only helps overall camaraderie. It reminds me of the 2023 BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, where all 12 players competing in Rome played together.
Before that event, the Europeans flew to Rome for a scouting trip and were greeted by a tremendous opera on the 1st tee. Tears streamed down players’ faces as everyone was overcome with emotion. The Ryder Cup is everything to these players. No wonder Luke Donald returned as captain for 2025.
Fast forward to this week, and joining those European stalwarts who played in the Team Cup are Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy, the two best Euros of their generation. Rahm and McIlroy have combined to win 25.5 points across their 10 appearances and will be formidable forces again on Long Island. They won’t be fazed by the rowdy New Yorkers either. They feed off that.
Everyone has been discussing the Ryder Cup in Dubai this week, too, with Rahm notably saying, “I plan to be at Bethpage,” despite the sanctions levied against him by the DP World Tour. You know the DPWT needs Rahm on their team as much as he needs them, so it would be shocking not to see him play. It would be foolish to extradite him from the team.
But what struck me the most from Tuesday’s press conferences were Fleetwood’s comments about Jose María Olazábal. The European side has always impressed me with how their long-lasting bond among players extends across generations. From Seve Ballesteros to Ludvig Åberg and beyond, that harmony will continue for decades to come.
Here is what Fleetwood said about Olazábal:
“[Jose María] always been so great with me from my early days on tour. I played with him in The Italian Open and a couple of events, and he gave me really good advice about where my game was at. I remember playing with him, you know, I can’t remember where, but it was about six or seven months later, and he shook my hand at the end of the round, and he said I had improved on what he told me I should improve on,” Fleetwood said.
“You still look at now, one of my favourite moments of the Ryder Cup in Rome was when we embraced each other on the 17th hole, and he had some really kind words to say about me.
“You look at [the Team Cup] last week, how he captivates the team room when he talks about Seve. I think he’s someone that I really look up to and aspire to be as a person and as a golfer.”
Even though we are nine months out and the teams of 12 have not even come close to being formed yet, the European camaraderie is already much more potent than that of their American counterparts. That should scare any supporter of the red, white, and blue while instilling a healthy dose of confidence in the visiting underdogs.
Granted, a road Ryder Cup team has not won since 2012, when the Europeans stormed back on Sunday to break the hearts of the home team at Medinah. But I believe this is the year that drought snaps. All signs point to the road team emerging victorious at Bethpage Black, even though the atmosphere will prove difficult.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Follow him on X @jack_milko.