Minnesota Golfer - Summer 2015 - 42

(backspin
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Riling Up the Ryder Cup Fans
Ryder Cup Vice Captain Tom Lehman says Patrick
Reed can give Hazeltine the hometown advantage.
By Mark Craig
L
osers of three straight and eight of 10 matches since
1995, the Americans desperately need a European mentality
when the Ryder Cup makes its Minnesota debut at
Hazeltine National Golf Club in the fall of 2016.
" The idea for me is, how can we be nice people but compete
like really, really nasty people? " says Tom Lehman, Minnesota
native, Ryder Cup veteran, former captain and
2016 vice captain. " We need to be respectful,
but ruthless, and take the Ryder Cup more
personally. "
Lehman then mentions the name that comes
to mind first-a name Minnesotans should be
keeping an eye on.
" Patrick Reed seems to be that way, " Lehman
says. " I'd take 12 of him. Give me 12 Patrick
Reeds and let's go compete. "
Reed and Minnesota could form an unlikely
and mutually beneficial marriage of complete
opposites if they come together in Chaska. Reed,
who was 15th in the world and 18th in U.S. Ryder
Cup points after the Players Championship,
is the cocky, young Texan who literally shushed
the European crowd while going 3-0-1 as a Ryder
Cup rookie at Gleneagles in 2014. Minnesotans,
meanwhile, are just as passionate about
golf, but, well, let's just say
they're typically a little
more reserved.
" I think it will be a very
partisan crowd, " Lehman
says. " It may not be New
York. We're a different
breed of cat than that. So it
will be respectful, but very
much a home-field crowd. "
Lehman was part of the
might be the first thing they talk about. Winning is a bigger deal
to them. "
Lehman says he's encouraged that Woods has changed his tune
of late. But Lehman also says it's America's next generation of
great golfers-the fearless 20-somethings who don't carry the
pressure of trying to break a 20-year slump-that must lead the
way at Hazeltine.
The talent is there, but Lehman believes
Tom Lehman
there's more that goes into building a winning
Ryder Cup team. The great ones, he says, have
that one emotional " lightning rod " who inspires,
motivates and isn't afraid to " ruffle the
feathers " of the other team.
" That one guy can make a huge difference, "
Lehman says. " The Europeans have certainly
always had it. The U.S. has had it at times. "
Europe's greats include Seve Ballesteros,
" The idea is, how can we be nice
people but compete like really
nasty people? We need to be
respectful, but ruthless, and take
the Ryder Cup more personally. "
U.S. Ryder Cup task force
assigned to overhaul a slumping system. Tangible changes were
made, such as adding two more captain's picks, but Lehman says
it's more important to fix the Americans' indifference toward
winning Ryder Cups.
" The U.S. attitude can be summed up by the quote Tiger
Woods made, which has been repeated over and over, " Lehman
says. " He said, 'When people talk about Jack Nicklaus, they don't
talk about how many Ryder Cup wins he has.' But in Europe, that
40
MINNESOTAGOLFER Summer 2015
Colin Montgomerie, Ian Poulter and Sergio
Garcia, while Payne Stewart, Paul Azinger and
Lehman are often recognized for their roles on
past U.S Ryder Cup teams.
Based on how Reed swaggered through
Gleneagles while feeding off the hostile environment,
he could be exactly what the U.S.
team needs-an American with a European
mentality.
Before the 2014 Ryder
Cup, Reed was known for
not being afraid to call himself
a top-five player or wear
Tiger's signature Sunday colors.
During the Ryder Cup,
he became a rising American
star and leading European
irritant. The highlight came
when he poured in a clutch
putt during his singles match
and then quieted a raucous crowd that had erupted over Henrik
Stenson making a 20-foot birdie putt.
" He rose to the challenge is what I noticed, " Lehman says. " He
wasn't playing out of a fear of failure. He took dead aim and
played to win. I like that. I like that a lot. "
Mark Craig is the NFL/Vikings columnist and a golf writer for the
Star Tribune.
www.mngolf.org
http://www.mngolf.org
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