What can be said about America losing again on foreign soil? Guess I must wait until my daughter is 33 years old before America wins away from home in Ireland in 2027.

Sure, I can reel off stats on why Team USA can't win, but I can summarize what needs to be done in just three words: Play Better Golf.

One thing that I did notice is being brought up. I thought Team USA would do well because they hadn't played in a while, but it seems the five weeks since the Tour Championship was too much. Jordan Spieth feels that if the Ryder Cup could come two weeks after the Tour Championship, that is a reasonable time frame. I should have taken the fact that the 12 European players were in the BMW PGA Championship more seriously. All 12 made the cut, with seven of the 12 finishing in the top ten. That should have been the warning cry that Europe was ready to play.

Some good things came out of the defeat. Max Homa stepped up and showed he can be a great player. He came through in clutch moments and recorded a 3-1-1 record. That, along with his 4-0-0 Presidents Cup record, means he will be in great demand for next year's President Cup and when the Ryder Cup returns to Bethpage in 2025. Brian Harman was also a bright spot, picking up two points partnered with Max Homa. But he left on Sunday with a bad taste after losing to Tyrrell Hatton 3 & 2. Two others left with a bad taste in their mouths; Rickie Fowler only played twice and lost both matches. Now, speculation was he had the flu or some congestion problems, so he would get a pass. But Jordan Spieth will not get a pass. He played terribly. He had no idea where a ball would go with his driver, and not for the excellent play of his partner Justin Thomas, it was the only reason he wasn't worse than 0-2-2.

Another player leaving Italy with a sore taste is Scottie Scheffler, who was beaten up by Jon Rahm and left with a 0-2-2- record. Xander Schauffele also leaves with some bad memories. He may have beaten Nicolai Hojgaard in Singles 3 & 2, but was on the losing side in three matches with Patrick Cantlay, Collin Morikawa, and then again with Cantlay. Now, talking about Cantlay, he did have some clutch moments in beating Rory McIlroy and Matt Fitzpatrick in the Saturday Fourball and beating an adamant Justin Rose 2 & 1 in the singles. Cantlay will also take home the memory of having his grandfather, who could attend the Ryder Cup this week, and watch his grandson play.

Be sure to listen to Pat as he follows his grandson.

But what was significant for Patrick was that on Monday (yesterday), he married Nikki Guidish. I can't think of a more romantic spot to get married than in Italy.

Was it a great week of golf? I can go in any direction on that. Yes, the Ryder Cup holds a lot of drama, but we haven't seen a great Ryder Cup since 2012. I am hoping for something better in 2025.

Rory

The player to step up the most was Rory McIlroy. The last time we saw him in the Ryder Cup at Whistling Strait, he cried after losing in the singles to

Xander Schauffele (Twitter feed with an emotional talk with NBCs Jimmy Roberts). But in Rome, Rory was at the top of his game, giving team Europe four points in five matches. He played in the Foursomes with Tommy Fleetwood and Matt Fitzpatrick, but he enjoyed his singles match against Sam Burns, beating him 3 & 1.

In the Saturday Fourball, which he lost to Patrick Cantlay and Wyndham Clark, the issue with American caddie Joe LaCava helped Rory to find some extra gas in beating Sam Burns 3 & 1. Afterward, he talked about how much he looks forward to the next Ryder Cup at Bethpage in 2025 and said he felt that Team Europe could win again.

Jon Rahm

Jon Rahm had a great Ryder Cup, winning two matches and halved two matches. In three of his four matches, he played against Scottie Scheffler, and even though he won once and tied the other two, Rahm will be remembered for his clutch play. He opened the Ryder Cup with partner Tyrrell Hatton and beat Scheffler and Sam Burns 4 & 3 to get the first point on Friday. In the Friday afternoon Fourball, Rahm chipped in for an eagle at 16 and then made a 33-foot eagle to get a halve in the match. But Rahm put the dagger into Scheffler again in the singles when he two-putted for birdie on the 18th hole to get another half off Scheffler.

One of the keys for Rahm was with a pitching wedge. He holed three times on Friday with a new prototype wedge that he stuck in his bag for the Ryder Cup.

It was a Callaway JAWS Raw 60-degree. Going into the Ryder Cup, Rahm was 70th in Strokes Gained Around the Green and 57th in Scrambling, so it will be interesting to see if the new wedge becomes a regular in his bag and improves his around-the-green game. Next time we will see Rahm will be in two weeks when he defends his Spanish Open title in Madrid.

Scottie Scheffler

Talking about Scottie Scheffler, a lot was made of his new putting coach, Phil Kenyon. Scheffler's putting in Rome seemed a bit better. He appeared to be more confident. Scottie had a disappointing 0-2-2 record; otherwise, he didn't do anything spectacular with the putter but didn't look terrible with it. Scheffler has played a lot of golf in 2023, and it seems he will take some time off. The next place we could see him is in Mexico at the World Wide Technology Championship, going to its new home in Los Cabos in November.

Collin Morikawa

Collin Morikawa is another player who has made some changes to his putting. Like Scheffler, Morikawa is excellent from tee to green but has struggled with the putter. At the beginning of the year, he went to putting guru Stephen Sweeney and has played the whole season with one putter. The good news is Morikawa made small strides. In 2023, he is 114th in Strokes Gained putting, improving from being ranked 131st in 2022 and 178th in 2021. Still, the improvement didn't lead to any victories, coming close at the Sentry Tournament of Champions and losing a playoff to Rickie Fowler at the Rocket Mortgage. Over the summer, Sweeney felt that the shaft he used with a TaylorMade TP Soto putter was too light, so they asked Mitsubishi Chemical to create a different shaft, which Morikawa got right after the playoffs. Morikawa used the putter at the Ryder Cup but struggled, going 0-3-1, and in two of his matches, he was blown away and lost his singles match 4 & 3 to Viktor Hovland.

Justin Rose

Justin Rose, at 43, was the old man of the 24 players. But that didn't bother him as his experience helped Team European to a point and a halve. In the Friday Fourball with partner Robert MacIntrye, they were two down to Max Homa and Wyndham Clark going into the 17th hole. Rose hit a great chip shot to get the winning par and then made a great birdie at 18 to get a halve. In the Saturday Fourballs, again paired with MacIntrye, he made four birdies as the pair served up a 3 & 2 victory over Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth. He was asked numerous times if he was looking forward to possibly being a captain at Bethpage, but Rose answered how much fun he was having as a player and feels he may have some gas left in the tank to be a player the next time the Ryder Cup is played.

Let’s Talk about the Sanderson Farms

This week is the Sanderson Farms being played for the 10th time at Country Club of Jackson. The defending champion is Mackenzie Hughes who beat Sepp Straka on the second hole of a playoff.

The big news of this week is which first timer will win. Six of the last nine winners have been a first time winner. One player in the field is Kevin Kisner, who has been on a turbulent ride for the last year.

Kevin Kisner was a star when he played college golf at Georgia. He helped UGA to the 2005 NCAA Championship and was the first player in Georgia history to be named All-American four times. When he graduated in 2006, he turned pro, and the thought was that the PGA Tour would be his next stop. But that wasn't in the cards as he struggled at Q-School. So he played on the mini-tours (NGA Hooters Tour and Tarheel Tour) from 2007 to 2009, winning three times. In 2009, through sponsor exemptions, top-25 finishes, and open qualifying, he played in six Korn Ferry Tour events, with his best finish a T-15th at The Athens Regional. At the end of the year, he went to PGA Tour Q-School and missed earning his card by one shot, finishing T-26th. That result qualified him instead for the Korn Ferry Tour. In 2010, he finished 11th on the Korn Ferry Tour money list and finally got to the PGA Tour.

But Kisner struggled, finishing the 2011 195th in the FedExCup and then 153rd in 2012. At the qualifying tournament, he again missed getting to the PGA Tour by a shot and spent 2013 on the Korn Ferry Tour. He had a successful 2013, finishing 13th on the money list, and again got to the PGA Tour. This time, the thought was to stay on the PGA Tour. His game improved, and he became comfortable playing on the PGA Tour. Between 2014 and 2022, he only finished outside the top 50 just once, in 2014. He also found success, winning the RSM Classic in 2016 and backing it up by winning at Colonial in 2017. He won again in 2019 and 2021, then played in the Presidents Cup in 2022.

At the time, things couldn't have been better; he was 31st in the World Rankings and playing in this prestigious event for the second time. But in the matches he struggled, in the Friday Fourball session, Kisner and Cameron Young halved their match against Mito Pereira and Christiaan Bezuidenhout. In his Saturday Fourball match with Tony Finau, they got beaten 3 & 2 by Sungjae Im and Sebastian Munoz. The next day wasn't any better as he lost his singles match to Christiaan Bezuidenhout 2 & 1. All of a sudden, everything went wrong. Kisner was known for being a very straight hitter off the tee and an excellent putter in his years on tour. But in a few months, he couldn't hit a fairway and struggled to make a putt. On top of that, all parts of his game went wrong, and on the West Coast swing in early 2023, he struggled to make cuts. Between the Phoenix Open and the Memorial, he played in 11 events and only cashed two checks, one coming in the cut-free Match Play championship. When he got to the Travelers Championship, an event he was T-5th in 2021 and T-6th in 2022, he found himself at 7 over par through nine holes in the first round. After a triple bogey-par finish, he packed it up and returned home to South Carolina.

He put the clubs away and spent time with his wife and kids. After weeks of no play, he contacted two people for advice. The first was Steve Stricker, who also had a mid-life crisis with his game and found a way to cope with it. He also returned with his long-time coach, John Tillery, who helped Kisner improve his game to play on the PGA Tour ten years before. Thanks to Stricker, he realized how traveling was wearing him out, so he realized he had to play less. He has also been working with Tillery to regain his swing thoughts and plans to play in three of the seven fall events. His first one was Fortinet, and he opened with a 69 and made the cut with a 72. He shot 76 in the third round but returned to shoot 68 and finished T-62nd. He is playing at the Sanderson Farms and looking forward to regaining some of the luster he used to have.

So why is Ludvig Aberg in Mississippi?

Ludvig Aberg has had one of the best early transitions from college golf to the PGA Tour. Aberg was a standout amateur at Texas Tech and, when he graduated, was the #1 amateur. Aberg won the inaugural PGA Tour University rankings, becoming the first player to earn this exemption. He turned professional in June 2023, and his debut was T-25th at the RBC Canadian Open. After playing in seven PGA Tour events, Aberg went to Switzerland, winning the Omega European Masters and getting a place in the Ryder Cup.

His pairing with Viktor Hovland was decisive as they went 2-1-0 together, including their 9 & 7 win over Scottie Scheffler and Brooks Koepka. Although Aberg dropped his final two matches of the week, it was an excellent primer for the 23-year-old, who shows he belongs on the PGA Tour. The big surprise was Aberg flying to America and playing in the Sanderson Farms. Many wondered why he would do that since he has full privileges in 2024. But it makes sense. First, he has nine starts for 2023, and if he gets to 15 starts, he will be considered a full-time member and get a chance to be Rookie of the Year. Currently, he is 136th in the FedEx standings, and if he can get into the top 125, he will earn a spot in the Players Championship. If he has an excellent finish, a top-three, he could get into the top 60 and earn a place in the AT&T Pebble Beach and Genesis, both signature events. He is presently 79th in the Official World Ranking, and if he could get into the top 50 at the end of the year, he would earn a spot in the Masters. And if, by chance, Aberg could win one of the eight fall events left, he would get into any tournament he wants to play in during the 2024 season. So that is the reason for not taking some time off.

So check out my preview on Golfstats.com

For those wondering who is hot going into the Sanderson Farms, here is a hint:

For the complete list, check out our preview.

Here is a look at my top three picks for this week:

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