TUGR - The Coaches Rankings

Last RC thought on differences in pairings philosophy: Europe: We ride our horses for 5 matches. If you’re not a horse, then you’ll be lucky to get more than 1 match before Sunday. US: We share the playing time which dilutes the impact of the top end of our lineup.

I don’t buy the narrative that Europe cares more. I don’t buy the narrative that Europe has players that are leaps and bounds better. But one thing is clear: They’ve out prepared, out strategized and out executed in every single aspect of the event.

Serious question. Who runs the data for the 🇺🇸 team? Because there needs to be an upgrade. Either that or a Captain who follows data. We’re decades from the original Moneyball revolution. We’re long past the stage of needing to convince people that following analytics works.

It really isn’t a surprise that Morikawa and Harris are getting smoked. It’s the Euros 3rd most optimal pairing for their entire team vs the US’s worst (132nd) Data matters. Math matters. Moneyball concepts have been around for decades now, but the U.S. still makes parings off feel, whereas the Euros have been data driven for over a decade. Someday they’ll learn. Until then, RC’s will keep looking like this. 5 other combo partners are better for Scottie. 7 other combo partners are better for Xander

Biggest difference between 🇪🇺 and 🇺🇸 pairings: Call it chemistry, call it natural fits, call it whatever you want, but the 🇪🇺 pairings seem way more natural and comfortable than the 🇺🇸. Don’t overthink it. If the 🇺🇸 only plays 8 players before Sunday, so be it.

The Ryder Cup is arguably the best golf sporting event. With that said, if it’s so important, how come we never hear any Ryder Cup records or stats cited when talking about player’s accomplishments? Rory has 5 Cup wins. That’s never mentioned as part of his career resume. Is it truly just majors and total wins that matter?

3-1 USA

TUGR did a big research project last Ryder Cup to answer one question: Is it better to play MORE or FEWER matches? Answer: The more matches you play, the more likelihood of having a winning record. Not the other way around. Strictly by the numbers, the top-4 players on each team should play all 5 matches. They probably won’t, but they should. Why wouldn’t you play your best as much as possible?

And as the 2nd best American and #5 player in the world, anyone would want him in that room. Important to remember, except for this year’s Masters, BDC has had Rory’s number for about 2 straight years.

The last couple months we’ve been working hard on the next chapter of TUGR. We’ll be making a big announcement tomorrow. Stay tuned. 🚀

TUGR Junior Rankings updated: ~14,000 Boys ranked ~5,000 Girls ranked ⭐️Unbiased, Accurate, Understandable⭐️ The most accurate rankings in junior golf. Used by college coaches at every level to build their teams.

7th ranked junior in the world per TUGR. Not bad for a high school senior.

Sitting Griffin, Spaun, and Morikawa in Foursomes makes even more sense now. Your top-3 players should go the distance (all 5 matches) - Scottie, BDC, and Henley. No issues there.

Did the RC Captains pick the “right” players? Time will tell, but they did take two different strategies. 🇺🇸 Keegan: pretty much took the best players available based on stats and analytics. 🇪🇺 Luke: bypassed “better” players statistically for experience and chemistry

TUGR Pro rankings are updated. Since there wasn’t much movement at the top, here’s a look at those on the 100 bubble.

Ryder Cup Teams - Average TUGR Ranking: 🇺🇸 14 🇪🇺 22 The top 4 on each team average to a ranking of 5. Top 1/3rd of each team are even money. US has the advantage on the bottom 8.

Top-ranked 🇺🇸’s per TUGR compared who got picked for the Ryder Cup: 1. Scottie 🟢 2. Bryson 🟢 3. Henley 🟢 4. Morikawa 🟢 5. Cantlay 🟢 6. Spaun 🟢 7. Xander 🟢 8. Thomas 🟢 9. Burns 🟢 10. Keegan 🔴 11. Griffin 🟢 12. McCarthy 🔴 —————————- 13. Harris 🟢 18. Young 🟢