What we have now is a competition so severe that it twists and bends golf like the black hole it has become. Players live and die with each putt, teams bond like men in foxholes, spectators wrap themselves in flags until winning is the only thing. Keepers of the Game will look at this phenomenon this year in hopes that the Ryder Cup will become a powerful force for what is best for golf. Rooting for the home team is one of the joys of the Ryder Cup. It was no fun for anyone when the U.S. dominated play every year.
Competition is rewarding only when it requires our best effort.
But by emphasizing winning with over zealous partisanship, the game and its values have been lost. This is not a war where good is fighting evil, where losing means death and the termination of a way of life. This is a biannual contest between two very good golf teams. There is a bigger picture we must see. More than a generation ago, E.B. White stated part of the problem.