SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES, France – Pick an excuse, any excuse, for why the U.S. Ryder Cup team is now more than a quarter-century removed from its last road victory. But for all of the breathless buildup every four years, for all of the hand-wringing over the captains, for all of the promotional shoots, news conferences, scouting trips, team meetings, qualifying cutoffs, wildcard debates, selection shows, gala dinners and locker-room bonding sessions, one teeny bit of truth often gets overlooked in the biennial battle between these two juggernauts, at least on this side of the pond:
That Europe usually plays better golf over these three days.