Virtual vs. reality? Euros try to be ready
Donald uses VR to prep team for hostile crowds; Scheffler wins tune-up, of course
Is it possible to prep for a road crowd using technology? (Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
VIRGINIA WATER, England — Is it possible that the European Ryder Cup team is outpacing the U.S. by using technology to prepare for the hostile crowds of Bethpage Black?
This week at the BMW PGA Championship, European captain Luke Donald and his players have spent a considerable amount of time discussing the potential hostile crowds that New York is known for and will likely be in attendance at the 45th Ryder Cup.
Donald and his vice captains have focused on the potential personal comments that could be hurled toward European players by the home crowd.
One way to prepare for the first team is to use virtual reality (VR) headsets.
Each player has received a headset with varying levels of abuse and a three- to four-minute experience on the first tee. While it’s not exactly what the experience will be like, it is an introduction to the Ryder Cup.
“There are a lot of us who have experienced playing away Ryder Cups, and there are a few of us who have experienced winning Ryder Cups (on the road),” Rory McIlroy said in explaining the need for preparation. “That’s a big part of it. We are doing everything we can to best prepare ourselves for what that’s going to feel like Friday in a week or whatever, but nothing can really prepare you until you’re actually in that.
“It simulates the sights and sounds and noise. That’s the stuff that we are going to have to deal with, so it’s better to try to desensitize yourself as much as possible before you get in there. You can get them to say whatever you want them to say — you can go as close to the bone as you like. They said, ‘How far to you want this to go?’ And I said, ‘Go as far as you want.’”
McIlroy said “you don’t want to know” what he had put into his device and said it was “not for publication.” McIlroy added that ultimately, players must deal with the real thing.
“You can wear all the VR headsets you want and do all the different things we’ve been trying to do to get ourselves ready,” McIlroy said. “But once the first tee comes on Friday, it’s real.”
Jon Rahm understands Donald’s effort to show the players what they might see at Bethpage and saw the VR headset as a fun way to view the first tee, which has been altered for the Ryder Cup.
“You do get announced, and then there is a heckler in your ear,” Rahm said. “But it’s nowhere near like the things we might hear at an actual tournament, but it was nice just to get it.”
Rahm described the VR voice as more like that of an announcer’s voice versus a heckler’s, but it’s still worth it.
Donald has had meetings with various law enforcement groups in New York. With President Donald Trump planning to attend, the Secret Service and FBI will likely be part of the plan to address any unruly fans.
But McIlroy wonders if we may be getting this all wrong?
“I think the more we talk about that, the maddest, whatever, we might get there and be like, this actually isn’t as bad as we thought it would be, who knows,” McIlroy joked. “No matter if you’re an American team going to Europe or you’re a European team going to America, it’s the same. You know you’re not going to be up against not just a great team but the crowd as well. That brings its challenges.”
Young Bennett Scheffler is getting used to his daddy’s trophy ceremonies (Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)
Scheffler wins tune-up in Napa
Those around the U.S. Ryder Cup team said the right things all week in Napa, California, where 10 players competed in the Procore Championship along with some of the vice captains, all of whom made it clear they believed captain Keegan Bradley made the right decision by electing not to play.
Bradley was also on hand and appeared relieved with the decision and there is no question it is a move that takes away one element of constant talk as the Ryder Cup approaches next week at Bethpage Black.
Scottie Scheffler undoubtedly made Bradley feel good about his top player as he won the Procore Championship to secure his sixth victory of the year, edging teammate Ben Griffin — who three-putted the final green from 60 feet to miss forcing a playoff by a stroke. J.J. Spaun finished sixth with Sam Burns tying for 13th.
While those on the U.S. side might always wonder if the 12 best Americans will be on the course with Bradley electing to drive a golf cart, the European team also has a similar situation that has just now come about with the strong play of Alex Norén.
The Swedish golfer isn’t the European captain — Luke Donald is doing that for a second time — but he is one of the vice captains. And he’ll be taking a spot this week in a golf cart as the European team gets in some practice at Bethpage.
After winning the DP World Tour’s flagship event, the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, Norén now has two wins in three tournaments, as he also recently snagged the British Masters.
Norén’s run up the points table was too late — and he missed a significant amount of time earlier this year with a hamstring injury. But Europe’s qualification process ended three weeks ago and Donald made his picks on Sept. 1.
It’s fair to wonder if the team is missing out by not having Norén part of it as a player rather than an assistant.
“I think we have a great team and I think it’s the right 12 guys that are playing,” Norén said. “I showed good form late, but it was the wrong time, and I didn’t really show the form I needed to show when I started playing, and too many kind of bad tournaments in the middle of the season. Then way better the last six starts.”
Europe will have 11 of the 12 players on the squad who defeated the U.S. two years ago, 16½-11½ in Rome. The newcomer is Rasmus Højgaard, who replaces his twin bother, Nicolai. He and the other 10 players who competed at Wentworth were scheduled to leave Sunday for New York, where they were to meet Sepp Straka on Monday.
Two days of practice are scheduled before the team scatters for a few days on the East coast.
“We plan to play nine holes on Monday and 18 holes on Tuesday,” Donald said. “We’ll go into the city for a fun dinner Tuesday night. Because we don’t get to go into the city during the week of the Ryder Cup. It’s obviously on the doorstep, but it’s just far enough away and so busy that week. It’s nice to experience where we are, that New York kind of vibe.”