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Johnny Miller calls European Ryder Cup team worst in years
Johnny Miller didn’t mince words on Saturday in describing what he thought of the Darren Clarke’s European Ryder Cup team.
“I do believe the Euros have got, at least on paper, the worst team they’ve had in many years,” Miller said Saturday at the Tour Championship.
Europe is looking for a fourth consecutive win and its ninth win in 11 tries in the biennial series. However, they’ve fielded a team with six rookies, five that qualified, including Masters champion Danny Willett, and the sixth being Belgian Thomas Pieters, added with one of Clarke’s three wild-card picks. The other rookies are Andy Sullivan, Matt Fitzpatrick, Rafa Cabrera Bello and Chris Wood.
Miller seems to believe all that fresh blood, particularly on a road game in the United States at Hazeltine National, will work against the Europeans.
“I just think with all those rookies … when you lose (Ian) Poulter, it’s like tearing your heart out,” Miller said. “I think this is the year not only could the U.S. win, they could win by like five points.”
The last time the U.S. has won in the series was at Valhalla in Kentucky back in 2008. That team, captained by Paul Azinger, beat a poorly-led, inferior European team by a 16.5-11.5 margin — the same margin the U.S. lost by two years ago to Europe and the same count Miller prognosticated Saturday.
Miller wasn’t reluctant to lay into the American side, either. He scoffed at the notion shared by U.S. captain Davis Love III on Sirius XM PGA Tour Radio earlier in the week that this American team maybe the “best team ever assembled.” Miller would know from personal experience. He was a member of the 1981 U.S. team, which had 11 major winners (and 13-time PGA Tour winner Bruce Lietzke) that combined to win 49 major titles.
“[This U.S. team] is not at that level,” Miller said.
However, Miller gave Love a bit of a pass, suggesting this is the kind of trash talk the Ryder Cup inspires.
“He’s just saying that, like a boxing match. You’re throwing stuff out,” Miller said. “Normally, you don’t say that. Somebody must have said, ‘I’ll bet you 100 bucks you wouldn’t say that.’ Something like that. It’s all part of the tat-a-tat.”
Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.
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