The Ryder Cup obviously, obviously means more to European golfers weaned on the idea of international sporting competition. The Americans always look like they’ve turned up for an All-Star Game, whereas the Europeans think they’re playing in the World Cup final.
That said…what kind of stupid, artificial construction worthy of nationalistic fervor is “Team Europe”? The idea of a pan-European team made sense when the EU was still being forged, the European Tour was struggling, and Team GB&I desperately needed Seve to make the Ryder Cup competitive. But these days, the political rise of UKIP reflects a broader desire for more and more English speakers to abandon Europe, whereas a rugby-like “British and Irish Lions” side of McIlroy, Rose, McDowell, Donaldson, Gallacher, Poulter, Westwood, Donald, Lowry, Casey, Warren and Fleetwood may well have won at Gleneagles without Continental help. It’ll never happen, but a four-team rotation of USA, GB&I, Continental Europe and “The Commonwealth” (Australia, South Africa, Canada, etc.) in which the holders defend the Ryder Cup every year against the winner of the previous year’s Challenge Cup playoff – i.e., the new-look President’s Cup – could be so much more inclusive and meaningful than what we have now.