Maginnes: Team success might hurt Europe in majors

A focus on team competition has helped Europe enjoy so much recent Ryder Cup success, says John Maginnes. That focus might have impacted the Europeans' play in majors, but Maginnes believes they have another great chance this week.

By John Maginnes, PGATOUR.com Contributor

OAKMONT, Pa. -- Our children teach us so much. I think Little League has helped me uncover one of the mysteries that has plagued American golf fans for the last decade and a half. Sharing this theory with a friend the other evening helped us to solve another of the sport's enigmas.

I contended that political correctness and the trend toward participation in sports, more than anything else, have killed the U.S. Ryder Cup team. My son is playing summer baseball. This is the first team that he has ever been on where he actually had to earn his spot. Prior to this, in all sports, everyone was accepted and everyone played.

Do I understand the theory behind letting all the kids participate? Of course I do. But it is killing the team spirit that once existed in this country. Sports teach us to win and to lose. Ideally, they teach us to do both graciously, but we all know better. The problem is that until a child reaches junior high, he plays on teams where winning is secondary to participation. Talent means little because the best players often have to sit out for portions of the game to allow the kids with no athletic ability to play.

This is a relatively new trend in American sports. Thirty years ago, if you couldn't contribute to a victory, then you got splinters in your backside. This new trend keeps kids from developing the competitive spirit that can only be fed by a uniform effort from guys all wearing the same uniform.

The consequence is that we have created a couple of generations of individuals. A team comprised of individuals will never beat a cohesive team. The fact that free agency leaves fans looking at rosters on opening day to see who is wearing their uniform doesn't help. We live in an era where a Red Sox player can become a Yankee and everyone seems to be OK with that. If our team sports don't have any sense of team, then how can our individual sports when they form the occasional team? You think that it is bad that we can't win a Ryder Cup? How about the fact that we can't even win an international basketball championship? It all goes back to team.

I was talking about this to Maureen Madill, who once captained the Great Britain and Ireland team in the Curtis Cup. She is a grand Irish lass who is far more thoughtful than me. She pointed out that European players are in constant team competition from an early age. There are national teams for the young players throughout Europe. This has obviously created a championship mindset when it comes to International competition.

Perhaps it was the wine, but the conversation progressed to another compelling question -- at least, across the pond. Why hasn't a European player won a major championship since the turn of the century? Obviously, Tiger doesn't leave the other players too many. But while the individual nature of American sports costs us in International team competition, that same mindset that has fueled so much success in major championships. Moreen admits that many Europeans have had the chance to win majors but have "stumbled on the top step."

Tiger is not the only American who has won majors recently, either. Look at names like Beem, Micheel, Hamilton and Curtis. What do you think Colin Montgomerie must think when he realizes that all of those players have won a major and he has let so many slip through his fingers?

The Europeans have another chance this week. Little-known Nick Dougherty has taken the 18-hole lead with a wonderful 2-under-par 68. The young Englishman is in the rarified air at the top of a leaderboard at a major. Of course, many major champions are lurking -- including Tiger.

Moreen and I agreed that it is just a matter of time before a European wins a major championship again. However, that Ryder Cup issue ... well, maybe next year.