CNN
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Look no further than Team USA, arguably your most coveted supporter, Michael Jordan, is facing off against you this week at the Ryder Cup in Italy.
That is, if Europe captain Luke Donald is to be believed, with the Brit revealing he had dinner with the NBA icon a few weeks ago.
“I predict Europe will win. You want to take anything away from that guy,” Donald told the Guardian.
“He’s a good friend. He’s going to be very supportive of me having a great experience. “I think, at the end of the day, he wants America to win. ”
Jordan’s obsession with golf and the Ryder Cup is obvious to all. His The Grove XXIII Golf Club in Hobe Bay, Florida, which opened in 2019, is his meticulously crafted creation that reflects his passion for the game and his own private golf sanctuary.
A number of American stars are playing golf at the Marco Simone Golf Club this week, including Rickie Fowler and Justin Thomas.
The pair are competing in the biennial Rome tournament for their sixth and fourth time respectively, with Jordan having a front-row seat at all of their previous games and beyond.
“His Air” has prided himself on his impeccable Ryder Cup attendance since first attending the Ryder Cup as a spectator in Valderrama, Spain, in 1997, often seen praising or taunting players based on their loyalty.
“He’s their biggest cheerleader and biggest fan. He loves being there,” Jon Miller, a longtime friend of Jordan who helped lead Jordan to his first Ryder Cup appearance, told Golf Digest people.
“This was his special moment. “I don’t think there was anything he loved that he cared about more than this event, other than his family and his kids and things like that. ”
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Jordan competes in the stands at Hazeltine National Golf Course in Chaska, Minnesota, during the 2016 Ryder Cup.
Miller said Jordan vowed he would “never” miss another Ryder Cup, but the streak of 12 consecutive matches will be broken on Friday.
Donald says he won’t get stuck on Marco Simeone because “something happened”.
That likely means Jordan missed out on something he’d never witnessed before: Team USA tasting victory on European soil. Despite a historic win at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin in 2021, captain Zach Johnson and his 12-man U.S. team crossed the Atlantic to try to end a miserable 30-year sweep.
The Americans have not returned home with a trophy since 1993, when they beat Bernard Gallagher’s European side 15-13 at the Bell Tower in Warwickshire.
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Jordan watched as Team Europe easily defeated the United States to win the 2018 Ryder Cup at the Golf Club National in Paris, France.
Jordan will undoubtedly enjoy the pressure. Jordan discussed his love for the Ryder Cup in a 2021 interview with current NBA superstar Stephen Curry, admitting that he prefers playing in a hostile European environment.
“I love being on the road and playing football. It seems like your concentration level is a lot better,” he told the Golden State Warriors star, who is also known for his love of golf.
“You know you’re not going to win, so you get a chance to prove the unknown. A lot of times when you play at home, you wind down, you relax, you get to see more friends and family, and you have to worry about tickets and many other different things.
“I’ve always loved playing on the road because it minimizes my thought process and I can focus on my game. “I think if I played in the Ryder Cup, I’d rather play in Europe than at home. ”
Whether Jordan actually wants to play, however, is another question entirely.
“I stayed in my lane,” Jordan said with a laugh. “I don’t have the ability to put myself in that environment.
“Now, if you tell me I have a basketball in my hand, that’s a different story. But if I have a golf club in my hand, I can’t hit it easily without so many people watching. Throw the ball 50 yards or 100 yards.”
Johnson, who has suffered three losses as a player in Europe, is as keenly aware of the U.S. team’s struggles on the road as the rest of the team, but he believes his team can finally put a stop to the decline on Sunday.
“European teams are very tough, very good, very deep, and this year is no exception,” the U.S. captain told reporters on Monday.
“It’s just difficult. I know what history says. I know that very well. But at the same time, I can confidently talk to my team that these guys are ready and willing to accept this difficulty.
“The teams of the past are the teams of the past. “This is a new team with new opportunities. ”