Colorado Academy graduate Mark Hubbard didn’t recognize the Bethpage Black that last week hosted the Ryder Cup.

Hubbard, who was a guest on The Ringer’s Fairway Rollin’ podcast with his brother, Nathan, and host Joe House and attended Sunday’s singles matches, has played the course once in his career. The course seemed a lot different to the PGA Tour pro.

“I have only played Bethpage once,” Hubbard said. “It played a lot different this week. It was pretty crazy how soft it was. I do think that helped the European team. They’re very accurate.”

U.S. captain Keegan Bradley had been criticized for the course setup during the Americans’ 15-13 loss in the Ryder Cup. While the score was close, the Europeans blitzed the Americans over the first two days before a U.S. rally came up just short on Sunday.

“Historically, we like to cut the rough down to give our bombers an advantage because we have been longer than them,” Hubbard said. “Even though they’ve been more accurate, we’ve been longer. That’s been a normal strategy.”

Mark’s brother, Nathan, was quick to point out that many times the Europeans were hitting shorter second shots than the Americans.

“I think we had a different team than normal,” Mark responded.

On a professional golf scene where driving distance seems to get longer by the week, the United States did have some “shorter” hitters in Russell
Henley, Harris English and Ben Griffin.

Hubbard feels if Bradley was going to cut the rough down, he needed to play his superior iron players to take advantage of the soft conditions at Bethpage Black after a rain storm on Thursday.

“If I’m going to criticize strategy, like some of the guys that didn’t play enough, like a J.J. Spaun and Ben (Griffin), they’re great iron players,” he said. “If you’ve got a soft course, you have to take advantage of that. I think they should have played more.”

Spaun went 2-1 on the week while Griffin finished 1-1.

The course set up by the U.S. was not the only factor in Bethpage being easier than it played for two U.S. Opens and a PGA Championship. The amount of rain Thursday led to “lift, clean and place” being in effect all week. The combination of no rough and soft greens is a dream for a pro golfer.

“I think it was one of those perfect storms,” Hubbard said. “They chose to cut the rough, and they were expecting it to be firm. And then it rained.

“So now you have no rough and soft greens. When I played there, it was super firm and super fast. Every green is elevated. If it is firm at all, it’s really tough to get close to those pins. Instead, you had guys spinning back 5-irons.”

Hubbard was asked why the Americans struggle in the team portion but thrive on the singles side for the Ryder Cup. The Colorado Academy graduate sees chemistry as one of the reasons for the struggle.

“We talk about it all the time, the Europeans are a little bit closer than we are on the (PGA) Tour,” said Hubbard, who has played on the DP World Tour and PGA Tour. “That’s not to say that there aren’t a bunch of really cool, awesome guys on the PGA Tour that everybody gets along with, but it is a little bit lonelier.”

The Denver native also sees another factor.

“We’re just not as good as them when we’re doing team stuff,” he said. “I think also from a technical standpoint, if you want to get into the nitty-gritty, they are more accurate. They are really good putters.”

Hubbard, who is set to tee off at the Sanderson Farms Championship in Mississippi on Thursday, said it would have been fun to see Bradley play on the team as well as captain, but understood why he didn’t. He also made a bold prediction about 2027.

“After watching today (Sunday), I absolutely believe that this exact team could go to Ireland and win,” Hubbard said. “I think the weird thing is that we’ve been talking about this whole time is that we want continuity the same way they have it. So you can’t blow it up.”

CU men’s golf finishes second
at Mark Simpson Invitational

For the fourth straight year, the Colorado Buffaloes finished second at their own tournament.

Arkansas State got a late eagle to secure the victory on Tuesday at Colorado National Golf Club in Erie, as the Red Wolves finished with a team score of 42-under par 822, one shot ahead of the Buffs.

Sophomore Parker Paxton led four Buffaloes in the top 14 with a career-best tie for third place, closing with a 4-under 68 for an overall 13-under 203. Junior Brandon Knight tied for fifth — his second-highest career finish — after closing with a 4-under 68, giving him a 54-hole total of 11-under 205.

Junior Ty Holbrook tied for seventh after fashioning a 2-under 70 for a 10-under 206 scorecard, equaling his career-best 54-hole effort. It is the 31st time the Buffs program had three individuals finish in the top 10.

Skins game

Odds to win Sanderson Farms Championship

Akshay Bhatia +2000

Michael Thorbjornsen +2200

Davis Thompson +2200

Min Woo Lee +2200

Kevin Yu +2500

Rasmus Hojgaard +2500

This week in golf

European Tour

DUNHILL LINKS CHAMPIONSHIP

Site: St. Andrews, Scotland.

Courses: St. Andrews (Yardage: 7,318. Par: 72): Carnoustie GL (Yardage: 7,407. Par: 72.); Kingsbarns GL (Yardage: 7,227. Par: 72).

Prize money: $5 million. Winner’s share: $833,333.

Television: Thursday-Saturday, 5-10 a.m. (Golf Channel); Sunday, 4:30 – 10 a.m. (Golf).

Defending champion: Tyrrell Hatton.

PGA Tour

SANDERSON FARMS CHAMPIONSHIP

Site: Jackson, Miss.

Course: Country Club of Jackson. Yardage: 7,461. Par: 72.

Prize money: $6 million. Winner’s share: $1,080,000.

Television: Thursday-Saturday, 2-5 p.m. (Golf); Sunday, 1:30-4:30 p.m. (Golf).

Defending champion: Kevin Yu.

LPGA Tour

LOTTE CHAMPIONSHIP

Site: Honolulu.

Course: Hoakalei CC. Yardage: 6,566. Par: 72.

Prize money: $3 million. Winner’s share: $450,000.

Television: Wednesday-Saturday, 5-8 p.m. (Golf).

PGA Tour Champions

CONSTELLATION FURYK & FRIENDS

Site: Jacksonville, Fla.

Course: Timuquana Golf & CC. Yardage: 7,005. Par: 72.

Prize money: $2.1 million. Winner’s share: $315,000.

Television: Friday-Saturday, Noon-2 p.m. (Golf); Sunday, 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. (Golf).

Defending champion: Rocco Mediate.

Korn Ferry Tour

COMPLIANCE SOLUTIONS CHAMPIONSHIP

Site: Owasso, Okla.

Course: The Patriot GC. Yardage: 7,120. Par: 71.

Prize money: $1.5 million. Winner’s share: $270,000.

Television: Thursday, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. (Golf); Friday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-Noon (Golf), Noon-2 p.m. (NBC Sports app); Sunday, Noon-2 p.m. (NBC Sports app).

Previous winner: John Pak.