HAVEN, Wisc. – Team Europe might as well have just scored the first point of Ryder Cup week with its hype video.
European Ryder Cup captain Padraig Harrington showed his team a 2 minute, 33 second video titled, “We’re the 164,” that gave goose bumps to his team and has since been posted to social media.
There have been 5,780 people who have climbed Mount Everest, 570 have been to space, 445 won the World Cup, 353 European track and field Olympic gold medalists, and 225 men who have won a major. Only 164 men have had the privilege to wear the Team Europe crest in Ryder Cup competition.
The point being, as Lee Westwood, put it, “You have a far greater chance of going into space or climbing Mount Everest than you have representing Europe in the Ryder Cup.”
“When you sort of break it down like that, it’s a pretty small group and it’s pretty cool,” said Rory McIlroy. “That’s a pretty small group of players. I’m No. 144; I think Lee (Westwood, who made his debut in 1997) is No. 118. But then you just look at all the players before you, and you look at Bernd Wiesberger who’s making his debut this year who’s No. 164.”
In the video, numerous former European Ryder Cup stalwarts recite their numbers from Tony Jacklin (No. 64) to Sam Torrance (No. 94) to Darren Clarke (No. 115).
We are the 164.
Make it count. #TeamEurope #RyderCup pic.twitter.com/OPpF7rujgs— Padraig Harrington (@padraig_h) September 21, 2021
“It was very powerful. I didn’t know my number,” said Sergio Garcia, who is No. 120. “I’ve always known that being a part of the Ryder Cup team is very difficult, but I didn’t know that only that little amount of players have made it. So that showed you how difficult it really is.
“That’s why every time I’m a part of a team or the rest of our teammates, that’s why we give it the respect that it deserves, because it’s so difficult to be a part of it. It’s an honor, and we treat it like that.”
The video ends with the faces of nine former captains saying, “Make it count.”
If you’re a fan of Team Europe, your goosebumps have goosebumps.