Why the Ryder Cup is golf's best event (yes, better than The Masters)

This is The Morning Win. Charles Curtis is filling in for Andy Nesbitt.

I'm prepared for your angry tweets and emails. But this is a take I've actually had since 2016.

I decided to revisit it this time around and see if I felt the same.

And I do!

Look, I understand that The Masters is the tradition unlike any other, that the annual visit to Augusta brings up so many memories of unreal golf shots, with the photos of the iconic flora around the course and the cheap pimento sandwiches sparking that feeling that summer is truly here.

But let me try to convince you the Ryder Cup - which tees off today! - is king:

1. It's once every two years. We get the same majors every year. But the Ryder Cup? We’ve got to wait for it. And this year, we’ve had to wait an EXTRA year! The anticipation makes it all the more enticing. Ask yourself: If you watch Ted Lasso or other series that release episodes one at a time, don’t you get more antsy for them? Exactly.

2. The fans going nuts is so great.  This is the big thing to me. It’s the only event where it’s acceptable and perfectly OK to shout trash talk at the golfers. I know that fans do it at other tournaments, but this is the one where it’s encouraged. Plus, they dress up like they're a hockey game.

3. The players get into it. No Patrick Reed this year. So we don’t get him shushing people. Golfers usually have to be poised and classy when they win. But here? They shush crowds! They respond to each other’s trash talk! They go wild when they win! It’s different, is what I’m trying to say.

4. The format is so intriguing. It’s mostly team golf til Sunday, which means there’s a ton of strategy involved. Who gets paired together? What’s their chemistry like? Captains have a lot of pressure to figure out the best strategies, and again, that’s different and cool.

5. They wear uniforms! You know, like an actual team sport! Even these 1999 Team USA threads with picture frames were a delight.

6. It's all about country/continent pride. 

I admit, being immortalized with a green jacket is great. But playing for bragging rights is awesome. The Masters is still amazing and I’ll look forward to it every year like the rest of you. But the Ryder Cup is ACTUALLY the tradition that’s unlike any other golf event. Enjoy it before having to wait for the next one.

Quick hits: A classic Nick Saban rant … Christian McCaffrey got hurt … and more.

— Here’s Nick Saban’s latest press conference rant: “Did any of you play sports?”

–What Christian McCaffrey’s injury means to the Panthers and in fantasy football.

— Chris Pratt is voicing Mario in a Nintendo film and people made memes about it.

— This Charlie Morton curveball is sick.