Matthew Coritz
It’s that time. After a 2 year wait golf in its purest form at the professional level is back. So much has changed in the golf world since the rout that took place at Whistling Straits two short years ago. Since the last edition, LIV has spun golf into a frenzy, purses have ballooned to astronomical amounts, Rickie Fowler is back, and Wyndham Clark and Brian Harman are major champions. These are just to name a few of the wild changes. This time, the Americans will be on enemy soil. All roads lead to Rome. The 44th edition of the Ryder Cup will be played starting this Friday at the Marco Simone Golf Club.
First, the venue. Marco Simone is an awesome course. For the DP World Tour fans, it may be familiar as it has been the host of the Italian Open for the last couple of years. It’s a pretty open layout, and Rome is a hilly area providing this course with views that can see multiple holes which should set it up for an awesome stadium layout. The course is great, but a primary reason the event will be here is everything that its location brings. Being just a short drive from downtown Rome should provide this event plenty of buzz and hopefully it will be great theater. The course is pretty tight, which is a theme for European Ryder Cups, but there are a lot of risk reward options which is always fun in match play. There’s a good mix of draws and cuts off the tee, and the key will be being decisive off the tee and precise with the iron play. There’s a fair amount of tiered greens that being on the proper level will be key. Hopefully matches get to the final 3 holes as they will be thrilling to watch. 16 is a wild short Par 4, with no clear layup and a difficult green to hit, 17 is a tough par 3, and who doesn’t love a finishing Par 5 where anything can happen.
There’s a lot of statistics that go into course setup these days. Particularly fascinating is the Alternate Shot portion. With one player taking the tee shot on 9 of the holes, and the other guy on the other 9 giving the Home Side quite the opportunity to tailor the course to each player’s strengths. Say there’s a 3 hole stretch of a long Par 3, reachable Par 5, followed by a relatively short Par 4. One of the guys is a very solid long iron player but only a so-so driver of the golf ball. The other guy is a great driver and elite wedge player. They can then set it up so the long iron player can hit the long iron tee shot on the Par 3, the second shot of a long iron approach on the Par 5, and not have the most stressful tee shot on the Par 4. This would then simultaneously play to the other player’s strengths too. He would have at worst a greenside shot on the Par 3, would lash at a driver on the Par 5, and would be able to dial in a wedge to the Par 4. This is an elementary explanation, and there is tons of data that goes into it, but quite interesting to watch how teams navigate this. The Americans have the reputation of being bombers that aren’t as precise, with the Europeans being shorter straighter hitters. In a slightly biased opinion, I think this is a lazy take that downplays the overpowering athleticism and talent the American side brings, but we will see it in action this week. The Europeans will have the course set up to squeeze every possible point they can get.
Next, the teams. The view after a dominant win by an American team full of young superstars 2 years ago was one of a potential American dynasty starting to take hold in the event. What has happened over the 2 years has not all trended in that direction. The American Roster is still shoulder to shoulder with studs but Europe is firmly in the mix, with their fair share of star power. The United States Ryder Cup team is:
- Scottie Scheffler
- Wyndham Clark
- Brian Harman
- Patrick Cantlay
- Max Homa
- Xander Schauffele
- Brooks Koepka
- Jordan Spieth
- Collin Morikawa
- Justin Thomas
- Rickie Fowler
- Sam Burns
1-6: Auto Qualifiers
6-12: Captain’s Picks
The rise of Wyndham Clark and Brian Harman was certainly something not many saw coming but they are 2 well deserving auto qualifiers after major championship victories. JT, Rickie, Spieth, Koepka, and Morikawa were always locks for picks. The final man came down to a toss up with Sam Burns and Cameron Young, with Captain Zach Johnson taking the better putter. I think that’s a solid call for a European Ryder Cup setup that always places such a big emphasis on the flatstick. There was some controversy after Justin Thomas had a rough summer, and some felt he was only picked because of his name but he all but put that to rest with a top 5 finish at the Fortinet Championship last weekend. Realistically he was always a guy the Americans needed, and the decision to include him shows improvement from the American side in regards to choosing the best team versus the old strategy of choosing who is playing that best that has proved costly for the Americans in the past. The better player is always better than the guy who is “the hotter player” a month away from the event when picks are made. Also, you have to feel for a couple of guys that didn’t make the cut. Emotionally you want a spot for Keegan Bradley and have to love that it matters so much to him but it was the correct decision. Also shoutout to Lucas Glover for a heck of a little run this summer with wins at the Wyndham and Fedex St. Jude but it was never really a serious candidacy. Don’t get caught up in recent form, these teams are selected a month plus in advance so can’t get caught up in that. Europe has beaten us off this strategy for years.
European team
While the US team had some names pop up it really felt like it just came down to Young and Burns for the final spot, but the euro picture was a bit cloudier. Team Europe is:
- Rory Mcilroy
- Jon Rahm
- Viktor Hovland
- Tyrell Hatton
- Matt Fitzpatrick
- Robert Macintyre
- Tommy Fleetwood
- Sepp Straka
- Shane Lowry
- Justin Rose
- Nicolai Højgaard
- Ludvig Aberg
1-6: Auto Qualifiers
6-12: Captain’s Picks
There were really 3 guys in the picture for 2 spots and there were many arguments for each guy. Nicolai Hojgaard, Ludvig Aberg, and Adrian Meronk were the guys jockeying for those spots. Ludvig Aberg is the uber talented potential world beater but the guy hasn’t even played in a major championship! Definitely the right pick, but Abergs resume is unprecedented for a Ryder Cupper. Adrian Meronk has 3 wins in the last 2 years and won the Italian Open at the same course this spring at Marco Simone. But Captain Luke Donald has gone all in on the youth movement and taken Højgaard. Meronk will be left on his couch watching this weekend wondering what more could he have done to make the squad.
Prediction: The Europeans put up a stronger fight this time around, but the Americans get it done winning by a slim margin 15 to 13.
Cup of Tee 