With 24 of the top 35 golfers in the world joining at Medinah Country Club just outside Chicago this week, golf fans are in for quite a show. Throw in raucous crowds, intense rivalry, national pride and immense pressure and you’ve got one of the best events in all of sports, The Ryder Cup.
With the deepest squads in Ryder Cup history, combined with a plethora of guys on each team coming in playing well, this sets up to be one of the most closely contested matches in the storied history of the event.
The American squad comes into Medinah red hot as of late, with all 12 members having participated in last week’s Tour Championship and seven of them placing in the Top 10. All 12 players rank within the Top 23 in the World Golf Rankings, and more so than in any other event in golf, which is usually a gentleman’s game, having the crowd behind you is a sizeable advantage. The home team has won the last three
Ryder Cups and the U.S. hope to keep that trend alive.
With three of the top four players in the World Golf Rankings, the European squad is both top-heavy and well balanced, something that in previous years hasn’t been the case. Known to thrive off their team chemistry and unified passion for the event, having a few gunslingers that are atop the rankings is a dangerous mix that Team Europe hopes will lead to them retaining the Cup.
Team Comparisons
The Ryder Cup is in a league of its own when it comes to the pressure and intensity placed on each and every shot, impacting every golfer differently and making predictions nearly impossible. Three things to look at when comparing the teams though are putting, Ryder Cup experience and intangibles.
Putting
Clearly on the mind of Davis Love III when making his captain’s picks, there is no substitute for a good putter, and his team is chock-full of them. Brandt Snedeker, Steve Stricker, Jim Furyk, Webb Simpson, Keegan Bradley, Zach Johnson, Jason Dufner and Matt Kuchar are all notoriously good putters, and the short games of Tiger and Phil are arguably two of the best ever.
This isn’t to say Europe doesn’t have some great putters either; in fact, Rory and Luke Donald are two of the best and under Ryder Cup pressure Ian Poulter can make anything. However, there are a few guys that tend to be shaky with the flat-stick, namely Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood and Nicolas Colsaerts. How each team rolls the rock will prove vital to their success or failure.
Ryder Cup Experience
Ryder Cup experience is a precious commodity. There’s nothing that can prepare you for it except actually playing it, and the two teams come in very close in terms of Ryder Cups played. The Americans combine for 28 Ryder Cups between them and the Europeans 26. Team leaders for each side are Lee Westwood (7) and Phil Mickelson (8). Where Europe may have a slight edge is that they have only one Ryder Cup rookie (Nicolas Colsaerts), whereas the American squad has four (Dufner, Bradley, Simpson, Snedeker). Don’t look too much into this though, as six Europeans have only participated once, while the Americans have more veterans to guide the rookies along.
Intangibles
Driving: At the request of Captain Love (one of the perks of being the home team captain), the course has been set up so that there is very little to no rough anywhere, making it a bomber’s paradise.
This decision doesn’t really give either side much of a boost though. Both teams carry guys that can crush it (Dustin Johnson, Bubba Watson, Nicolas Colsaerts, Rory McIlroy) and also guys that frequent the middle of the fairway (Jim Furyk, Zach Johnson, Graeme McDowell, Luke Donald), making the course setup more about entertaining, low-scoring golf rather than chipping out and playing for pars.
Passion: Usually in golf, letting your emotions get to you is highly detrimental, clouding your judgment and leading to bad shots. In the Ryder Cup though, enthusiasm, excitement, tenacity and even anger are unavoidable. Every hole is a stage for triumph or disaster, and having the right guys to manage those feelings is one of the biggest challenges a captain faces.
The Americans have a good mix of steely-eyed grinders (Furyk, Stricker, Zach Johnson) and exuberant fist-pumpers (Bubba, Tiger, Keegan Bradley) that they hope will be enough to get the crowd going, needing their support to offset a European zeal that is unmatched. Guys like Ian Poulter and Sergio Garcia live for the Ryder Cup. Those two throw looks around like daggers, making a statement with every big shot or putt. Add Rory’s steadfast approach and a few good leaders like McDowell and Westwood, and there’s no question these guys will be fired up Friday through Sunday.
Formats: On Friday and Saturday there are four fourball (better ball) matches and four foursomes (alternate shot) matches each day; a session of four matches in the morning and a session of four matches in the afternoon, with the order being determined by the home captain.
Historically, the Europeans have been known for their strong showings in Alternate shot. It’s not really known why, other than their strong camaraderie, but the Americans have tended to fall behind early. Consequently, they’ve had to make up for it in Sunday singles, which historically is their strong suit. No one will ever forget their epic come-from-behind victory at Brookline in 1999, but in the five Ryder Cups since the Europeans have won Sunday singles three times. Basically the only thing you can do is expect the unexpected, because anything can and will happen.
Key Players
Although this is a team event, each squad will need big performances from these key guys to swing things in their favour.
Rory McIlroy
Hands down the No. 1 player in the world, this week provides another opportunity for Rory to assert his dominance on the golfing world. Likely to be paired with fellow Irishman Graeme McDowell, Rory has the potential to run the table and dramatically increase Europe’s chances of retaining the Cup. The one thing going against him though is that everyone wants to take down the best guy, and if he were to lose early it would give the Americans a huge boost.
Luke Donald
Although he was born in England, this week is for all intents and purposes a home game for Donald. He went to Northwestern University, married a Chicago native and now lives in Illinois. So with that being said, if there’s anyone that knows this course and should feel comfortable out there it’s Donald. If the Europeans are going to be successful they will need Donald to put up some big points.
Ian Poulter/Sergio Garcia
If golf were a team sport every week these two would be right at the top of the list of whom you’d want on your side. If one or both of them can manage to get things going then look out, the fist pumps and glares will be entertaining to say the least. With solid Ryder Cup records behind them, look at these two to rally the troops if Europe falls behind.
Tiger Woods
After a number of good, but not great tournaments, Tiger comes in with something to prove. Having won two majors at Medinah he will have good memories of the course and with the crowd firmly behind him I expect Tiger to come out strong and try to prove he’s still a man that should be feared.
Bubba Watson
“Bubba Golf” could either be the best or worst thing to happen to the Americans. When on, Watson’s creativity and mammoth drives can create a huge spark for the Americans, and with his personality it wouldn’t be a surprise to anyone if he were to pump up the crowd each and every chance he gets. When not playing well though, Watson would be a hard player to be partnered with. He tends to get down on himself, and combine that with spraying drives and missing putts and he and his partner’s chances are very slim.
Keegan Bradley/Brandt Snedeker
These two young guns are Ryder Cup rookies, but bring great passion and vigour to the squad. Both can make putts in bunches and are steady ball strikers that have proven they can come through in the clutch. Look for Captain Love to put them out early on Friday to give them a taste of the action and how they respond to the immense pressure will tell you a lot about the Americans’ chances of winning the Cup.
Need to Know
— Two years ago, the Ryder Cup all came down to the final match between Hunter Mahan and Graeme McDowell. McDowell prevailed and Europe came out on top. If the matches are close once again, it will be interesting to see if we get the dream matchup of Rory and Tiger at the end, and just imagine the pandemonium if the Cup comes down to those two.
— There’s always a couple of “swing holes” that decide the fate of each squad, and this year they look to be the par-5 14th, the drivable par-4 15th hole and the 17th, a long par-3 over water.
— In each session on Friday and Saturday both captains will have to choose four guys to sit out, inevitably leading to second-guessing for the loser and pats on the back for the winner. It will be interesting to see whether Love and Olazabal choose to rest their veterans or their young, inexperienced guys. Either way, it will certainly be fodder for discussion.
— The Opening Ceremonies get underway on Thursday afternoon, and the first tee shot will take place at 8:20 a.m. Friday morning