Now, my so-called fear on the eve of that Ryder Cup makes me laugh. Buddy, I tell myself today, that’s not fear. What I’m about to say is the height of fear, of putting it all on the line. These are perilous words to utter, full of the most acute risk and backed up by literally no precedent in the last three decades. The time has come for historic boldness:

America will win an extremely close Ryder Cup

Having written those words, I feel roughly like someone who just walked up to UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones, slapped him in the face, and said: “I bet you can’t kill me.” There are a few things you just don’t do in the golf world, and betting against Europe at home in the Ryder Cup is at the top of the list. The last time they lost as hosts came in 1993, and since then they’ve dealt the Americans a few close losses and a whole heap of blowouts, to the point that if you just scanned a Wikipedia list of Ryder Cup results, there’s no way you’d ever pick America to do anything but flee in terror.

No matter how much they want to cast themselves as underdogs, and no matter how much US bookies think the Americans are slight favorites (a mistake they make literally every time), the fact is that the Euros are home juggernauts.

If this feels like I’m arguing against my own thesis, well, let me pour it on thick: In the last four Ryder Cups, the home team has absolutely slaughtered the visitors, and the score has got worse every time (16.5-11.5 for Europe in Scotland, 17-11 for the Americans at Hazeltine; 17.5-10.5 for Europe in Paris, and 19-9 to the US in Whistling Straits.) In a sport where 99 per cent of the events have no partisan rooting interest, and the players don’t have to deal with an “away” atmosphere of fans rooting against them, the maniacal Ryder Cup crowds are a massive advantage that have proven close to impossible to overcome … and that’s not even accounting for other edges, like the home team’s right to manipulate the course set-up.

Finally, we have to acknowledge a point of unavoidable bias: Americans are really bad at seeing their own faults. Every single time the Ryder Cup comes to Europe, Americans like me get suckered into believing our own hype and majesty, and thinking that this time, this time, we can’t possibly lose. Like Charlie Brown lining up to kick the football, or an oblivious man about to walk into a manhole, I may be stumbling toward the same exact trap.

So … with history and logic and even nativist instinct against me, why am I predicting an American win? Because literally everything else favours the visitors.

To understand this point, you have to understand a bit of Ryder Cup history, and here’s the 20-second crash course: America won almost every Cup from the first in 1927 until 1983, when Tony Jacklin took over the captaincy of a fledgling Team Europe and engineered a stunning and almost instant transformation. From that point on, Europe dominated the event with comprehensive strategic mastery, routinely embarrassing the overmatched and frequently clueless US leadership, all of which led to the traumatic but history-altering humiliation at Gleneagles in 2014. The Americans were beaten so decisively that weekend that the result spawned a mini-revolt, which spawned the Ryder Cup Task Force, which has been, by any standard, a glowing success.

With LIV Golf defector Phil Mickelson no longer a part of it, the current US brain trust of Fred Couples, Davis Love III, Zach Johnson and Jim Furyk have developed a system before and during the Ryder Cup. Darren Carroll/PGA of America

Today, the US are led by a small and efficient cabal that includes men such as Davis Love III, Jim Furyk, Steve Stricker, Fred Couples, and this year’s captain, Zach Johnson. They have made it their mission to understand why Europe were successful for all those years, duplicate what they could, and come up with inventive American solutions when a carbon copy was impossible.

From a logistics and leadership angle, it’s been a sea change, and with concepts like a minimisation of all extraneous obligations and hoopla, they’ve shown a sharp understanding of American psychology and how it differs from the collective passion that propels Team Europe.

Paul Azinger was the original instigator of most of these principles, from the big picture stuff like course set-up and captain’s picks and statistical guidance to the smallest organisational detail, and after Gleneagles, Love and his cohorts have overseen an evolution that is stunning for how far it’s come in less than a decade.

(An illustrative moment: After the Whistling Straits Ryder Cup, I spoke to Love, and he told me that they were already looking at what went wrong. Remember, this was a 19-9 US win. When I pressed for detail, he spoke about granular concepts like food delivery and transportation, right down to the type of water Dustin Johnson drinks. There is literally nothing these guys have overlooked.)

The results have followed suit. For the first time since 1983, the US have won two straight home Ryder Cups. They’ve won every Presidents Cup, a competition that has sneakily become more and more challenging with time. The players are happy, comfortable, and thriving.

There is, of course, the one glaring exception: They haven’t yet won a Ryder Cup on European soil. Their one shot in the post-Task Force era, in Paris, was a disaster, and though it’s my opinion that Furyk ran into a storm of unbelievable bad luck that week, the fact remains that they lost, and lost badly. And until they manage to climb that last hill, the revolution will not be complete.

But make no mistake: They are working toward that moment, and the moment is coming. The Americans are on the ascendancy, and for the first time since the late ’70s, they can credibly say they have the superior Ryder Cup organisation. The reason I believe that climactic moment is imminent, and will come to pass this weekend at Marco Simone, is a combination of the leadership structure, the belief and passion of the players, and the strange transitional moment in which Team Europe finds itself.

To Europe’s credit, the form of their players looks good or possibly very good, and unlike Padraig Harrington, Luke Donald seems like a strict system captain who prioritises attention to detail and won’t be caught making any late blunders. But this is a team that has been led in spirit, for decades, by players who moved to LIV Golf and aren’t around this week. Even if they were, Whistling Straits showed that they were an aging generation anyway, and perhaps in the late sunset of their Ryder Cup careers even then.

Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth talk during a practice session at Marco Simone. Maddie Meyer/PGA of America

Now, into that leadership vacuum, steps the likes of Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland. Some, especially Rahm, are battle-tested and reliable. Others, like McIlroy, have had uneven careers with great moments offset by major disappointments. And too many to name — Hovland, Matt Fitzpatrick, Shane Lowry, if I must — have yet to prove themselves in this format. Without the crutch of legends like Ian Poulter and Sergio Garcia, there is some doubt about the spiritual centre of Team Europe … and make no mistake, Europe need a spiritual centre.

The US, on the other hand, do not, and that difference in philosophy and “unity” has been recognised and exploited by the American leadership. What the Americans do have is a large group of successful, tested players who grew up watching their country get trounced in the Ryder Cup and want to win as badly as any American generation ever has.

With successful partnerships such as Justin Thomas-Jordan Spieth, Xander Schauffele-Patrick Cantlay as the backbone, the world’s best player in Scottie Scheffler, Cup stalwarts Collin Morikawa and Brooks Koepka, comforting veteran personalities like Rickie Fowler, and rookies who have shown true mettle in either the Presidents Cup (Max Homa), match play generally (Sam Burns), or high-stakes major championships (Brian Harman, Wyndham Clark), there is remarkable depth and skill here. Make absolutely no mistake: No matter what hype attends the late surge of European form, the Americans have the better team.

In my opinion, they also have superior leadership, and they have the historical momentum. If this Cup were being played at a neutral venue, the prediction would be a no-brainer. Instead, if they want to overcome this last great hurdle, they’ll need to knuckle down and do it in one of sport’s toughest environments. Europe will not submit easily on home soil.

Even so, it’s my belief here on the eve of the 44th Ryder Cup that they will submit, and that the US will complete a journey that started with Phil Mickelson’s coup against Tom Watson at Gleneagles, and assume the undisputed spot at the top of the Ryder Cup mountain. This is the final act of the changing of the guard. This is the crescendo, and when it’s over, nothing will be the same.

The prediction: US 14.5, Europe 13.5

Main image: The US team celebrate winning the 2021 Ryder Cup. Richard Heathcote

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US Solheim Cup captain Stacy Lewis summarised what could surely be transformed into a stirring speech to her players, one designed to get the blood flowing and the brains buzzing.

Asked if there was a special message or theme she would like to convey to her team, the former Women’s British Open champion was off and running. Most touchingly, she revealed the tributes the team will implicitly pay to the late Kathy Whitworth, the LPGA’s most successful player, and one of the LPGA’s 13 original founders Shirley Spork while out on the course.

“The theme is I want these girls to know what they’re playing for and what they’re becoming a part of,” said Lewis, herself a four-time Solheim Cup player. “So there’s a lot of things going on. On my hat there are 10 stars for the 10 times the US has won the Solheim Cup. The golf bag has a pocket with 13 stars for our 13 past captains. It has another pocket with 62 stars for the, prior to this year, 62 Americans who have represented the US at the Solheim Cup.”

And there was more.

“Our yardage book cover has the locations where we’ve won the 10 Solheim Cup,” Lewis continued. “I wanted these girls to know how special of a group they’re coming into. So they know what you’re playing for. If you don’t know what you’re playing for, you don’t know about the history. We lost Kathy and Shirley since we were together in Toledo [at the last Solheim Cup], so I wanted them to be a part of this week in some way. I put the rubber duck on the bottom of the bag for Shirley and the ‘88’ on the hats for Kathy’s most wins of any golfer, not just female, of all time. So that they are with us this week.”

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The Solheim Cup presents a unique challenge for the United States team as they settle in Spain attempting to prevent the prolonging of an unprecedented losing streak. Should the Americans fall to their European rivals at Finca Cortesin — after losses in 2019 at Gleneagles in Scotland and in 2021 at Inverness Club in Ohio — it would be the first time since the inception of the competition in 1990 that the US had been beaten in three straight Solheim Cups. It also would mark a fifth defeat in the last seven matches dating back to 2013, another frustrating first.

Faced with stopping the Americans’ slide on foreign soil and crucially flipping the momentum of the matches, US captain Stacy Lewis has spent plenty of time processing the gravity of what this year’s Solheim Cup means for her team and their future.

“I’ve thought a lot about do we have to win?” Lewis told Golf Digest. “Like, is this a must-win? What is this? And I don’t know that it is. I mean, we lost in Gleneagles by one shot. We lost [at Inverness] by probably two or three shots. So it really hasn’t been far off. And I think every Solheim Cup going forward is going to be tight like this.”

Lewis’ memory of 2019 was spot on as, coincidentally, her rival captain this year, Suzann Pettersen, famously holed the final of her competitive putt on the 18th green in the deciding match at Gleneagles to keep the Americans from closing out a three-peat of their own. But in 2021 at Inverness, Europe clinched the Cup with five singles games still on the course, inconsequential comeback resulting in a 15-13 European victory that looked closer than it really was.

How exactly to turn things around, of course, is Lewis’ riddle to solve. A four-time Solheim Cup participant, the 38-year-old Texas native has spent much of the 19 months since being named captain working with analytics specialists to identify the players and pairings that would give the US the best chance at success. Lewis won’t get into specifics on her gameplan — keeping it hush-hush before putting it in place with the start of play on Friday — but believes inside the numbers lies the key to squeezing out every last bit of performance from her team.

The American team gets in some putting practice on Monday at Finca Cortesin. Alvarado.Foto

Given Europe’s recent victories, combined with an influx of young Americans emerging on the LPGA, Lewis’ team has just three players who have played on a winning US Solheim Cup squad: Lexi Thompson (2015, 2017), Danielle Kang (2017) and Angel Yin (2017). Three others — Megan Khang, Nelly Korda and Ally Ewing — have all been on the last two losing rosters. Meanwhile, five players will be making their Solheim debuts: Allisen Corpuz, Cheyenne Knight, Andrea Lee, Lilia Vu and Rose Zhang.

The good news? Frustration might become a source of motivation for the holdovers. “At some point, you just get tired of it,” US assistant captain Angela Stanford said. “And I think some of these ladies are hitting that point. Where it’s like, OK, you know, you lose one. And then you lose another one, and you’re like, well, that could have gone our way. But then you’re kind of tired of it. Kind of tired of losing. So, I think we’re there.”

Indeed, for those who are returning, there is a sense that enough is enough. “This is where we want to take it back, especially on European soil,” Yin said. “I think it would mean a lot when we take that Cup back, especially what happened at Gleneagles with Suzann making that last putt to essentially win the Cup when it was just a putt difference.”

“Everything [is on the line],” Khang said. “I think the USA is more hungry than ever.”

Mind you, data will only get you so far. Execution is what will be needed for the US to overcome their rivals. All the number-crunching doesn’t do any good if Korda or Kang struggle holing putts.

Stacy Lewis. Stuart Franklin

Arguably, the best strategy to deliver on the execution is to figure out a way to turn down the heat and allow the players to feel at ease, particularly those competing for the first time. Eight of the 12 on this year’s team are 26 and younger, including all five rookies.

“It’s a super young team, and it’s kind of the changing of the guards,” three-time US Solheim Cup captain Juli Inkster said. “I think Stacy is the perfect person to lead that charge.”

Should things not go the Americans way, the resulting scenario for the next Solheim Cup becomes even more foreboding than the one facing Lewis and crew this week. The next match will be played 354 days after the finish in Spain, the matches returning in 2024 to allow the event to be held in even years so as not to conflicting with the Ryder Cup after it was delayed a year due to Covid. The condescend run-up means that both Lewis and Pettersen will return as captains. And Europe would arrive at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Manassas, Virginia, holding all the momentum as they continue to close the gap against the US overall lead (10-8) with a chance to be the first team to four-peat.

“If we’re in that boat, I think there probably is a little bit more pressure,” Lewis said. “The question becomes, too, is what does the European team look like at that point? Whether they have a lot of changes, a changing of the guard.”

However, contemplating all of the implications of this Solheim Cup’s outcome and how the rosters might shake out are issues to grapple with come September 2024. The American focus remains on the pressing problem of grabbing hold of the Cup for the first time in six years.

“That’s a lot of thinking,” Yin laughed while explaining. “I don’t think we can think that far, because when we think that far, then it’s too many thoughts. So I think when the ball and the tee goes into the ground and the ball goes in the air, that’s all we have focused to beat whoever we’re playing against.”

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In 2021, when almost the entire US team — players, caddies, and captains — took a trip to Whistling Straits a few weeks before the Ryder Cup (only Brooks Koepka, nursing a wrist injury, missed out), the captains were asked to describe the purpose of that trip.

“They had us over a barrel in Paris because we didn’t have enough practice rounds,” Davis Love III, a vice captain, said at the time. “The other team knew the golf course way better … it’s important for us to gather local knowledge and pass it on to the guys who don’t have the intimate knowledge as guys like DJ.”

Added captain Steve Stricker, “My message from Day 1 has been to try and out-prepare the European team, and for me it’s been that way throughout my career, just trying to prepare the best as I can going into events. So, let’s get in as much practice as we can here, maybe take a little bit of the stress of Ryder Cup week off our plates by getting our work done now … and get some rest that week.”

The US won that Ryder Cup in a blowout, and whether the team trip made much of a difference is a matter of debate. What’s not up for debate is how important they thought it was, both for course knowledge and team bonding, and this year’s US captain Zach Johnson — flanked by Love, Stricker, and many of the same players from Whistling Straits — carried that belief forward. At his introductory press conference in February 2022, he was already talking about the possibility of getting the team to Marco Simone outside of Rome ahead of the Ryder Cup, September 29-October 1.

“Steve did a great job of that. He made it a priority,” Johnson said. “Some of those young guys had not seen it. What he did was make it a priority to get the team there, prior, and made that an emphasis.

“This is not Wisconsin, clearly. It’s not an ideal situation, and it’s something we’ve talked about and will continue to talk about and hopefully find a way to do that. It’s not going to be easy but we’re looking into it. That would be the most ideal, just to get everybody’s on site prior.”

Johnson continued to emphasise the point in the smaller media huddle after the press conference ended, and now, more than a year and a half later, he made good on his wish. This past weekend, nine members of the team — all but Jordan Spieth, who missed it for the impending birth of his child, and Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay, who missed for personal reasons — travelled together to Rome with the captains to play the course and have some private moments as a group before the chaos of the Cup.

There were some hilarious moments that came from the gathering, including Scottie Scheffler dancing all over Justin Thomas’ college American football grief, Jim Furyk bringing back the Brookline shirt at the team dinner, and the sheer size of Stewart Cink’s calves, but the bigger picture is that this was a critical strategic trip for the Americans.

Among the tangibles they discovered — that the rough is growing in thick, which is purportedly what Euro captain Luke Donald desires.

“The common sentiments that I heard on the golf course was they really liked it, which is awesome,” Johnson said. “And I knew they would because Marco Simone is very, very good. The rough was very thick. That was the other nugget that we talked about a lot.

“The putting greens were very good, very true, very nice,” he continued. “The fairways were awesome. It’s a great test and it’s a really, really good match play golf course. So the guys are excited about the competition.”

As much as visiting Whistling Straits ahead of the last Cup may have helped, the importance is heightened in a European year. It’s been three decades since the US managed to win away from home, and while the new era established by the post-Gleneagles task force has been successful by almost any measure, Paris in 2018 — where the Europeans won 17.5-10.5 — showed that without on-site preparation, no amount of firepower or careful planning can hold off the tide of home-course advantage. This year, the Europeans are hosting on a layout they’ve played four times in the DP World Tour’s Italian Open. The Americans were caught without experience at Le Golf National, but a hallmark of the modern US Ryder Cup leadership system is that mistakes like these double as learning opportunities.

Stricker made sure he wouldn’t get fooled again in Whistling Straits, and despite the logistical difficulties, Johnson pulled it off as well as he could in Italy. Now, the players know the course better — and maybe even each other — than they did before and have stolen a little of the overwhelming element of surprise that Europe has used to its advantage so effectively over the decades. The task of actually winning remains hard, but with margins this small, every little bit makes a difference.

Team USA needs 14 points over three days at Marco Simone to retain the Cup, and they just made their job a lot easier.

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It all turned out all right in the end. For the USA that is. But only just. Although armed with what appeared to be a vastly superior side (if the World Amateur Golf Rankings are to be believed) it wasn’t until Georgian David Ford won the 26th of the 26 games (one was still to be decided) and took his side over the 13.5-point winning threshold that the American side eventually clinched victory on Sunday in the 49th Walker Cup match on the Old Course at St Andrews.

Until then, doubt of varying degrees permeated what turned into the visitor’s 39th victory (against nine losses and one halved match) in golf’s long-running biennial contest, one that stretches back exactly a century. At the conclusion of each of the first three series of matches over the last two days, it was the Great Britain & Ireland side who led. But by the close, that had changed, the final score 14½ -11½ to the visitors, who have now won the trophy four times in succession.

While it is forever invidious to single out individuals within a team contest, much credit for his side’s success must go to the world’s No. 1 amateur, Gordon Sargent.

Although only two of his teammates failed to score even one point, the Vanderbilt junior was the only player on either side to emerge from this hard-fought contest with an unbeaten record, winning all four of his matches. Every one of the other 19 participants lost at least once.

But even Sargent had his struggles. The 1-up victory over Englishman John Gough he all but clinched with a magnificent 3-wood to the 18th in the second series of singles was the third of his four wins to conclude on the final green. In all, Sargent had to play a tiring total of 70 holes over the two days.

A commanding afternoon of Singles Matches for the USA team ?? pic.twitter.com/qHlIrlKaVl

— The Walker Cup (@WalkerCup) September 3, 2023

“This is the biggest achievement of my career so far,” said the Birmingham, Alabama, native. “Winning four points for the US is huge, especially seeing what it means to everyone else. It’s such a big deal. I played well all four rounds and capped it off with what was my best shot of the week on the 18th tee. It was a full 3-wood. My caddie told me on the tee I could rip it, so I did. I don’t see going up the right side as aggressive. I’ve been hitting the ball well all week so I just went ahead and hit it.

“What is really nice for me is that, in match play recently, I’ve had trouble finishing games off down the stretch,” he continued. “So this week it’s been nice to see some success. To win three matches on 18 is huge. This just gives me so much confidence. We don’t play a ton of match play. But to see some success is nice for me to take back to college, where there is some match play. To know I can compete with the best players in the world is pretty special.”

Certainly, Alan Tulleth, Sargent’s caddie, is one who has no doubts as to where his man is headed.

“I think he can go to the very, very top,” said the man who makes his living walking the Old Course. “Everything about his game is absolutely amazing. If he keeps working hard, I can see his career going only one way.”

Before that, however, the Americans had some celebrating to do, much to the relief of captain Mike McCoy. The Iowa native narrowly dodged adding his name to what remains a short list of two (Francis Ouimet and John M Winters) visiting Walker Cup captains who have lost at St Andrews.

“We just played hard, right to the bitter end,” said the 60-year-old, who was part of the last US Walker Cup team to lose, at Royal Lytham in 2015. “We had those two [North Carolina] Tar Heels [Austin Greaser and David Ford] in those last two spots. I had a lot of confidence in them. Nick Dunlap fighting through to get a half point [from three down with four to play against Barclay Brown] was huge, and, of course, Caleb [Surratt] led us off by beating Calum Scott. They all played great. But I feel very fortunate. All credit to the GB&I team. They really fought hard. It was, I think, an epic Walker Cup.”

On the other side of the aisle, GB&I skipper Stuart Wilson was rightly proud of his 10-man squad, all of whom recorded at least half a point against a visiting team most observers felt would triumph handily. A rare feat for any losing team, that statistic alone speaks to what was a stubborn and persistent performance by Wilson’s men, whose leading points scorer was Irishman Mark Power (3-1-0).

“I’m obviously disappointed,” said Wilson, who won the Amateur Championship over the Old Course 20 years ago. “We always knew it was going to be a tight match. Everything went our way yesterday. Six matches went up the last, and we got four and a half points out of them. But all the momentum was on the US side today. Things seemed to be going their way. But they are a great side, and they handled the conditions a lot better than our guys. We had a nice lead this morning, but we let it slide quite a bit in the foursomes. The guys will be hurting most because they know themselves that they haven’t turned up this afternoon in the way we know they can.”

Indeed, as Wilson hinted, there was ultimately a familiar feel to the final day’s singles. Of the 10, GB&I won only two. As so often and in the end, the greater depth in the US squad made the crucial difference.

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The wait is over, the phone calls — both the easy ones and the hard — have been made. Eighteen months after being tasked with leading the 2023 US Ryder Cup captain, Zach Johnson fulfilled one of the toughest parts of the job, making his six captain’s picks.

On Tuesday morning at PGA of America headquarters in Frisco, Texas, Johnson revealed that he’s taking Sam Burns, Rickie Fowler, Brooks Koepka, Collin Morikawa, Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas to join the 12-man team that will try to be the first American squad to win a Ryder Cup in Europe since 1993. They join the six players who earned spots off the Ryder Cup points list: Scottie Scheffler, Wyndham Clark, Brian Harman, Patrick Cantlay, Max Homa and Xander Schauffele.

So, after months of considering possible line-ups, gauging the pros and cons of taking any number of talented American players, how did Johnson do with his choices? Our editors offer their instant analysis of the captain’s picks and how the American team stacks up as they prepare to make the trip to Italy and Marco Simone at the end of September.

Biggest surprise among the captain’s picks?

Honestly, I can’t say there is a surprise here. The picks seemed obvious once the sun went down at the Tour Championship. Keegan Bradley and Lucas Glover really needed to show something at East Lake and didn’t. Cam Young, while a great ball-striker, didn’t advance to the playoff finale, and his glaring weakness is putting (145th in strokes gained). History shows us putting wins Ryder Cups. Also, tough to take two rookie captain’s picks to Europe, and Johnson already had zeroed in on one newcomer, Burns, who CAN putt. —Dave Shedloski

My own analysis had the final spot coming down to Burns and Young, with Bradley and Glover out of the loop. I’m not saying it was a coin flip, but when you compare résumés between Burns and Young, along with the strength of their games (Burns a tremendous putter, Young better from tee to green), it was really, really close. In the end, Burns’ relationships may have put him over the top, particularly his friendship with Scheffler, so we’ll call him the most surprising pick. —Shane Ryan

Burns. I think it was the right call — both in terms of his fit to Marco Simone and within the US clubhouse — but since his win at the WGC-Dell Match Play his play has been uninspired. —Joel Beall

To me, the surprise was the lack of razzle dazzle in the whole announcement. I realise this isn’t the most made-for-TV event in the world, but with Koepka, Thomas and Burns there were some interesting wrinkles to be resolved. Within 10 minutes, ZJ announced all the names — starting with Burns — and proceeded to questions. It was all business, and in many ways, a revealing tone-setter for ZJ’s approach to the contest. —Luke Kerr-Dineen

Biggest snub?

You have to say Young here. Young’s résumé in the big events was stellar, he played extremely well at the Match Play in March, but most importantly, and this cannot be emphasised enough: FRED COUPLES SAID HE WAS ON THE TEAM! That’s the PR blunder of the entire Ryder Cup picks cycle, by far, and just imagine how it must feel if you’re Young, read that story, and think your spot is secure, only to lose it to Burns at the final moment. I’m not saying this isn’t painful for a guy like Bradley, who loves the Ryder Cup, or even Glover, but to be granted a pick by a vice-captain in a media appearance and then to watch it fade away? That’s so brutal. —SR

Probably Bryson DeChambeau. A top five at the PGA Championship, fresh off a 58 in his LIV Golf win at The Greenbrier and a good performance at Whistling Straits. A good driver of the ball, he’d probably do well in Rome. Yes, there’s maybe a chemistry issue with the rest of the team. But it sounds like he didn’t even get a phone call. I understand why he’s not on the team, but even still: It’s a snub. —LKD

How about none. I mean, Young? Save for a nice run at Royal Liverpool his season has been a disappointment, underlined by the fact he failed to make it to the Tour Championship. Bradley? Two wins, yet his win at the Travelers was his only top-10 finish in a full-field event since March. DeChambeau? Unfortunately, no gifts from the content gods. The truth is the depth of the US team wasn’t as strong as it was projected in terms of performance, and no one who was left off can say their performance warranted selection. —JB

A case can be made that the biggest snub might be Dustin Johnson, who went 5-0 at Whistling Straits. But that was two years ago, and DJ is 2-7 in Europe and 12-9 overall, which means he had a losing record until his 2021 performance. That leaves Bradley, who won twice in the 2022-23 season, and, more importantly, is 21st in putting, the importance of which we already have stressed. And, let’s face it, Zach needs putters when you look at the problems on the greens from the likes of Scottie Scheffler and captain’s picks Morikawa and Thomas. —DS

Justin Thomas. Keyur Khamar

Pick that might haunt ZJ?

No need for mental gymnastics here; a lot will be riding on Thomas, because (gestures wildly to the last four months). —JB

Yeah, this one is obvious: Thomas. The JT discourse has dominated Ryder Cup talk for the last month and has almost become political. There’s talk that he doesn’t “deserve” it, that he’s only making it because he’s part of the buddy system, etc, etc. Personally, I think Johnson was absolutely right to take him, but you know that if he goes to Italy and plays poorly — or even plays well but loses his matches — it’s going to be a euphoric round of “I told you so!”s from the anti-JT set. It’s the only pick that could really backfire on Johnson. —SR

Easy. JT. “You just don’t leave JT at home,” Johnson said, summing up his pick of Thomas. Zach is betting that Thomas, who pairs well with his buddy Spieth, will rise to the occasion. He had better. Let’s point out that JT makes a lot of birdies, even during a substandard year on the greens. He’ll be under a microscope all week in Italy. —DS

Thomas. Every great Ryder Cup player — which JT is — gets a benefit-of-the-doubt captain’s pick if he needs it. This is JT’s. Either he’ll play well and prove ZJ right or underperform and come in for all the heat. There’s no in between. —LKD

Overall impression of the US team?

I’ll give Johnson an “A” here. I’ve been impressed by the US Ryder Cup task force/captain’s committee since Whistling Straits, and I think their analysis and choices continue to be on point. He made the six picks he should have, he created a team that has a ton of chemistry and cohesiveness, and he’s given himself a great shot to be the first American captain to win in Europe in 30 years. That doesn’t mean there’s no room for criticism; if Spieth and Thomas in particular can’t get the job done, people will rightly be wondering if he should have taken players with more form, like Bradley and Glover. —SR

Like any coach assessing how to assemble an effective (i.e. winning) team, Johnson obviously considered relationships as well as skill sets. Zach said his six picks “made the other six whole. They’re a great fit for Marco Simone and a great fit for each other, which is massive.” His selections give him obvious pairings with JT-Spieth, Burns-Scheffler to go along with Cantlay-Schauffele. Koepka, Morikawa and Fowler can mesh with anyone. He tried to build a cohesive team rather than one based simply on perceived form. It’s a risk, but with USA losing the last six overseas, it’s one worth taking. —DS

Well, it seems like every four years the US looks really formidable on paper until the match begins on European soil and, suddenly, they realise how foolish that conviction is. All that said … the team looks pretty good. Wyndham Clark is perhaps the biggest question mark outside of Thomas, but Clark was such a killer at LACC and his short game is so good that fans shouldn’t worry too much about his Ryder Cup debut. Despite the team’s collective struggle over the past two months it’s still deeper than anything Europe will push out. Winning a modern Ryder Cup on the road is tough, but if any team can break the slump, it’s this one. —JB

ZJ did everything by the book, solid and unspectacularly. It was to the point, and all business. As for the rest of the team, Johnson’s message was clear: The picks are there to pair with the automatic qualifiers and bring the best out of them. Picks like Fowler, Morikawa and Thomas have the record to balance the inexperience of automatic qualifiers like Homa, Clark and Harman. Outside of the top-to-bottom quality is the fact that this team meshes together really well, personality-wise. There’s only one thing left to do for the US team: Get to work. —LKD

The post Surprises? Snubs? Our writers break down the US Ryder Cup captain’s picks and the 2023 American team overall appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Despite the automatic qualifying period ending for the US Solheim Cup team following the CPKC Women’s Canadian Open, one spot still needs to be settled. The Americans had major champions Lilia Vu and Allisen Corpuz alongside Nelly Korda and Megan Khang with their roster spots locked up before a shot was hit at Shaughnessy Golf & Country Club in Vancouver this week.

Five Solheim qualifying spots were up for grabs heading into the Canadian Open, three from its points list and two from the Rolex Women’s World Rankings. Jennifer Kupcho, Danielle Kang and Andrea Lee qualified on points, while Lexi Thompson held the first of two Rolex Ranking positions. The other was too close to call.

The Solheim Cup is scheduled for September 22-24 at Finca Cortesin in Andalucia, Spain, in just under four weeks.

?? https://t.co/CqXvhw1hbS

— Solheim Cup Team USA ?? (@SolheimCupUSA) August 26, 2023

Lee’s closing two-under 70 was the most impactful round of the day in Vancouver. Lee started Sunday at even par and tied for 18th, knowing she needed to finish T-13 or better to overtake Thompson and bump the Solheim veteran out of the points list. Lee ended her round sitting at two under and T-11, having to wait out the day before finishing on the dot at T-13.

“I just tried to stay really patient out there and put a solid round together today,” Lee said. “So I’m really satisfied with the way I played.”

The US Solheim Cup team fills from the points list first; then it picks two players from the Rolex Rankings. Thompson (21) is the top American in the world ranking who did not qualify off the points list and will take the first spot.

The second position, however, is a toss-up. Rose Zhang (31) and Angel Yin (32) entered the Canadian Open in a virtual tie at 2.94 points, and both finished T-41. Ally Ewing (34) sat at 2.91 points and finished T-22, which could be enough to surpass Zhang and Yin with how close the cup veteran was at the start of the week.

The World No. 1, again, will play for the United States at the Solheim. But instead of Korda, who held the spot in 2021, Vu has the honour, as she won two majors in a single season for the first time on the LPGA since Jin Young Ko in 2019 and the first American to do so since Juli Inkster in 1999. Corpuz, who won the US Women’s Open for her maiden LPGA title, rounds out the major-champion rookies, leading the youth movement headed to Spain.

The major-winning tandem is two of a possible four first-timers to make it through qualifying alongside Lee and Zhang. The experience difference between Europe and the US is evident. Those Americans qualifying on points have only eight Solheim Cups among them, only one more than Europe’s Anna Nordqvist has had by herself.

Thompson brings the most Solheim experience to the roster, playing on every US team dating to 2013 with a 6-7-1 career record. She’s playing in the next two LPGA tournaments searching for form, after missing her seventh cut in nine starts of 2023 at the Canadian Open. Kang has the second most experience on the team with three previous appearances, then Khang and Korda with two apiece, followed by Kupcho with one start in 2021.

Lewis will announce her three captain’s picks later today to round out her 12-player squad.

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The US Solheim qualification has unsettled spots remaining, with five of its nine automatic qualifying places still on the line. This week’s CPKC Women’s Open marks the final chance for players to earn their way on to the team instead of relying on Captain Stacy Lewis to use one of her three picks on them to make it to the Solheim in just under a month. Lewis explained that her pool of potential players has fallen from 20-to-25 at the start of the qualification period down to 13-or-14 going into this week.

“I don’t think anything crazy is going to happen this week,” Lewis said. “I like where we are. We have some scenarios in our head of what’s going to happen. Could be some movement within the points and Rolex. In my head I don’t think there will be a lot of movement.”

The Americans have two automatic qualification categories to make the team, with seven spots earned from the points list and two off the Rolex Women’s World Rankings. Lilia Vu, Nelly Korda, Allisen Corpuz and Megan Khang are the first four to lock their spots on the team. Only five players could mathematically earn the last three points positions, currently held by Jennifer Kupcho (283), Danielle Kang (281) and Lexi Thompson (258). Andrea Lee (245.5) and Ally Ewing (232.5) could play their way in, earning up to 60 points this week for a victory. Alison Lee (197), in 10th, would fall just a point shy of Thompson’s current points with a win.

Jennifer Kupcho. Michael Reaves

Kupcho and Kang’s notable points lead in fifth and sixth place requires multi-layered scenarios to get them knocked out from a spot. For the 2022 Chevron Championship winner to lose her spot, Kupcho would need to score no points, Lee or Ewing has to win, Thompson requires a T-5 or better and Kang needs to finish T-20 or better. Regardless of everyone else’s performance, Kupcho can lock in a points position with at least a T-7. Kang will get knocked out of the top seven if she does not earn a point, a Lee or Ewing victory, and a Thompson T-6 or better. The three-time Solheim veteran can secure her spot independent of how everyone else does with a T-5 or better.

Thompson’s position is much less secure. Should she not earn any points this week, Lee can pass Thompson with a T-13 or better, and Ewing would pass Thompson with at least a T-4 finish. Ewing would tie Thompson in points with a fifth-place finish, but the tiebreaker goes to the Rolex rankings. Thompson’s currently 21st, and Ewing is 34th, likely resulting in Thompson winning the tiebreaker. Regardless of how Lee and Ewing play, Thompson can only lock her spot with a victory.

Lexi Thompson. Stacy Revere

However, Thompson holds quite the safety net for a roster spot because of her Rolex Rankings position. Those two spots get filled after the seven qualifiers from the points list are locked in.

The Rolex rankings positions are an incredibly close race, currently filled by Angel Yin (31) and Rose Zhang (32), who are in a virtual tie with a points average of 2.94. Ewing (34) looms only two spots away, with the next closest chasers in striking distance of Andrea Lee (44) and Cheyenne Knight (45). The improbable scenarios of Kupcho (28) and Kang (30) getting knocked off the points list would further add to the jostling of how the world rankings spots might play out. Given the tight race and Lewis not quite settled on a top 12, a strong finish is crucial this week at Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club to secure an automatic spot.

“We wanted this event to be a part of our picks because I feel like it’s a championship event,” Lewis said.

On Wednesday, Lewis shed light on some of her team-building philosophy from what the analytics system — which the Ryder Cup team used the last three cups — reveals for roster construction possibilities. Lewis pointed out the system’s emphasis on players with solid performances on Bermuda grass and an ability to birdie from varying distances. Lewis highlighted Yin as a strong Bermuda player and Ewing as a great teammate to anyone based on her ability to hit fairways and score from numerous yardages consistently.

Lewis will make her three captain’s selections for the September 22-24 matches early next week.

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Fred Couples seemingly doesn’t care for the hoopla — or the secrecy surrounding it for that matter. Not when you consider he appeared to have just announced the US team’s plans regarding some of the on-the-bubble boys on his aptly named “The Fred Couples Show” earlier this week.

???? #RYDERCUP — Assistant Captain Fred Couples casually confirmed on @SiriusXMPGATOUR the 3 players he believes are locks to make the ?? team: “I’ll say Max Homa’s gonna be in Italy, without getting anyone in trouble…. Cam Young will be in Italy….“Jordan Spieth?” …Will be… pic.twitter.com/AWXnt3RIEi

— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) July 27, 2023

It’s not as if Couples is only loosely connected to the team and thus his guessing is more hearsay than reality. The man is a Team USA assistant captain. Seems like the definition of an insider, no? So hearing the following comments naturally gets your attention.

“Max Homa’s going to be in Italy, without getting anyone in trouble,” Couples noted during the programme. “Cam Young will be in Italy. Jordan Spieth will be in Italy.”

So matter-of-factly. Does showmanship mean nothing anymore?

When pushed by co-host George Downing if Keegan Bradley will make the Ryder Cup cut, that’s where Couples had to slow down. “I’m stopping,” he said at this point.

As of today, the top six Americans on the points list who would automatically qualify for Rome are Scottie Scheffler (who the PGA of America announced Wednesday is a mathematical lock to make the top six), Wyndham Clark, Brian Harman, Brooks Koepka, Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay. Homa, Young and Spieth are seven through nine in the standings, so these aren’t the most daring of choices, but it’s still shocking to announce locks this early. Harman recently jumped up 17 spots with his Open victory.

If this line-up stands, that would leave three spots open for the likes of Thomas, Bradley, Tony Finau, Collin Morikawa, Rickie Fowler and Sam Burns. JT struggled with his game of late, missing the cut at three of four majors and posting scores in the 80s at both Los Angeles Country Club and Royal Liverpool. He’s looking for some late-season magic at this week’s 3M Open to return to form.

“I’m glad he’s playing this week,” Couples said. “The whole world knows that JT’s gotta go to, is it Minnesota, and then Greensboro? He’s gotta go to those places and play well.”

The post US Ryder Cup assistant Fred Couples appears to confirm three bubble boys who are making the American team appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Matt Smith
Team Europe captain Henrik Stenson has announced his second Vice Captain in the hope of some local knowledge can help the side regain the Ryder Cup.

Italian Edoardo Molinari will line up alongside the Swede and fellow Vice Captain Thomas Bjorn for the competition which will be held at the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome from September 25 to October 1, 2023.

Molinari, alongside his brother Francesco, was part of the victorious Team Europe at the 2010 Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor in Wales. He has also won three times on the DP World Tour and has made 356 Tour appearances to date.

Molinari will be a popular addition to Team Europe among the home support when Italy hosts the biennial contest for the first time next year.

He said: “It is fantastic. I played the Ryder Cup in 2010 and to be able to be a Vice Captain in this one is a dream come true. It was a very unexpected call from Henrik. We had chatted a few times about stats and what I could do to help the team, but I never expected this.

“Knowing Henrik, he will leave no stone unturned. He will do everything he can to win the Ryder Cup back. It will be a lot of fun for all the guys playing for him too. He has always been a very friendly guy, and is always smiling, so I think it will be a fantastic atmosphere in the team room.

“The Italian fans will be loud and passionate at Marco Simone. For the players, it will be a lot of fun to play in front of such supportive crowds. Rome is a fantastic city, one of my favourites in the world. It is going to be a great week overall and I am very happy that the players will get to experience Rome.”

Stenson added: “I’m delighted to welcome Edoardo to the 2023 European Ryder Cup team as a Vice Captain. I’ve known him for a long time and he is obviously a Ryder Cup player himself. He is really into stats and he works with a few of the players who will potentially be on my team.

“I asked him if he would do me the honour of joining the team and he was delighted to. I’m very happy to have him on board and I’m very much looking forward to his input and to lean on his experience. With him being Italian, it is going to be an extra special week for him.

“I envisage Thomas and Edoardo as the working group that I will lean on for the foreseeable future. There will be a lot of healthy discussion and input between us. I’m delighted to have both of them as part of Team Europe.”

Molinari and his brother Francesco followed compatriot Costantino Rocca into Ryder Cup folklore when they represented Europe in the Ryder Cup in 2010 at Celtic Manor.

The Molinaris became the first brothers to compete against the United States since Bernard and Geoffrey Hunt played in the 1963 Great Britain & Ireland team, when they played in the 2010 contest. They halved their fourball match against Stewart Cink and Matt Kuchar, while Edoardo contributed another crucial half point in his singles match against Rickie Fowler as Europe triumphed 14.5-13.5.

In addition to his three victories on the DP World Tour, Molinari was also the Challenge Tour No. 1 in 2009 and was, for a number of years, a respected member of the DP World Tour’s Tournament Committee.

Before turning professional Molinari won the 2005 US Amateur Championship and alongside Francesco, claimed the World Cup of Golf for Italy in 2009 at Mission Hills in China.

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