September 21, 2021
From the “Concession” in 1969 to the “Miracle in Medinah” in 2012, memorable moments and the Ryder Cup come hand in hand.The biennial golf tournament which pits the world’s best golfers head-to-head in a Europe vs. US format kicks off on Friday, September 24 at Whistling Straits, Wisconsin.
Delayed a year due to the coronavirus pandemic, the tournament will be composed of its usual foursome, fourball and singles format in front of a partisan US crowd hoping their players can return the trophy to American soil after Europe last won in 2018 in France.US captain Steve Stricker and Europe captain Pádraig Harrington have selected strong sides, stocked to the brim with major winners and current and former world No. 1’s and even an Olympic gold medalist.
So three years after “Moliwood” — the pairing of Francesco Molinari and Tommy Fleetwood, which took golf by storm and led to one of the sport’s most viral videos with the two of them in bed with the trophy — who will be the competition’s next break out player?Will Team USA reclaim the trophy or can Europe make sure it will be joining them on the flight back over the Atlantic?
Meet the teams
For the home team, Stricker had almost an embarrassment of riches to select from when it came time to make his picks.Collin Morikawa, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas and Patrick Cantlay all automatically qualified based on points earned from performances over the past two years.
That’s 10 major titles and three FedExCup titles between the six of them.In addition to those, Stricker selected Jordan Spieth, Xander Schauffele, Harris English, Scottie Scheffler, Daniel Berger and Tony Finau.That’s an additional three majors, 26 PGA Tour victories and one Olympic gold medal to add to the team.The biggest name to miss out for Team USA was Patrick Reed, the 2018 Masters winner, which was a “very difficult call,” according to Stricker.But finding the balance between rookies and veterans and players that fit the Whistling Straits course was paramount for Stricker and his assistant captains.
“We are looking to the best players to perform here at Whistling Straits, and these six guys that we picked, we feel like fit Whistling Straits to a T,” he told the media.”We have done some analysis of those rookies since 2008, and US rookies are a 40-29-17 record in Ryder Cup. So rookies fare very well in this type of form, and we’re excited to have these rookies.
Some of them aren’t really rookies. They have played in past Presidents Cup teams. Some of these guys have match play competition under their belt as well and other events that they played.”There is also the matter of rivalries bubbling inside the US team, most notably the frosty relationship between Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau.
There is little love lost between the pair with their minor spats often spilling over onto social media. The moment Koepka rolled his eyes when DeChambeau walked behind him at this year’s PGA Championship perhaps perfectly sums up their strained relationship.But both have previously said their rivalry is good for golf and Stricker does not anticipate it being a problem during the Ryder Cup.
“It’s a non-issue, really, for me and the team. We got together a few weeks ago, the six of us and I’ve had conversations with them both,” Stricker said. “They have assured me it’s not going to be an issue. I have no worries whatsoever.”
Ream more at CNN.com
