The 41st Ryder Cup Matches

Beginning Friday morning, the greatest three-days of golf resumes.  The Ryder Cup isn't just another golf tournament, and it certainly is not just some golf exhibition.  The Ryder Cup, for better or worse, is a battle between two continents for bragging rights and national pride.  In a sport that exudes individualism, the Ryder Cup is the singular event where the best golfers in the world join together as team members.

Over the last twenty years, Europe has dominated the Ryder Cup winning 8 of the last 10 events.  Many of those were blowouts, a few were close, and one match in particular featured an epic final day collapse of the American team.  Following the 2014 matches in Scotland where America turned to Tom Watson to right the ship, only to once again see Europe dominate, this year's matches have been viewed in terms of being a "must win" for the United States.  The PGA of America (who co-owns the rights to the event) formed a "task force" to evaluate the Ryder Cup process on the American side.  Ultimately, the task force implemented two changes which will be immediately recognizable to the American fans:  They named Davis Love III the captain for the second time, and they extended the deadline for the final captain's pick to the Sunday following the Tour Championship.

This year's contest heads to Chaska, Minnesota and Hazeltine National.  Hazeltine has most recently hosted some memorable PGA Championships (both featuring runner-up finishes for vice-captain Tiger Woods).  Expect that, like Medinah in 2012, the rough to be mowed down on the Robert Trent Jones designed course making the penalty for the American bombers less severe.

This year's teams features a great blend of new talent and "veterans" with incredible success.  Europe features arguably the best player in the world right now in Rory McIlroy.  Rory won the Deutsche Bank Championship in Boston and the Tour Championship yesterday to claim the 2016 FedEx Cup Championship.

United States of America

Dustin Johnson

Jordan Spieth

Zach Johnson

Brooks Koepka

Patrick Reed

Phil Mickelson

Brandt Snedeker

Jimmy Walker 

Rickie Fowler

Matt Kuchar

J.B. Holmes 

Ryan Moore

Europe

Rory McIlroy

Justin Rose 

Rafa Cabrera Bello

Matthew Fitzpatrick

Sergio Garcia

Martin Kaymer

Thomas Pieters

Andy Sullivan

Danny Willet

Chris Wood

Lee Westwood

Henrik Stenson

Some (like Johnny Miller) have stated that this is the weakest European team in years.  That is a bold claim considering the likes of McIlroy, Stenson, and Rose not to mention European stalwarts such as Sergio Garcia and Martin Kaymer.  The European team also boasts the reigning Masters Champion.  

I think a more accurate observation would be that the European team has a lot of youth and inexperienced Ryder Cup players on their roster.  While everyone should have learned not to discount the European team and/or their lack of experience, the fact that many European players will be playing their first Ryder Cup on American soil should certainly help the US.  

On paper, while the top-tier of the European Team has an edge over the top-tier of the US roster, the Americans appear to be deeper.  The depth of the American squad could flourish in the Sunday's singles matches.  

Expect a more analytic approach this year for the Americans as well.  Based on recent interviews, by all accounts it appears that Davis Love III is going to utilize the pod-system that Paul Azinger introduced in 2008.  While Davis Love and Steve Stricker (who I expect to be the US Ryder Cup Captain in 2018) will cover the entire course of play, each vice-captain is going to be assigned a group of players.  

Prediction 

So who is going to win the 41st Ryder Cup?  I expect the match to be very close, perhaps within two points heading into the Sunday singles.  I also expect the "stars" of the teams to hold their own in singles matches.  The event is going to hinge on the "new guys" and how well they can handle their nerves.  This is where I think the depth and experience of the United States is going to prevail and ultimately see the Ryder Cup returned to America.  

Europe: 13.5

United States: 14.5