The 42nd Ryder Cup: Team Europe

As we build toward the 42nd Ryder Cup matches, Bogeys & Blue has been profiling the teams and course to get you ready for the biggest spectacle in golf.  Today we take a look at Team Europe and the twelve golfers who will look to reclaim Samuel Ryder’s cup in Paris, France.

Francesco Molinari is the only European player to capture a major championship in 2018.  Molinari is the Champion Golfer of the Year and was on an incredible tear winning the Quicken Loans National and Open Championship in a three-week span. Molinari also won the European Tour's signature event: the BMW PGA Championship.

The other multiple winner headlining the European team is Justin Rose.  Now a Ryder Cup stalwart, Rose has played consistent golf all year.  His first win of the PGA Tour season came in 2017 at the WGC-HSBC and he followed that up with a June win at the Forth Worth Invitational.  Rose nearly captured the third-leg of the FedEx Cup Playoffs last week.  His longevity and consistency will be a thorn in the side of the US team.

Tyrell Hutton is a name that won’t be known to casual golf fans and observers.  He is making his first appearance in the Ryder Cup has finished strong in a number of PGA Tour events this season.

Although he hasn’t captured a win on the PGA Tour, Tommy Fleetwood has gained a fan following and will certainly be one of the strongest players in the European contingent.  Fleetwood nearly won his first major championship at Shinneock Hills with a final round 63 - still not enough to knock off defending champion Brooks Koepka.

Jon Rahm has become a fan favorite in the United States.  Having played his golf at Arizona State, Rahm has shown flashes of brilliance and captured this year’s Career Builder Challenge as well as the Spanish Open on the European Tour.  Rahm is a big driver and big talent who wears his emotion on his sleeve.  He will feed off the energetic European crowd.

Thorbjorn Olesen is another name that won't be terribly familiar to the casual American golf fan.  This is Olsesen's first Ryder Cup and he has a European Tour win on his resume this year.  He also hails from Denmark - just like his captain Thomas Bjorn.

Rory McIlroy will be competing in his fourth Ryder Cup - astounding given his young age.  McIlroy won on the PGA Tour this year at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando.   McIlroy has shown flashes of brilliance all season and has looked to be on the verge of breaking out - only to fall short.  McIlroy is always a threat in the Ryder Cup.  Who can forget his singles showdown against Patrick Reed in 2016.  We could only be so lucky to see an encore.

The final rookie on the European Team is Alex Noren.  Noren captured the French Open this year - contested at Golf National.  Noren has been a consistent winner on the European Tour but the inexperience of playing in this event will certainly  be a wildcard.

The first of Captain Bjorn's selections was Paul Casey.  Casey won the Houston Open this year on the PGA Tour and has played steady golf all year long.  He hasn't been a threat of late but Casey was hungry to get back on a Ryder Cup team.

Sergio Garcia is a young 38 years old and this will be his 9th Ryder Cup appearance.  Garcia has been a stalwart for the European squad for the last two decades.  Garcia won The Masters in 2017 and has been on the decline ever since - but don't think for a minute Garcia isn't going to bring his usual magic to these matches.

Ian Poulter will always remain a thorn in the side of American golf fans after his stellar play in the 2012 Ryder Cup at Medinah.  Poulter has seen a renaissance in his game - thanks in part to a return to the putter that he used in the 2012 matches.  Poulter will have the crowds fired up - and American golf fans annoyed.

The final selection by Bjorn was Henrik Stenson.  Stenson captured The Open in 2016 in a duel for the ages against Phil Mickelson.  Stenson has struggled this year appearing near the top of the leaderboards only sparingly.  Stenson's selection signals a desire by Bjorn to add a veteran presence to a team that is compromised of three rookies.

GolfWeek has an excellent breakdown of Team Europe and each player's performance in 2018.

The pundits will debate who has the advantage over the next couple of weeks leading up to the 42nd matches.  On paper, the American team certainly looks to be playing the better golf heading to Paris.  But if history has taught us anything, it's that the "strongest team on paper" rarely wins in a rout - if at all.  The beauty of the Ryder Cup is that it pits some of the best players on the planet against one on another in a rare team setting.  Nationalism tends to have a funny way of improving a player regardless of how he has played leading up to the event.

If you haven't already, make sure you check out our other #RyderCup posts:

Team USA's Captain's Selections 

Team USA's First 8

We'll also take a look at Le Golf National in the week leading up to the Ryder Cup.