CNN
—
The teams are in – and Ryder Cup fever has officially taken hold.
A week on from Zach Johnson announcing his six captain’s picks for the United States team, European counterpart Luke Donald confirmed his choices Monday to finalize the 12-man rosters set to do battle at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome, Italy, from September 29 to October 1.
It’s a mission of revenge for Team Europe, having suffered the ignominy of a historically crushing 19 – 9 defeat at Whistling Straits in 2021.
The Americans arrive with a point to prove of their own, seeking to end a 30-year wait for a win on European soil.
From inevitable inclusions to controversial captain’s picks, here’s everything you need to know about the 24 golfers lining up for 44th edition of the biennial competition.
Captain: Zach Johnson
A member of five US teams as a player, Johnson is a veteran of the Ryder Cup.
Having made his debut in 2006, the two-time major winner tasted defeat in his first four appearances but signed off with a resounding home victory at Hazeltine in 2016.
The 47-year-old served as vice-captain to Steve Stricker during the comprehensive triumph at Whistling Straits two years ago, with Stricker named as one of Johnson’s five vices for Rome, joining Davis Love III, Jim Furyk, Fred Couples and Stewart Cink.
Automatic qualifiers: Scottie Scheffler, Wyndham Clark, Brian Harman, Patrick Cantlay, Max Homa and Xander Schauffele
Two of the year’s major champions and nobody outside the world’s top-10 ranked players: Team USA’s six automatic qualifiers have all enjoyed excellent seasons.
At the tip of the spear is world No. 1 Scheffler – Johnson’s “Mr. Consistency” – who accumulated more Ryder Cup points than the next two closest players combined since the start of 2022.
The 27-year-old has amassed six PGA Tour wins in that period, including a triumph at last year’s Masters, and racked up 17 top-10 finishes from just 23 starts across the 2022/23 Tour season.
Yet despite a string of impressive showings, Scheffler could not get over the line in the majors in 2023 – unlike Clark and Harman, who clinched career-first major titles at the US Open and Open Championship respectively.
Those wins helped the pair cruise to a debut Ryder Cup roster slot, with six-time PGA Tour winner Homa also making his first appearance this year. Cantlay and Schauffele joined Scheffler on the triumphant 2021 team, with both adding three points.
From “prom king” Homa to “bulldog” Harman, Johnson believes his automatic picks will bring both prowess and personality.
“Quality guys, great competitors, and probably better off the course than even on it,” Johnson told reporters.
US captain’s picks: Sam Burns, Rickie Fowler, Brooks Koepka, Collin Morikawa, Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas
It’s almost impossible for a Ryder Cup captain to dodge at least some level of dispute when deciding on his wildcard picks, but two of Johnson’s inclusions have drawn particular scrutiny.
In Koepka, LIV Golf will have a representative at the tournament.
Even as tensions between the warring tours have cooled, uncertainty as to whether golfers that played on the breakaway Saudi-backed series could make the US team lingered as recently as July, when Johnson said LIV Golf players would “technically” be eligible to join the roster.
Given that LIV Golf players could only accumulate qualification points through the majors, it is a testament to Koepka’s superb form that he finished a mere 29 points off Schauffele’s 9450.269-point haul for the sixth and final automatic spot.
The resurgent 33-year-old finished runner-up at The Masters before clinching his fifth major title at the PGA Championship in May and finishing tied-17th at the US Open.
Subsequently, selecting Koepka for his fourth Ryder Cup appearance was an “easy pick” for his captain.
“His experience, his temperament, the way he goes about his work, his passion for the Ryder Cup all spoke volumes,” Johnson said.
“Brooks is great in the team room and great inside the ropes. These guys wanted him, I wanted him. A very natural fit.”
PGA Championship winner Brooks Koepka speaks to CNN Sport
Thomas has not enjoyed similar success this year – far from it.
The 15-time PGA Tour winner has been candid about his grueling search for form, having missed the cut at three of the four majors and not making it into the top-70 FedEx Cup ranking needed to make the season-ending playoffs, the first time he’s failed to do so since 2014.
It left the 30-year-old ranked 15th in Ryder Cup qualification points but, as far as Johnson is concerned, “You just don’t leave JT at home.” Thomas impressed at the last two tournaments, going 6-2-1, and those displays were not forgotten by this year’s captain.
“One of the most talented players on the PGA Tour in my opinion,” Johnson said of Thomas.
“He has without question been the heart and soul of Team USA, Ryder Cups, our emotional leader I would say, and I don’t think he would argue with that. He just leads by example.
“Overall, a fantastic Ryder Cup record. His passion for the Ryder Cup is very evident. He would say it himself. He has said it himself.
“In my mind, he was born for this.”
Cameron Young, Keegan Bradley and Denny McCarthy all missed out on call-ups despite accumulating more qualification points than Thomas, who said he felt “very, very fortunate” to make his third straight Ryder Cup appearance.
“I did put a lot of pressure on myself to make this team because it does mean so much to me,” Thomas said.
“You can want something too bad, and I’m sure all of us have tried to win golf tournaments too much or tried to force the issue, and there was potentially times this season I did.
“Zach has been very vocal and made it sound great that we are all equal on this team.”
Thomas will once again be joined by close friend Spieth, the three-time major champion making the team for the fifth consecutive tournament. Only Fowler, who ended a four-year wait for a sixth PGA Tour title during a resurgent 2023 season, has represented Team USA as often from this year’s squad.
Rounding out the American roster are Ryder Cup rookie Burns and Morikawa, who went 3-0-1 on his debut two years ago.
“To say I’m excited about these gents would be an understatement,” Johnson said.
“They check all the boxes. Fierce competitors, great versatility, great flexibility when it comes to pairings, when it comes to the fit for Marco Simone, a great fit for each other, which is massive.
“With that comes a lot of just awesome options, successful pairings, an opportunity to do what we want to do, and that’s to win.”
Captain: Luke Donald
He wasn’t the original choice, but Donald is the man entrusted to lead Europe in its defense of a proud home soil streak.
The 45-year-old Englishman was parachuted in to replace Henrik Stenson as captain in August 2022 following the Swede’s participation in the LIV Golf series and arrives with impressive Ryder Cup pedigree.
Donald was victorious on all four appearances at the tournament and secured the team’s first singles point en route to the famous ‘Miracle at Medinah’ victory in 2012.
Francesco Molinari was Donald’s teammate that year, and the Italian – along with brother Edoardo – will serve alongside the former world No. 1 once again as a vice-captain in Rome. Thomas Bjørn, Nicolas Colsaerts and José María Olazábal finalize Donald’s vice choices.
Automatic qualifiers: Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Viktor Hovland, Tyrrell Hatton, Matt Fitzpatrick and Robert MacIntyre
Team USA may boast the world’s best-ranked player, but Europe has locked up the chasing pack.
In Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, and Viktor Hovland, the host can call upon a frightening trifecta of talent that sits immediately behind Scheffler in the world rankings.
Making his seventh straight Ryder Cup appearance, McIlroy will be the most-capped player in Rome, and the Northern Irishman will undoubtedly be looked to as a guiding influence for the team’s four debutants.
Masters champion Rahm ensures the presence of a 2023 major winner on the roster, while in Hovland, Europe fields arguably the game’s most in-form player.
Having finished no lower than tied-13th at the majors, the 25-year-old Norwegian enjoyed a spectacular end to the season, winning two PGA Tour events in August alone.
2022 US Open champion Fitzpatrick adds another major winner to the mix, though the Englishman is still waiting for his first Ryder Cup point after two scoreless appearances in 2016 and 2021.
English compatriot Hatton and Scottish debutant MacIntyre took the final automatic qualifying places for Europe, awarded based on an accumulation of European and World points respectively.
“What a group of superstars, some fearless golfers,” Donald told reporters regarding the automatic qualifiers on Monday.
“I’m extremely happy with those six. It’s a great start.”
Captain’s picks: Tommy Fleetwood, Sepp Straka, Shane Lowry, Justin Rose, Nicolai Højgaard and Ludvig Aberg
The headlines from Donald’s picks boiled down to the story of two men: one that made it and one that didn’t.
Of the eight rookies teeing it up in Rome this year, nobody is more befitting of the title than 23-year-old Aberg. After only turning professional in June, the Swede began the year ranked 3,073th in the world and will make his Ryder Cup debut despite having never competed at a major championship.
Yet after an impressive triumph at the European Masters in Switzerland on Sunday, a win that lifted Aberg to world No. 90, Donald has no doubts in the youngster’s ability to hold his own on the biggest stage.
“I really do have a lot of faith and belief in Ludvig. I think he’s a generational player,” Donald said.
“He’s going to be around a long time. He’s going to do amazing things. If he wasn’t going to play this one, he’s going to play the next eight Ryder Cups. That’s how good I think he is.
“He proved to us on Sunday with such grit and determination, and he’s just so cool, he goes about his business so easily. Doesn’t take much time, has a great way about him, hits some of the most amazing shots.
“If you look at even just statistics this year, he would be the No. 1 driver in the world ahead of Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler. That’s pretty high standards for someone that’s just come out of college.”
Cue giddy excitement for Aberg, a stark contrast to the agony undoubtedly felt by Adrian Meronk at missing out on selection.
For some, the towering Polish golfer was a surprise omission from Donald’s picks given that only McIlroy and Rahm sit above him in the DP World (European) Tour rankings. On top of that, he’s already tasted success on the Marco Simone course this year, having won the Italian Open there in May.
Paul Goydos, US assistant captain in 2010, described the decision not to take Meronk as “a crime” in a post on X following Monday’s team confirmation, but Donald was content with his choices.
“There was a lot of people throughout the year that I was considering … obviously, Adrian being one of those for sure,” Donald said.
“He absolutely did a lot of great stuff throughout the year and was very much on my mind … There were other players, too, that legitimately could have been there. But in the end, I’m very happy with all the six picks.
“Those are tough decisions and that comes with every Ryder Cup. There’s always going to be some people that miss out that really feel like they had a good chance and, yeah, it just wasn’t to be for some of those.”
Højgaard and Straka join Aberg in making their Ryder Cup debuts, but their rawness is offset by the presence of Rose, who returns for his sixth appearance. The 43-year-old is 13-8-2 at the event and will bring a wealth of experience to the team alongside Fleetwood, Hatton and Lowry, all returning members of the 2021 team.
Credit: Source link
