Ryder Cup

We are officially days away from the Ryder Cup, but before we get to the men the women just finished up at the Solheim Cup last weekend. Unfortunately, Team USA lost, even though they actually tied this year's event in points. For those who aren’t familiar, in the Ryder and Solheim Cup you don’t actually have to win outright to win the cup. For example, Team Europe won the cup at the previous event so in order for Team USA to win they would have had to outright beat Team Europe. In this case, since Team Europe and Team USA tied, Team Europe would retain the Solheim Cup, the same would happen in the Ryder Cup this week if that situation were to present itself. With all that being said Team Europe technically didn’t win the Solheim Cup, they just didn't lose it. I know it makes no sense, and many golf fans across the globe feel that ending such a historic event in a tie seems rather ridiculous. Furthermore, changes do need to be made going forward because there needs to be a clear cut winner in events like this. Moving forward with the individual results of the Solheim Cup there were a few standouts this year. The top two on Team USA were Megan Khang and Lexi Thompson, Khang finished 3-0-1 capturing a team high 3.5 points and Thompson finished 3-1-0 capturing 3 points. For Team Europe they had a few stars that led them to success this year. For starters, Leona Lewis and Linn Grant each went 3-2-0 capturing 3 points each, but the ringer this week was Carlota Ciganda. Ciganda went perfect this week and captured 4 points with a 4-0-0 record. With such incredible play by both teams, it's a shame we had to end in a tie, I'm sure the women on both sides wanted to settle the event with one outright winner. That being said, rules are rules, and hopefully one day this one changes. 

With the Solheim Cup ending in a tie, we can only hope that there is an outright winner this week at The Ryder Cup. This year the Ryder Cup has been surrounded with rather unusual energy. Since LIV Golf came on the scene there has been one booming question, “Will LIV players be seriously considered for Ryder Cup spots.”As time progressed many LIV fans and LIV media believed that half of the LIV roster belonged on the team, to be expected of course, but with golf, it’s quite simple. In the events that LIV players were eligible to play in, in order to gain Ryder Cup points, Brooks Koepka (who was selected for the Ryder Cup via captains pick) was the only player who showed any promise recording a win at The PGA Championship and a second place finish at The Masters behind champion Jon Rahm. In regards to Brooks, he’s a phenomenal pick and you’d be stupid to not want him on your team. For guys like Bryson, Reed, and Talor Gooch they have no business being part of the team regardless of how many LIV events they’ve won. Even after Bryson’s latest LIV win, he made comments about not receiving a call from USA Captain Zach Johnson. I’m sorry but with his track record in the majors he didn’t deserve a call, which brings me to my next issue, Justin Thomas. 

In keeping things fair, as much as Bryson didn't deserve a spot on the team Justin Thomas equally didn’t deserve a spot. Thomas has shown little to no reason to deserve a captain’s pick. His major finishes were abysmal at best, missing the cut in all the majors except the PGA Championship where he finished T-65. On top of that, he also missed the FedEx Cup playoffs. This has arguably been the worst season of Thomas’ career. With that being said, bad golf happens, it's a fact of life, golf is extremely difficult and demanding in all facets of the game. However, giving a player a sympathy pick like Zach Johnson did for JT is just wrong. Johnson passed over numerous players who earned a spot on the team and deserved it over JT, one of those players being Keegan Bradley who displayed spectacular golf this season. Bradley captured two wins and six top 10s compared to Thomas’ zero wins and just four top 10s. It’s simple, Thomas was picked because the Ryder Cup is a boys club, a club that Thomas is a part of and Keegan is not to put it simply. However, although the boys club made sure all the fellas made it on the team there are a few guys that were automatic qualifiers that don’t fit into that club either. For starters, Brian Harman, Harman is a great player and this year's Champion Golfer of the Year after winning the Open Championship this past summer, but it's clear he’s not part of the boys’ club. Earlier today Harman was seen on the range at Marco Simone Golf Club, the host venue more than 100 yards away from the rest of the team. It seems to me that Harman has his eyes set on his own personal success which is totally acceptable for as much as it is a team event, individual records in these events are just as important. The rest of Team USA can take a page out of his book because they have their work cut out for them. Speaking of the rest of Team USA, their top three big hitters are Scottie Scheffler, Brooks Koepka, and Patrick Cantlay. Team USA needs huge weeks from these three. Scottie has yet to lose a Ryder Cup match so he needs to continue that solid play. Their mid level guys, Homa, Morikowa, and Spieth are going to be the deciding factors. These guys need to carry the team and earn their stripes. My wildcards are Thomas, Harman, and Clark. If JT loses a match he will receive scrutiny on multiple levels. Harman has the potential to go 5-0 or lose every match if he doesn’t putt well. Lastly, Wyndham Clark has made comments claiming he is better than Rory as well as numerous other players, he has put a lot of pressure on himself unnecessarily and it will be interesting to see how he handles that pressure. 

Team Europe is sneaky dangerous this year and they have history on their side on top of all of this. Team USA hasn’t won a Ryder Cup that was hosted in Europe since 1993, a 30 year long drought that is lingering in the minds of both players and captains of Team USA. History aside, Team Europe is very loaded this year at the top. Their top three Ramn, McIlroy, and Hovland are extremely lethal, and expect them to have positive records this week. The middle guys, Hatton, Fitzpatrick, and Fleetwood have potential, but Fitzpatrick has zero career wins and Hatton has a very high ceiling coupled with an extremely low floor as well. Now onto the wild cards, Ludvig Aberg and Robert Macintyre. Both players are Ryder Cup rookies and Ludvig has only been a professional golfer for a few months. He is the first player to play in a Ryder Cup without playing in a major. He also has a very high ceiling and an extremely low floor as well. It boils down to the middle guys, if Hatton and Fitzpatrick can play well Europe has a good shot at retaining the cup. (Mike)