Hard to believe, but the last time the American Ryder Cup team defeated Team Europe on foreign soil was 30 years ago.
In a recent interview with the PGA of America, current vice-captain Davis Love III – who was a rookie on that winning team in 1993 – laughs as he recalled the Americans flew to England on a Concorde jet, which at the time, was the dubbed “the future of air travel.”
Concorde jets were retired in 2003.
This year, however, an impressive group of Americans have come to Marco Simone Golf and Club on the heels of a 19-9 drubbing of Team Europe in 2021. The 10-point winning margin by the Americans at Whistling Straits two years ago was the largest at the Ryder Cup since 1975.
This squad is eager to break that drought.
“The teams of the past are teams of the past. This is a new team with a new opportunity,” American captain Zach Johnson said. “The European teams have been very stout, very good, very deep, and this year is no different. It's just difficult. I know what history says. I'm very aware of that.
“But at the same time, I can speak confidently, and talking to my team, these guys are ready and want to embrace that difficulty and want to just look at this as a great opportunity.”
The Ryder Cup begins Friday from Rome.
Here is everything you need to know as Team USA looks to do something that hasn’t been done in three decades.
THE COURSE
A regular stop on the DP World Tour, Marco Simone Golf Club has hosted the Italian Open for the last three years. Located about 15 kilometres from
Rome’s city centre, the club was originally built in 1989 before getting re-designed in preparation of hosting the DP World Tour (that effort started in August 2018 and was completed in March 2021) and with match play in mind.
Members of Team Europe have won two of the last three Italian Open tournaments (Nicolai Hojgaard in 2021 and Robert MacIntyre in 2022).
There are three drivable par-4s and the course is quite hilly. With many of the best players in the world potentially needing to play 36 holes for two days in a row, it will be interesting if a golfer on either side will play all five sessions.
Jim Furyk, another American vice-captain, told Sportsnet the length of the rough will be a key factor during the Ryder Cup. Furyk was in Montreal two weeks ago as part of the lead up to next year’s Presidents Cup at Royal Montreal, where Furyk will captain the American team.
“The rough is very penal. It’s brutal. It’s long. It’s thick. You need spotters to find golf balls,” Furyk said. “There’s a lot of risk-reward. There is going to be a lot of drama in the event, and I imagine they did that for a reason.”
EUROPE’S NEW CREW
This year, Rory McIlroy will be playing his seventh Ryder Cup. He’s been a long-time part of the European side and has been party of plenty of victorious moments. But at Whistling Straits, the lasting image of the week was a teary-eyed McIlroy saying the Ryder Cup is “the best event in golf, bar none” after he won his Sunday match against Xander Schauffele but didn’t contribute much else through the week.
McIlroy, the second-ranked golfer in the world, is joined on Team Europe by the third-ranked Jon Rahm and fourth-ranked Viktor Hovland – who won the final two events of the 2022-23 PGA Tour season and claimed the FedExCup.
Hovland made his debut at the Ryder Cup in 2021 and went 0-3-2. He’s going to have to improve on that one-point effort this time around. The Ryder Cup, he admitted, is a different animal.
“It's been a great year for me. Played a lot of good golf, but this is the Ryder Cup, and that all kind of goes out the window,” Hovland said. “You're here to perform for the team, and obviously after what happened two years ago, I think we're all pretty motivated to get the Cup back to Europe.”
With most of Europe’s old guard deciding to join LIV, that triumvirate of McIlroy, Rahm, and Hovland – along with Justin Rose, who is the oldest member of Team Europe and is playing his sixth Ryder Cup – will be leaned on plenty in the team room and on the course.
But McIlroy was clear: this is a team.
“I'm older than people and I have more experience, and some of these guys have watched me play on TV. But I don't want anyone looking up to me,” McIlroy said. “I want them looking over to me. I don't want them looking up to me in any way. I want them to see me like I'm on their level. And there's no hierarchy on our team.
“It's we are all one part of a 12-man team, and we all go forward together.”
Europe will have four rookies while Team USA will have three. Two of the American rookies were first-time major winners this year, with Wyndham Clark (U.S. Open) and Brian Harman (Open Championship) earning their way onto the team automatically. Harman is the oldest member of Team USA at 36.
POINTED PICKS
With just six automatic qualifiers on both sides, the rest of the teams were filled out by six captain’s picks. There was one pick per side that was most fascinating.
For Team USA it was Justin Thomas.
Thomas, a two-time major champion, has plenty to prove this week. He missed the FedExCup playoffs for the first time in his career this year, was a non-factor at the majors, and slipped all the way to 129th in strokes gained: putting. Thomas finished fifth at the Fortinet Championship the week after his pick was solidified, however, and will likely be paired up with long-time pal Jordan Spieth at Marco Simone.
“At the end of the day, if the six guys in that room don't think that I'm what's best for the team, then I don't deserve to go. That (was) my thought the whole time, and I'm very glad that they did and do have faith in me,” Thomas said.
Team Europe’s most interesting pick was Ludvig Aberg.
Aberg made his pro debut at the RBC Canadian Open this summer and has played only 10 tournaments as a professional. Aberg won the Omega European Masters on the DP World Tour last month, though, and won everything there was to win on the collegiate circuit before that. He’s got all the tools – hits it long and straight, stripes his irons, and is a top-tier putter – but it will be fascinating to see how the 23-year-old, who has never even played a major championship, will do under Ryder Cup pressure.
LIV LINGERING
As has been the case for most of golf’s major events over the last year-and-a-half, the LIV drama remains a part of the week. On the American side, Brooks Koepka earned a captain’s pick despite joining LIV last year. Koepka won the PGA Championship in May (and was runner-up at the Masters) and Scottie Scheffler said this summer that if Koepka had played just one PGA Tour event he likely would have made the team automatically.
It became a no-brainer Koepka was heading to Rome as the summer went on.
“I had the same opportunity as every other LIV player, and I’m here. Play better. That’s always the answer,” Koepka said.
On the European side, the impact of the LIV defections has more-so impacted the line of captains – including this year. Luke Donald was a replacement for Henrik Stenson, who was supposed to be this year’s captain before he joined LIV. Stalwarts Ian Poulter, Graeme McDowell, Paul Casey, and Lee Westwood are all part of LIV now, along with Sergio Garcia – the biggest point-getter in European Ryder Cup history.
Poulter took to Instagram to wish the European squad good luck, while Rahm said he and Garcia were in touch as earlier as Monday of Ryder Cup week. That duo went 3-0-0 at Whistling Straits.
“I think they are going to miss being here more than we’re missing them,” McIlroy said of the LIV group. “It’s just more, I think, this week is a realization that the decision that they made has led to them not being a part of this week and that’s tough.”
THE FORMAT
There are two days of team matches (four matches per session with a morning and afternoon session each day) starting with alternate shot in the morning and best ball in the afternoon. Sunday will feature 12 singles matches.
The United States, as defending champion, needs only 14 points to retain the cup. Europe needs 14.5 points to win the cup.
Since the competition was expanded to include Europe (and not just Great Britain and Ireland), Europe holds an 11-9-1 record over the U.S.
TEAM USA
Qualifiers: Scottie Scheffler (2nd Ryder Cup), Wyndham Clark (Rookie), Brian Harman (Rookie), Patrick Cantlay (2nd Ryder Cup), Max Homa (Rookie), Xander Schauffele (2nd Ryder Cup).
Captain’s Picks: Justin Thomas (3rd Ryder Cup), Brooks Koepka (4th Ryder Cup), Jordan Spieth (5th Ryder Cup), Collin Morikawa (2nd Ryder Cup), Sam Burns (Rookie), Rickie Fowler (5th Ryder Cup).
TEAM EUROPE
Qualifiers: Rory McIlroy (7th Ryder Cup), Jon Rahm (3rd Ryder Cup), Robert MacIntyre (Rookie), Viktor Hovland (2nd Ryder Cup), Tyrrell Hatton (3rd Ryder Cup), Matt Fitzpatrick (3rd Ryder Cup).
Captain’s Picks: Shane Lowry (2nd Ryder Cup), Nicolai Hojgaard (Rookie), Ludvig Aberg (Rookie), Tommy Fleetwood (3rd Ryder Cup), Sepp Straka (Rookie), Justin Rose (6th Ryder Cup).
WHEN TO WATCH
Friday and Saturday’s coverage begins at 1:30 a.m. ET, while the Sunday singles matches begin at 5:30 a.m. ET.
