2023 Ryder Cup Ultimate Guide – Venue, Teams, Prediction, LIV Players

A Look Ahead

The 2023 edition of the Ryder Cup will be held in Italy at the Marco Simone Golf & Country Club, located just 25 kilometres, approximately, north-east of Rome city centre (when Ryder Cup fever has abated, green fees during off peak times at the Marco Simone Club can be had for as little as $100, making it a very attractive golf option for future visitors).

The Ryder Cup this year will take place during week commencing Monday the 23^rd of September 2023.

Tuesday the 26^th, Wednesday the 27^th and Thursday the 28^th of September will be given over to team practice with the official opening then taking place on the evening of Thursday the 28^th of September.

The competitive action then gets underway on Friday the 29^th of September 2023. 8 golfers from both teams will be involved in competitive play in each session on Friday the 29^th with 4 fourball matches in the first session and 4 foursome matches in the second session.

Each match will consist of 18 holes and the fourballs and foursomes will be repeated on Saturday 30^th of September 2023. 1 point is awarded for victory with 0.5 points for a shared match.

Thus, a total of 16 points are available to be won in the first 2 days of the competition in both the fourball and the foursome matches.

Only 8 of the 12 golfers on each team will be involved in the fourball and foursomes and while every effort is made to field the strongest team possible, it is generally deemed advisable that all 12 members of the team see competitive action over the first 2 days.

The competition will then culminate on Sunday the 1^st of October 2023 when all 12 players will square off in one-on-one singles matches. The 12 points available from the singles on Sunday are, almost always, the single, most important factor in determining the outcome of the competition.

Ryder Cup 2023 Venue

The venue for the 2023 Ryder Cup is the Marco Simone Golf & Country Club in Rome.

This will be the first time that the Ryder Cup has been staged in Italy and given the scale of the Ryder Cup event (global audience of over 600 million in more than 160 countries worldwide), the event should really help to put Italian golf on the worldwide golfing map.

The golf club was fully redesigned with reconstruction works extending from mid-2018 to early 2021. The redesign focused specifically on Matchplay with multiple “risk and reward” opportunities throughout the course.

The rolling countryside will ensure that spectators are well catered for with excellent vantage points on the course – the course is actual close enough to Rome to ensure that St. Peter’s Basilica is visible in reasonable weather conditions.

The course is over 7200 yards long with a par of 72. The front 9 contains a number of dogleg par 4s which will certainly encourage risk taking with the drive, particularly in fourball play.

The layout will certainly help to ensure maximum excitement throughout the competition and the holes to particularly look out for while viewing include:

Ryder Cup Toughest Holes 2023

• Hole No. 5 is 376-yard Par 4 with the green extensively protected by a water hazard on the left-hand side. The layout will encourage a high-risk tee shot in order to ensure a short and straight forward second shot, but only if the water hazard is avoided.
• The 7^th is a 220-yard Par 3 with a very unusual kidney-shaped putting green. The pin position will be all-important here and the optimum way to play this hole will vary day-by-day as the pin position changes.
• The 8^th is a Par 5 over 500 yards long and again the green is protected by a large water hazard on the left-hand side of the green on approach – a perfect “risk and reward” opportunity.
• The 11^th is a 330-yard Par 4 with a dogleg to the left. He green is certainly driveable but is well protected along a straight line from the tee. Again, a perfect “risk and reward” opportunity with a very high percentage of the golfers certain to attempt to drive the green.
• The 12^th is a Par 5, over 550 yards long and with an extremely tight landing area for the drive. Effectively, the hole is designed as a 3-shot approach to the green, but it is certain that a significant proportion of the Ryder Cup players will be taking on the green with their second shot.
• Drama is certain on the 18^th Par 5, over 600 yards long. The wide fairway will encourage big hitters to attempt to reach the green with the second shot, they should note that the green is protected by a large water hazard on the left-hand side. This final hole will certainly help to raise tensions on any matches which go to the 18^th.

The fact that Marco Simone is a parkland course, rather than a links course, may be deemed to provide an advantage to the USA team, given that the European team are certainly more familiar than their American counterparts with links golf. Conversely, however, the course management required, as a result of the risk and opportunities on the course, may favour the European team particularly in fourball and foursomes play – the European team are familiar with the fourball and foursome aspect of team play and the layout may provide an advantage to the Europeans in this regard.

Overall, however, given the elite level at which the top golfers in the world operate, it is impossible to say whether the course will favour one side or the other. Only time will tell and roll on Friday the 29^th of September 2023 when the action gets underway.

Previous Ryder Cups

In order to whet the appetite ahead of the upcoming Ryder Cup, some brief highlights of previous Ryder Cups are set out:

Back in the Great Britain & Ireland days in 1969, at Royal Birkdale, the crucial Sunday’s singles match between Jack Nicklaus & Tony Jacklin came down to wire on the 18^th hole.

The USA has won 12 of the previous 13 contests and the score was 15 ½ points each with the result hinging on the Nicklaus-Jacklin singles match. The pair were level on the 18^th hole and Tony Jacklin faced a very-missable 3-foot putt to halve the match.

In what is now regarded as one of the greatest acts of sportsmanship in golfing history, Jack Nicklaus conceded the putt to Jacklin thus ensuring a halved match. Famously, Nicklaus said to Jacklin “I don’t believe you would have missed that putt, but I’d never give you the opportunity in these circumstances” – in addition to being a great act of sportsmanship, it is now felt that Nicklaus’ action set the tone for the Ryder Cup event which continues to the present day.

The 33^rd Ryder Cup in 1999 was held at the Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts.

Incredibly, the Europeans were leading by 10 points to 6 heading into the final singles round, where the USA team staged an amazing comeback to win by 14 ½ points to 13 ½ points.

The climatic singles match was between Justin Leonard & José María Olazábal. With America only needing ½ point for victory and with the singles match all-square, Leonard holed a 45-foot birdie putt on the 17^th hole. This led to wild, and arguably premature, celebrations on the green – Olazábal then missed his birdie putt assuring Leonard of the ½ point necessary to guarantee USA victory.

While the behaviour of both US spectators and the US team was criticised by many in both Europe and America, the Justin Leonard incident and the Brookline contest overall certainly raised the profile of the Ryder Cup significantly, with the USA victory still viewed by many as one of the single greatest sporting comeback victories in recent sports history. As a sad footnote to the Brookline event, it was the last tournament played by Payne Stewart who died in a plane crash less than a month late.

The 39^th Ryder Cup was held in 2012 at the Medinah Country Club in Medinah Illinois, outside Chicago. The team captains were Davis Love III (USA) and José María Olazábal (Europe).

In a strange parallel to the Brookline event in 1999, the USA team led by 10 points to 6 heading into the singles event.

In what has become known as ‘The Miracle at Medinah’, the European team won 8 of the singles matches and drew 1 with the 8 ½ points resulting allowing them to win by 14 ½ points to 13 ½.

In parallel with the Brookline event, the European team efforts at Medinah are again viewed as one of the greatest sporting comebacks in recent sporting history.

In a touching moment, the European team captain José María Olazábal dedicated the victory to the great Seve Ballesteros who had died the previous year, aged only 54.

Seve had won 5 major championships and scored 22 ½ points in 37 matches at the Ryder Cup and he is widely regarded as having contributed greatly to bringing the Ryder Cup to its current level of popularity worldwide.

Ryder Cup Statistics

• In the initial competitions between the USA and the Great Britain & Ireland, USA won 18 of the 22 matches that took place with 1 event tied. Conversely, since the Great Britain & Ireland was extended to include all of Europe, the score has been 11 wins for Europe with 9 wins for the USA – the closeness of the competition in modern times in certainly a major contributory factor to its enormous popularity.
• It is interesting to note that the Ryder Cup was only covered live on television from 1983 and its was only in 1989 that a Ryder Cup in Europe was televised live on US television.
• The most appearances in a Ryder Cup is 12 by Phil Mickelson and Sergio Garcia is the leading points scorer with a total of 28 ½ points.
• The great Seve Ballesteros and José María Olazábal have the record points score as a pair with a total of 12 points gained for the European team.
• A total of 5 golfers have won a total of 7 points in singles matches at Ryder Cups, 2 from Europe – Colin Montgomerie and Neil Coles and 3 from the US – Billy Casper, Lee Trevino and the great Arnold Palmer.
• A number of golfers have won the maximum of 5 points in a single Ryder Cup including Peter Alliss, Arnold Palmer, Tony Jacklin, Jack Nicklaus, Francesco Molinari and Dustin Johnson.

The Teams

Both the European and United States teams are selected, to a significant extent, based on the order of merit on the PGA and European Tours.

The qualifying period via the order of merit runs for almost 2 full seasons and it has happened on many occasions that a golfer hitting form early in the lengthy qualifying period can secure a place on the Ryder Cup team at an early stage – it can then transpire, however, that the golfer in question loses form completely and it not really an appropriate selection by the time the Ryder Cup comes around.

For that reason, the number of Captain’s Picks has been increasing over recent years and, at that this stage, both the European and United States Team Captains have 6 “wildcard picks”.

Following on from the final qualifying events on both the PGA and European Tours, the teams were announced early in September 2023. The final team selections are detailed below.

European Team

1. Rory McIlroy

Rory is undoubtably the leader of the European team and Europe’s chances of defeating the United States team would be greatly enhanced if Rory hits form over the 3 days of competitive action.

Rory is 34 years old and was born in Northern Ireland. Along with Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus, he shares the honour of having achieved four Major wins before the age of 25. Despite the fact that the last 8 or 9 years have been barren for Rory from a Majors point of view, it seems certain that he will gain further Majors victories over the coming years, thus elevating him even further in the pantheon of golfing greats. One further Major win would see him draw level with the great Seve Ballesteros, two further Major wins would see him drawing level with the likes of Lee Trevino and Nick Faldo, while three further Major wins would see him reach a total of seven Majors thus drawing level with both Arnold Palmer and Bobby Jones.

Rory turned professional in 2007 has spent a total of over 100 weeks as the world’s No. 1 golfer. Since then, he has achieved a total of 37 wins, including the four Majors referenced above and also including 24 wins on the PGA Tour.

Rory has already played in 6 Ryder Cups. In those Ryder Cups, he has played a total of 24 matches, winning 12, losing 8 and halving 4. Europe won 4 of the 6 Ryder Cups in which Rory has taken part. However, in the last Ryder Cup in Whistling Straits in 2021, the United States team dished out a heavy beating to the European team. It is known that Rory was bitterly disappointed with his own performance at this Ryder Cup, and it can be anticipated that he will be coming out with all guns blazing in Rome at the end of September – the European team will certainly hope to draw inspiration from their spiritual leader throughout the 3 days of competition.

2. Jon Rahm

The Spanish golfer is 28 and will be playing in his third Ryder Cup. In his two previous outings, he has played 8 matches winning 4.

Jon turned professional in 2016 and has already amassed 20 professional wins, including 2 Majors. Jon won the US Open in 2021 and followed up by winning The Masters earlier this year in April 2023. From a Ryder Cup point of view, Jon was one of the few brights spots on the European team at Whistling Straits, winning 3 of his matches. If Europe are to have any chance of winning the Cup, then a big performance will certainly be required from Jon who, along with Rory McIlroy, will be regarded as one of the senior members of the team.

3. Matt Fitzpatrick

Matt is 31 years of age and from England.

Matt qualified automatically from the World Points List along with Viktor Hovland and Tyrrell Hatton. This will be Matts third Ryder Cup having previously made the team for the 2016 and 2021 competitions, both of which were held in the US – this 2023 event will be Matt’s home debut in the competition.

Matt turned pro in 2014 and has amassed 9 professional wins to date. The high point of his career so far was winning the 2022 US Open. Mat will certainly hope that there are further Major victories to come.

In terms of the Ryder Cup, Matt has yet to record any victories having previously played 5 matches. As a Major winner and as a pro ranked in the top 25 on the World Tour rankings, more will certainly be expected from Matt in Rome if the European team are to have a chance of success.

4. Tommy Fleetwood

Tommy is 32 years of age and from England and had 9 professional wins to his credit. Memorably, Tommy recorded an albatross at the BMW PGA Championship on the 4^th hole at Wentworth in 2015.

From a Ryder Cup point of view, this will be Tommy’s third consecutive appearance having played in 2018 and 2021. In 2018, he recorded 4 wins in the foursomes/fourballs partnered by Francesco Molinari. Tommy is a Captains Pick for the Ryder Cup, but he is in excellent form having recorded 6 top 10 finishes in his last 8 outings.

From a European point of view, the expectation is that Tommy will be a valuable member of the team and will certainly be a points winner over the 3-day competition.

5. Tyrrell Hatton

Tyrell is 31 years old and from England. He has recorded 10 wins in his professional career, 1 of which was on the PGA Tour. Consistency is very much Tyrrell’s hallmark. His highlight of 2023 was finishing runner-up in The Player’s Championship, but he has also recorded 9 top 10 finishes with just 1 missed cut in the year.

His consistency will make him an ideal choice for both the fourball and foursomes and he will be expected to perform well in Rome.

6. Nicolai Højgaard 

Nicolai is from Denmark and is just 22 years of age. He only turned professional in 2019 and has recorded 3 professional victories, 2 of them on the European Tour. He is a player in good form having recorded top 5 finishes in each of his last 2 events. Nicolai is one of 4 rookies on the European team. However, Nicolai won the Italian Open at the host venue in 2021 and finished 5^th at the Italian Open at the same venue this year.

He is known as a consistent player and will be expected to perform well in Rome.

7. Viktor Hovland

Viktor is 25 years of age and is the first Norwegian to play in the Ryder Cup. Viktor turned pro in 2019 and has amassed 10 wins to date, 6 of them on the PGA Tour.

This will be Viktor’s second appearance at the Ryder Cup having gained a single point for Europe in 2021 at Whistling Straits.

During 2023, Viktor recorded back-to-back victories in the BMW and the Tour Championship, thus claiming the FedEx Cup title.

Viktor is similar to a number of players on the European team in being somewhat under the radar from a US point of view. However, consistency is his hallmark and big things will be expected of him by the European team.

8. Ludvig Åberg

Ludvig, from Sweden, is just 23 years old and only turned professional in June of this year. He has, however, already had his first win on the European Tour – the final qualifying event, The Omega European Masters in Switzerland. Also, Ludvig placed fourth in his very first event on tour, the Czech Masters.

Ludvig is obviously a rookie from a Ryder Cup point of view and will be making his first appearance in Rome. However, it should be noted that Ludvig won the Ben Hogan Award for Best Collegiate Player in the United States in both 2022 and 2023 (the last person to achieve this feat was Jon Rahm) and the fact that he has already recorded his first win on tour means that he must certainly be taken seriously.

In fact, European Team Captain Luke Donald has described Ludvig as a “generational talent”. While this could be viewed as putting additional pressure on a player who has only a few months experience as a tour professional, it must also be noted that if Ludvig is, in fact, a generational talent he will not find this pressure to be a burden.

One of the more interesting aspects of the upcoming Ryder Cup from an individual player point of view, will be to witness how Ludvig performs on the international stage mixing with the top professionals in world golf.

9. Shane Lowry

Shane Lowry is the only Irish player on this year’s Ryder Cup team. He is 36 years old and turned professional in 2019, having won the Irish Open in that year as an amateur.

He has 6 professional wins to his credit, including one Major – The Open Championship in 2018.

Shane has had a mixed year in 2023. He highest placing on the World Rankings was 16^th back in 2020 – he started 2023 in 21^st position and has slipped down to 37^th place at present.

Shane made his debut at Whistling Straits in 2021 and contributed one victory to the European team. Despite his mixed form during 2023, he is regarded as something of a Match Play specialist both in fourball competitions and singles competitions. If Europe are to win the Ryder Cup this year, a significant contribution will be required from Shane.

10. Robert McIntyre

Robert McIntyre is 27 years old and from Scotland. He turned professional in 2017 and has 3 professional wins to his credit, 2 on the European Tour.

Robert will be making his debut in the Ryder Cup this year, but he was an automatic qualifier for the European Ryder Cup team.

His recent form is good having finished second in the Scottish Open earlier this summer. Also, he is certainly familiar with the Ryder Cup course having won the Italian Open at Marco Simone in September 2022.

As with a number of players on the European team, Robert is relatively inexperienced, particularly in Ryder Cup terms. In line with his teammates, however, he is likely to be fiercely competitive and will be expected to make a significant contribution to the European team effort.

11. Sepp Straka

Sepp is from Austria and is 30 years of age. He is one of four rookies on the European team.

Sepp turned professional in 2016 and has 3 professional wins to his credit, 2 on the PGA Tour – he was, in fact, the first Austrian ever to win a tournament on the PGA Tour.

Although he is new to the Ryder Cup, Seep is very much a player in form. He finished 2^nd at The British Open, 6^th at The Tour Championship and won the John Deere Classic in July 2023.

He is one of a number of European players who could certainly significantly enhance their reputation at this year’s Ryder Cup and he is also certainly one of many European players who will have to perform to their highest level if Europe are to have a realistic chance of regaining the Ryder Cup.

12. Justin Rose

Justin is 43 years old and from England. He turned professional in 1998 and has had 25 professional wins including 11 on the PGA Tour.

Justin is another player in form having won at Pebble Beach on the PGA Tour in February 2023. He finished 6^th at The Player’s Championship and had Top 20 finishes at both The Masters and US PGA Championship this year.

Justin is vastly experienced having already played in 5 Ryder Cups in 2008, 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2018. He formed a formed a formidable partnership with Henrik Stenson in 2018 in particular and it is unfortunate that Henrik is not available to the European team this year having joined the LIV Tour.

Nevertheless, Justin will be viewed as one of the elder statesmen on the European team and will be expected to provide leadership and guidance to the less experienced members of the European team.

USA Team

1. Brooks Koepka

Brooks is 31 years of age having turned professional back in 2012.

He has already recorded 18 wins on tour, 9 of them on the PGA Tour. 5 of these wins were Majors – Brooks won the PGA Championship in 2018, 2019 and 2023 and also won the US Open in 2017 and 2018. Brooks was No. 1 in the world rankings for almost 50 weeks in 2018 and he may well be the best player in world golf.

Brooks is the only one of the 24 players involved in the 2 teams to have joined the LIV Tour. However, his ability is such that American Captain Zach Johnson included him on the US team for the upcoming match.

This will be Brooks fourth consecutive Ryder Cup. He has already won 6 times in the 3 previous Ryder Cups and it is noteworthy that he is yet to lose a singles match in the Ryder Cup.

His Ryder Cup record coupled with record of winning 5 Majors (probably with more to come) will make Brooks a formidable member of the US team and he may well prove to be an inspirational leader of the team.

2. Scottie Scheffler

Scottie is 27 years of age and only turned professional in 2018. He has already amassed 8 wins on tour, 6 of them on the PGA Tour itself.

This will be Scotties second Ryder Cup, having been a Captains Pick in 2021, and he also has one Major victory to his name – The 2022 Masters. He finished second in the US Open in 2022 and also finished second in the PGA Championship earlier this year.

It seems certain that Scottie’s best years as a golf professional lie ahead of him and much will be expected of him by his US teammates in the upcoming Ryder Cup in Rome

3. Xander Schauffele

Xander is 29 years of age and turned professional in 2015. He has already reached 10 wins as a professional and has been as high as 4^th in World Rankings.

Xander has yet to win a Major but has finished second in the British Open in 2018. He is one of many golfers on tour (on both the PGA and European Tours) who seems destined to add Majors to their CV over the coming years. This will be Xander’s second consecutive Ryder Cup having garnered 3 wins for the US Team in 2021.

He will certainly be a formidable opponent from a European Team point of view in Rome.

4. Rickie Fowler

Rickie Fowler is 34 years of age and turned professional in 2009. He has already amassed 10 wins on tour and he has been as high as 4^th in the World Rankings where he currently fills a place in the mid-20s.

Rickie’s career has been in the doldrums over recent seasons, however, 2023 was very much a comeback year for him in which he recorded his first win on the PGA Tour for a number of years in July 2023.

Rickie has not recorded any Major victories to date but he seems destined to do so having already placed 2^nd  in 3 Majors.

With his career seeming to be on the up and up, Rickie will be a formidable presence on the US team in Rome where he will play in his fifth Ryder Cup.

5. Patrick Cantlay

Patrick is 29 years of age and turned pro in 2012. He has 9 wins as a professional, 8 of them on the PGA Tour. Patrick is currently placed in the top half dozen in the World Rankings and he is extremely consistent, although he has yet to win a Major tournament.

Rome will be Patrick’s second consecutive Ryder Cup and, as with virtually all members of the American team, he will certainly represent a formidable opponent from a European team point of view.

6. Sam Burns

Sam is 27 and he turned professional in 2017. He has already recorded six wins as a professional, one of which was in the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play Tournament in 2023 – it can therefore be said that Sam is very much a player in form.

He has been as high as 9^th in the World Rankings and he currently fills a position in the low 20s on these Rankings.

Sam is a rookie from a Ryder Cup point of view but his current form certainly means that he cannot be taken lightly in Rome.

7. Wyndham Clark

Wyndham is 29 years of age and turned professional in 2017. He has recorded 2 wins to date and currently ranks in around 11^th position in the World Rankings.

Playing in only his 7^th Major earlier this year, Wyndham recorded a win in the 2023 US Open in Los Angeles Country Club beating Rory McIlroy in second place by a single shot. As current US Open champion and having shown his mettle by winning the US Open, which was only his 7^th Major event, Wyndham has clearly demonstrated that he will represent a key member of the US Team in Rome.

8. Jordan Spieth

Jordan is 30 years of age and turned professional back in 2012. Jordan was in 1^st place in the World Rankings in 2015 for well over 20 weeks and he is currently in 12^th position on these Rankings.

As part of his 16 wins, Jordan has amassed 3 Majors – The Masters in 2015, the US Open also in 2015 and the British Open in 2017.

Jordan has had a similar career trajectory to Rory McIlroy and, as set out herein in the case of Rory McIlroy, it seems certain that Jordan will add significantly to his Majors haul over the coming seasons.

Jordan will be playing in his 5^th Ryder Cup this year having recorded 8 wins in his previous 4 tournaments.

9. Justin Thomas

Justin is 30 years of age and has recorded 17 wins on tour, having turned professional in 2013.

Included in Justin’s 17 wins are 2 Majors – the PGA Championship in 2017 and 2022.

This will be Justin’s third consecutive Ryder Cup and he is likely to prove to be a particularly reliable member of the US team in Rome.

10. Brian Harman

Brian Harman is 36 years of age and turned professional back in 2009. He has recorded 5 wins as a professional, 3 of them on the PGA Tour.

Included in Brian’s haul to date is his first Major recorded at the British Open in 2023.

Brian is very much a player in form and, although he is a rookie from a Ryder Cup point of view, he will be expected to gain a significant number of points for the US team at the competition.

11. Max Homa

Max is 32 years of age and turned professional in 2013.

He has amassed 8 wins as a professional, 6 of them on the PGA Tour.

He has not come particularly close to adding to a Major to his haul of wins with only one top 10 finish in his Majors to date – at The Open Championship in 2023.

The fact that Max’s best performance in a Major was recorded earlier this year suggests that he is a form player. Although he is a rookie in Ryder Cup terms, it is also worth noting that he has been as high as 5^th in the World Rankings, and he certainly cannot be taken lightly.

12. Colin Morikawa

Colin is 26 years of age and, having turned professional in 2019, has recorded 6 wins as a professional to date with 5 of them on the PGA Tour. Colin’s haul of 6 wins, includes 2 Majors – the PGA Championship in 2020 and the British Open in 2021 (it is worth noting that the PGA victory in 2020 occurred in Colin’s second outing in a Major Golf Championship).

Colin made his debut in the Ryder Cup in 2021 recording 3 victories for the US team.

His record as a professional to date, including the 2 Major wins, coupled with his previous record in the Ryder Cup, will mark Colin out as a particularly formidable opponent from a European team point of view. More generally, from the point of view of his future golf career, it seems inevitable that Colin will garner further Major wins and will rise significantly above his current placing just inside the Top 20 in the World Rankings.

LIV Golf

No players who joined the LIV Golf Tour have been selected on the European team.

This means that Europe are missing out on a number of previous Ryder Cup heroes including Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter, Henrik Stenson and Lee Westwood.

ON the US team, only one golfer, Brooks Koepka, has been selected having joined the LIV Tour. Brooks is certainly a major addition to the American team given his previous record in the Ryder Cup and acknowledging that he is possibly the No.1 golfer in the world at present. In contrast, players likeDustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson, who joined the LIV Tour have not been selected on the US team.

The general omission of LIV golfers has potentially weakened the European team more than the US team, certainly in terms of experience. However, there are a number of extremely promising up-and-coming players on the European team and the omission of several more experienced European golfers has certainly given them an early chance to shine at Ryder Cup level.

From a European point of view, it is certainly hoped that they will grasp this opportunity and the relative inexperience of both teams, adds an additional dimension to this year’s Ryder Cup.

Prediction

The American team are odds-on favourites to retain the Ryder Cup in Rome.

It is certainly hard to argue with the odds being offered given the profile of the individuals on the American team and the relative inexperience of the European team members. However, on digging a little deeper, it becomes apparent that the total number of professional wins amassed by the US team members is actually lower than the number of the professional wins amassed by the European team members in total, although it must be acknowledged that the majority of the US team members wins are on the PGA Tour which is regarded as significantly stronger than the European Tour.

A number of factors will have to work in favour of the Europeans if there are to achieve victory in Rome including :

• European players and particularly players from Great Britain & Ireland tend to be more experienced at Match Play generally and in particular in Match Play involving fourball and foursomes competitions. In 2021, Europe failed to get an advantage over the first 2 days which involves 2 runs of fourball competitions and 2 runs of foursome competitions. If Europe are to triumph this year, it is essential that they have a significant advantage heading into the singles on the third day – they will, therefore, need to re-establish their traditional superiority in fourball and, more particularly, in foursomes play.
• As the traditional underdogs in the Ryder Cup competition, European players tend to have a more committed/determined approach to the Ryder Cup, and they certainly treat it as a major event on their golfing calendar.
• The European home support tends to be a significant factor and has certainly contributed to the fact that the European team have not lost on home soil since 1993. A unity of purpose between European team players and European team supporters will be an essential ingredient if Europe are to triumph this year.
• The relative inexperience of a number of the younger players on the European team is listed as a disadvantage. However, in Match Play golf it is certain that youth can be turned into an advantage due to the “fearlessness of youth” factor. The Us team will certainly recall the emergence of the inexperienced Sergio Garcia in his initial Ryder Cup.

Predicting pairings for the fourballs and the listing for the singles is a futile exercise as these will be finalised in the immediate run up to the competition with the Team Captains assessing the form of their players in the immediate run-up to the competition and the compatibility of the various pairings available for the fourball and foursome sessions. However, our prediction is that the European team will lead by 2 points after the first 2 days of fourball and foursome competition and will then share the points available in the singles competition, regaining the Ryder Cup on the margin of 15 points to 13.

One final prediction is that the Singles will be led by Rory McIlroy versus Brooks Koepka, followed by Jon Rahm versus Scottie Scheffler – two individual Match Play competitions not to be missed under any circumstances.