The biennial Ryder Cup Matches tee it up at the Celtic Manor Golf Club in Wales from Oct. 1 through 3. A team of 12 golfers from the United States will take on a squad of 12 European golfers in fourball (better ball), foursomes (alternate shot) and individual matches, all in an attempt to bring home the prestigious Samuel Ryder Cup.
The 24 professionals will receive zero money for their efforts and yet the Ryder Cup Matches have historically been golf”s most dramatic three days of top-notch golf.
Two things pop out with regard to the 2010 Ryder Cup Matches. First of all, there are a lot of new and relatively young members on both teams. It appears as if there is a veritable changing of the guard. This may very well mark the beginning of the Rory McIlroy-Ricky Fowler-Dustin Johnson era as well as the demise and aging of the Tiger Woods-Padraig Harrington-Phil Mickelson generation.
Secondly, a good number of the participants in this year”s cup are going into this event playing outstanding golf, having recently won or been extremely competitive in tournaments over the past few months.
The European team is led by a foursome of experienced veterans with loads of Ryder Cup experience. These four include Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, Miguel Angel Jiminez and Padraig Harrington.
Westwood is the third-ranked golfer in the world behind Woods and Mickelson. He has 20 wins on the European tour, was that circuit”s player of the year in 1998, 2000 and 2009, had second-place finishes in this year”s Masters and British Open and won in Memphis this summer. Alas, Westwood suffered a calf injury at the French Open and couldn”t play in the PGA Championship. He is still iffy for the Ryder Cup and he will be missed if he can”t tee it up to expand upon his 14-10-5 Cup record.
Poulter, best known for his colorful attire and his line of clothing, has been an impact Ryder Cup participant since he made the winning Cup putt in 2004. Poulter won the WGC Match Play earlier this year to go along with his nine European tour career wins.
Jiminez won his first European tour title in 1992. This year has been a rock-solid season for him, winning at Dubai in March, the French Open in July and the European Masters two weeks ago.
Harrington hasn”t had all that great a year, but he is a five-time Ryder Cupper and does own three major titles.
The European team newbies include brothers Edoardo and Francesco Molinari, tour regulars Ross Fisher and Peter Hanson and newly crowned major champions Graeme McDowell and Martin Kaymer. Edoardo Molinari won the Johnny Walker at Gleneagles in August, Fisher beat Harrington to win the Irish Open last month, Hanson took home the Czech Open title the following week and McDowell and Kaymer had breakthrough wins at the U.S. Open and the PGA this summer.
To top it off, Kaymer won the KLM Dutch Open last week. All of the aforementioned are playing great golf.
The European team is filled out with Luke Donald, winner of this year”s Madrid Masters, and 21-year-old Rory McIlroy, the champ of the PGA Tour”s Quail Hollow Classic. Donald is a Ryder Cup veteran who is the most Americanized member of the team, having won the NCAA in 1999 while at Northwestern University. McIlroy, who missed the PGA playoff by one stroke, is generally seen as golf”s next superstar.
The American team is also led by a quartet of experienced veterans, namely Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Steve Stricker and Jim Furyk. All four of them have losing Ryder Cup records. Nonetheless, we”re talking about four guys who are in the world”s top 10 and who can deal with the pressure of the cup and all the drama it entails.
Woods has never been all that excited about playing in these matches and yet he does have something to prove this time around. On top of that, Stricker showed himself to be the perfect partner for Woods at last year”s Presidents Cup at Harding Park, so that is a bonus. Furyk has two wins on tour this year as does Stricker and Michelson has another green jacket to his name. On paper, America”s big four is much more impressive than Europe”s big four, except when it comes to career Ryder Cup records.
The USA has its share of hot players. Hunter Mahon has two wins this year, most recently at Akron in August against a world-class field. Bubba Watson won at Hartford in June and lost in a playoff at the PGA. Dustin Johson showed his resiliency by holding third round leads in the U.S. Open and the PGA, only to lose them to a fourth round blowup at the Open and a rules violation at the PGA and yet demonstrated the mental toughness to win at Cog Hill outside Chicago last Sunday. Watson and Johnson both hit it a country mile, as does Mahon, and their excessive length off the tee will be a big advantage in a match play format.
Jeff Overton is a wild card in all this in that he is winless for his career. However, he has played great golf this summer and was the victim of Stuart Appleby”s 59. He is fourth on the PGA tour money list at this moment.
Matt Kuchar has finally reached his potential and he too is feeling good about his game following his win at the Barclays three weeks ago. Rickie Fowler was the surprise pick of the American team and yet he may be very comfortable taking on McIlroy as they are both the same age.
Finally, the American team fills out with veterans Stewart Cink and Zach Johnson. Cink won last year”s British Open and is very comfortable playing in the British Isles. Johnson is a former Master”s champ.
While I”m not captain of the U.S. team, if I were, Zach Johnson would be my anchor man on Sunday.
If you ever need anyone to make a 6-foot putt with the cup on the line, he is the man you want with a putter in his hands.
Next week, we”ll feature the course at Celtic Manor, a parkland course similar to Gleneagles, discuss whether Tiger Woods will be of any help to the American side and hear the predictions of three-time Ryder Cup contestant and Langtry Farms PGA Director of Golf, Johnny Pott.
