The 43rd edition of the biennial Ryder Cup Matches tee it up at the Whistling Straits Golf Course just outside Sheboygan, Wisconsin, alongside the western shores of Lake Michigan. Because of the pandemic, it has been three long years since Team Europe bulldozed the American squad, winning by a 17½ to 10½ margin of victory.
Three years is a long time in the world of professional golf and the manhandling of Team USA in France was the result of a combined record of 0-9 attributed to Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau, with five other members of the team also posting losing records.
This time around it’s a new world order as American team captain Steve Stricker puts forth a team with six rookies, an average team age of 28 years old, and just two members, Dustin Johnson and Harris English, having experienced a 30th birthday party. The other American team members include Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas, Patrick Cantlay, Daniel Berger, Tony Finau, Xander Schauffele, Jordan Spieth and Scottie Scheffler. The American squad has a combined 11 major championships among five of its teammates. It is also a bomb-and-gouge team with a fair number of long-ball knockers.
Irishman Padraig Harrington leads an experienced European team with just three rookies on his squad. Four Euros have captured major titles. Jon Rahm is the world No. 1 and reigning U.S. Open champ, Rory McIlroy has won four grand slam tourneys, and Sergio Garcia and Shane Lowry have major wins as well. The remainder of the European team includes Tommy Fleetwood, Tyrell Hatton, Bernd Wiesberger, Matt Fitzpatrick, Viktor Hovland, Ian Poulter, Paul Casey and Lee Westwood. All of the members of Team Europe are familiar to American golf fans as they have had a regular presence on the PGA Tour. The majority of the Euros have homes in the USA and play dual schedules in both Europe and America.
The wild card in this year’s Ryder Cup is the golf course itself. Whistling Straits has a very European-links feel to it. I played there in June of 2018 and was impressed with its physical beauty. However, it was one of the toughest courses I have ever played, with 1,000-plus bunkers and a definite need to find the fairways and greens. It was designed by Pete Dye, who is noted for the concept of the tough par. It will be a classic match play course with double-bogeys and greater coming into play. It has hosted a trio of PGA Championships. Vijay Singh won in overtime in 2004, Martin Kaymer also won the PGA in OT in 2010, and Jason Day outlasted Jordan Spieth to win the 2015 PGA. All three winners at the Straits are members of the PGA Tour’s foreign contingent. Whistling Straits is located in America’s heartland, but it sure doesn’t look, feel or play like a traditional American course such as Valhalla, Hazeltine or the Olympic Club.
To get some quality prognostications about the up-and-coming Ryder Cup matches, I sought out former American team member Johnny Pott for his thoughts. Pott was a member of the winning American Ryder Cup teams in 1963, 1965 and 1967. He partnered up in 1963 with Arnold Palmer and posted a 4-0 mark at the ’67 Cup Matches at Champions in Houston. Pott and his wife have relocated to Monterey and are enjoying their retirement alongside the Pacific.
Johnny Pott sees this year’s Ryder Cup as a classic matchup between the Up-and-Comers and the Old Hands. He stated that although Team USA has six rookies, he is impressed with how quickly young golfers nowadays adapt to the world of professional golf. He doesn’t exactly see the six rookies or the 10 20-somethings as inexperienced or green. “As I evaluate the teams I give a slight nod to the USA based on their recent tournament play and their preparation for The Matches,” Pott said. “Our team has been playing well at the tournaments to end the season whereas only about half of the Euros were competing here. That should be a plus for the USA.”
However, Pott also put forth a cautionary tone. He is concerned about Brooks Koepka’s injury status at this time. He is also concerned about the American team’s ability to keep the ball in play at a most punitive Straits Course. He felt that classic European Tour courses aren’t long but require driving accuracy.
“Driving in the fairway is important at Whistling Straits. Pete Dye placed many pot bunkers to penalize poor drivers. Pete said being in one if those small bunkers is like being up against a tree having to pitch out, ” Pott said. “Unfortunately some of our players, trying to hit the long ball, miss half the fairways. Fortunately for them they seem to be able to score well due to their scrambling ability. I just hope Spieth, Thomas and DeChambeau are driving well. If not the European straight drivers will win those matches.”
Pott also had some concerns about team unity, most notably from the American perspective.
“Team camaraderie could be an issue with the Brooks-Bryson feud,” Pott said. “I’m sure the European Team players get along.”
Pott’s other concern regarded a potential 13th member of Team USA in the event that Koepka cannot play. While Pott felt that lots of insiders see Patrick Reed as a possible replacement for Brooks, he sees some real value in having Billy Horschel on the sidelines in case a fill-in is needed. Horschel won last week’s BMW Championship, one of the more prestigious tournaments on the European Tour.
The Ryder Cup Matches tee it up this coming Friday at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin. Team USA is led by Wisconsin’s favorite golfing son, Steve Stricker. Padraig Harrington, a three-time major champion, will be leading the Euros. When he announced his complete team last Sunday, Harrington claimed his squad included the “greatest team of ball strikers in European team history.” The eventual winners of the 43rd Ryder Cup Matches will definitely need to keep the ball in play to prevail at Whistling Straits. Winds off Lake Michigan could be a factor too.
Thanks to three-time Ryder Cupper Johnny Pott for his excellent prognostications regarding this week’s matches. In the end, Pott contended that the Ryder Cup will return to America, but he thinks it will be a closely contested event. His final thought to me regarded his longtime friend and golf course architect, the late Pete Dye. Pott jokingly stated that he hoped “they don’t fuss at Pete Dye afterwards.” Yes, I too can imagine that some golfers may point to Dye’s classic links-style design in the heart of the Midwest as a factor in their struggles. Nonetheless, it’s time for golf’s most compelling show, the biennial Ryder Cup Matches. I can hardly wait.
