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The 43rd Ryder Cup begins tomorrow morning at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin and I’ve spent the past few days, months and even years trying to figure out in my head and in my heart if the Americans can beat the Europeans and win the Cup for the first time since 2016.
And you know what? I think they can and I think they will and I don’t think it it will be even close.
Why? Let me get to that in a second.
First, let me pay some respects to the other side.
The Europeans are so good at this event – both on the course and between the ears. They get this thing more than the Americans do and are more able to go all in as a team and do whatever it takes and play whatever roles within the team it takes to win the Cup. It’s commendable and I respect the hell out of them for fielding such brilliant teams every two years. All my hats are tipped toward them.
But they aren’t going to beat the Americans this year. Nope. Not gonna happen. This is Team USA’s time and it should kick-start a run of dominance in this event for years to come.
One reason is a very simple reason that should carry a lot of weight – Team USA is just better, plain and simple. Ten of the 12 members of the team are currently in the top 13 of the official world rankings.
Jon Rahm is the only European in the top 13, but he is the the No. 1 player in the world and should be a force this week and play in five matches. God he is good. I’m already afraid of what he’s going to do this weekend.
The other two players in the top 13 are from South Africa and Mexico, which means they won’t be playing in this event.
I know this event isn’t like other events and one can argue that world rankings don’t weigh as heavily in this one compared to majors and other big tournaments but I’ll always take a team that’s stacked with the best players over guys who fit in roles and have a lot of heart. Give me talent all day every day, especially in golf.
Another reason why I love this American team is that it feels like a new era is beginning, one with a ton of young guys – Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, etc. – who get it and want to win this thing so badly and are now taking the reigns from the stars of the past and are going to be the faces of these teams for many years to come. I love, love, love all the new blood on this team and think a bunch of the young players are built for this event.
The team has six rookies who shouldn’t feel like rookies considering what they’ve done in their careers.
Collin Morikawa is two-time major champion.
Patrick Cantlay just won two tournaments and the FedEx Cup.
Xander Schauffele won a gold medal at the Olympics last month and is a total gamer in big-time events.
Daniel Berger has four wins on the PGA Tour and has the grit and confidence that should make him a great Ryder Cup player.
Harris English (who won a PGA Tour event over the summer) and Scottie Scheffler (who finished second at the WGC Match Play event earlier this year) are the other two rookies who can bring it when their names get called.
Team USA is stacked. Stacked is good. Stacked is great. They’re so stacked that I don’t even care about how well some of the guys get along. I also really do think it would be fun if Brooks Koepka and Bryson were paired together tomorrow morning (it’s not gonna happen, but whatever).
Of course Europe has studs in Rahm and Rory McIlroy and experience in Lee Westwood (who at age 48 is playing in his 11th Ryder Cup), Ian Poulter, and Sergio Garcia. They have a really good team made up of guys who can cause problems for Team USA.
But you know what? I’m not all that fearful at all of Poulter doing Poulter things at this Ryder Cup. Yes, he crushed the US’s dreams in 2012 at Medinah by making so many big putts but since then his Ryder Cup record hasn’t been all that great and at his age (45) I don’t see Whistling Straits being a place where he can take things over.
Another reason why I think the US will win is the home-course advantage. Team USA generally plays well in front of the home crowd and this year’s crowd will be mostly Americans because of COVID travel restrictions. It’s going to be loud and it’s going to be loud for one side – Team USA.
Also, Whistling Straits won’t have the rough that the Europeans grew out in Paris for the 2018 Ryder Cup. That rough was basically why the US struggled so much and got blown out. Whistling Straits is made for bombers and the US team is stacked with those.
So yeah, I’ve talked myself into Team USA winning and winning easily, which means come Sunday night I’ll be heartbroken when the Europeans are celebrating on the 18th green.
Ha!
Ugh.
Man, I hope that doesn’t happen.
Quick hits: NFL Week 3 picks against the spread… College football watch grid… The Blue Jays are so lame… And more.
– Charles Curtis and Charles McDonald have their NFL Week 3 picks against the spread.
– Jason Kirk is back with his college football Week 4 watch grid, which you need to check out to get ready for the weekend.
– The Blue Jays got mad at Rays outfielder Kevin Kiermaier for finding a scouting card at home plate the other day so last night they had a pitcher hit him the back with a fastball and benches cleared. What a cowardly move by Toronto.
– Conor McGregor wrote a LONG Instagram post about why his bad first pitch was better than 50 Cent’s bad first pitch. Just put the phone down, Conor!
– Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson had a huge week last week and… got beat by a fantasy team that had Daniel Carlson on it, which is amazing.
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