SHEBOYGAN, Wis. - U.S. The Ryder Cup team includes eight of the top 10 players in the Official World Golf Ranking, one Olympic gold medalist and the current FedEx Cup champion.
On paper, at least, Americans are once again piled on, and they certainly don't belong to the U.S. Playing at home in front of supporters. crowd. That's why the Americans are the 2-to-1 betting favorites to beat the Europeans in the 43rd Ryder Cup in Whistling Straits this weekend, according to Kaiser Sportsbook.
History, of course, shows that none of this matters in this event. Europe has won four and nine of the last 12 Ryder Cups, often when the American team was considered more talented and accomplished.
What will be different this time?
"We have a whole new team," said Tony Finau. "We have a team that doesn't have any scar tissue. There are only a handful of us that have played in the Ryder Cup, and some of them, we have record-winning ones. So we don't really have people. Our team that lost a lot in the Ryder Cup... We have a different group of hungry youngsters."
The US team's guard has been changed. Phil Mickelson, who played in 12 consecutive Ryder Cups, is here but serving as a non-playing assistant captain. Tiger Woods is in Florida recovering from injuries sustained in a car accident in February. US Six of the team's 12 players have been Ryder Cup rookies, the most since the Americans won at Valhalla in 2008.
"You guys see six rogues," said Finau. "Dude, in this team room, I don't see a badass. I see 12 guys who are confident, and none of us are wide-eyed. We want to win. At the end of the day, I That's what I see. When I'm in the locker room, I see people full of confidence and really hungry to win. It's refreshing. And I'm not saying I did in Paris [in 2018] Didn't see [in a loss], but there's a certain feeling. I think the culture of American golf is changing. It's the youngest team we've ever had by a long shot."
When the Europeans came from behind at Oak Hill in 1995 to win the Ryder Cup for only the second time on American soil, two rookies from the current US team, Colin Morikawa and Scotty Schaeffler, were not yet born, and the other four rookies from the US team. were still small. That year began the expansion of the dominion of the Europeans.
"I think it's definitely shortened," said Daniel Berger, one of the rookies. "You see all the faces of Team America, and they're just very little boys. ... The notion that rookies can't come here because they don't have experience can be thrown out the window. All these guys Competing in some of the biggest events in the world, winning major championships and big golf tournaments. That's what's able to perform at the highest level."
Dustin Johnson is America's oldest player at 37; The Europeans have four players in their 40s, including Lee Westwood, the oldest at 48.
"I've been on [teams] in the past, I think we've had a lot of experience and it's not working out so well, so maybe it's a different generation of golfers coming in, and we've got some really talented ones." There are players, young players who probably don't have all the memories of losing all these Ryder Cups," Johnson said. "Maybe it's the recipe."
Obviously, Europeans have a definite edge in experience. Sergio Garcia, 41, is Europe's all-time leading scorer with 25.5 points - as many as the current U.S. top scorer. team jointly. Westwood is playing in his 11th Ryder Cup, which links him to the most in European history with Nick Faldo.
"There are good young players all over the world," Westwood said. "It just so happens, right now, that the United States has some really good young players playing for their team. It's a balancing act, I think. Because the Ryder Cup is so different, do you think experience matters? Is there a lot this week, or do you think there will be a lot of youth counts this week, due to the glut of golf?
“I think it should be a balance of both. I think that in an ideal world, you want to slowly filter your young players into a few at a time, not necessarily all on a team at once. Bang it up. When I look at the United States team, I think they have a lot of strong players. It's almost like changing guard for them."
Will this change the fortunes of Americans?
"They beat us a few Ryder Cups and that's the mold we want to change going forward and that's why I say it's a big one," said Finau. "I think there's extra motivation, or extra drive, to change the culture of American golf and we have that opportunity this week."