A year later than planned, the 43rd Ryder Cup match will take place at Whistling Straits from September 24 to 26 and is guaranteed to bring drama and excitement.
Europe head to Wisconsin looking to retain the trophy they won in France in 2018, but the US will go into the match-up as strong 10/21 favourites with home support and strength in depth.
Steve Stricker’s team is made up of no fewer than eight of the world’s top 10 players and have 13 Major titles between them, compared to seven in the European side.
Europe have had the edge in recent times, with four victories in the last five matches, but this could be a step too far for an ageing visiting team and Padraig Harrington’s men are the 29/20 outsiders to lift the trophy.
TEAM EUROPE
pic.twitter.com/QVSBYz7R7x
— Ryder Cup Europe (@RyderCupEurope) September 12, 2021
Rookies don’t Share US Baggage
It is telling that captain Stricker selected four rookies amongst his six selections and the Americans have six first-time players in their team.
Recent regulars, including Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Rickie Fowler and Bubba Watson, have suffered numerous defeats at the hands of the Europeans and the latest team won’t have those past skeletons to deal with.
Collin Morikawa heads to Whistling Straits after two Major victories in 2021, while Patrick Cantlay qualified automatically having won the FedEx Cup title.
The duo are two of eight players under the age of 30, with Stricker hoping that the hunger of the ‘young guns’ can help bring the Samuel Ryder trophy back to America.
Four of the team also have individual winning records in the Ryder Cup, including Brooks Koepka and Jordan Spieth – with both likely to be crucial in this contest.
Both Koepka and Spieth also have happy memories of the venue, finishing T5 and second when Whistling Straits hosted the PGA Championship in 2015.
Spieth is 7/1 to be America’s Top Points Scorer, while Koepka is a very healthy 9/1 when you consider he won three points from his four matches when the US were victorious at Hazeltine in 2016.
Irish Pair Could be Key for Europe
Europe’s standout man heading to Wisconsin is clearly Jon Rahm, with the Spaniard enjoying a stellar year which has seen him collect his first Major title.
The world number one defeated Tiger Woods in their singles clash in 2018 and it’s no surprise to see Rahm top of the ‘Top European Points Scorer’ market at 7/2.
Two other significant players though for the visitors will be their two Irishmen – Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry.
McIlroy has the respect of the whole US team, who he competes against each week on the PGA Tour, and has only lost nine of his previous 24 Ryder Cup match ups. The four-time Major winner is 9/2 to be his team’s top scorer this time around.
Meanwhile, Lowry heads into his first Ryder Cup after being selected by captain and fellow countryman Harrington, having just missed out on automatic selection.
Some may feel the 34-year-old was fortunate to get he call ahead of someone like Justin Rose, but the 2019 Open Champion has been in consistently good form over the last six months.
In his last 16 events, Lowry has only finished outside the top 25 on five occasions, which includes T4 at the PGA Championship and an eighth-placed finish at the Players Championship.
*All odds correct at time of writing
