If bookmakers are to be believed, the evolution of Europe’s Ryder Cup team will come at an immediate cost. With a month to go until Darren Clarke oversees the defence of the trophy at Hazeltine the USA are heavily odds-on to win.
The hosts’ price shortened further on Tuesday as confirmation of Clarke’s full team arrived. With Thomas Pieters afforded his most high-profile chance to shine, six from 12 of the European contingent will be making Ryder Cup debuts. That represents the highest rookie contingent for an away match since 1999, when the US triumphed with much leaping around and gnashing of teeth at Brookline. The home side is unlikely to feature more than two debutants and, in Brooks Koepka, may have only one.
Clarke did not adopt a woe is us approach or play on the sense of underdog when discussing his dozen. Europe’s captain was at his most bullish yet with regards to the additions of Pieters, Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer. He explained his choices with reason and assuredness. “We have six rookies, one of them [Danny Willett] is the Masters champion,” said Clarke. “The other guys have won tournaments all over the world.
“Who would you have picked for experience? Who is in form? If I’m going to add experience to it, I need to have form. I need to see guys that are playing well. Unfortunately, the two guys that would have fallen into that category, Graeme McDowell and Luke Donald, are not quite playing the way we know they can play.
“I would have loved them to be playing a little bit better to give me a bigger headache but it didn’t happen. My options of adding to the team with strength then came back to rookies again.
“I’m very, very pleased with Martin and Lee adding to the team because they bring a balance which we have always talked about. The last pick was always going to be the difficult one.
“Yes, we have six rookies. I’ve got all the trust in the world in them. They have got themselves in this position. It’s not just a straightforward case; if it was, you would go straight down off the world rankings. That’s not the European way. That’s not what we do.
“I have a massive amount of belief in the rookies that we have. To put two together, I wouldn’t want to do it but, if I did do that, then I would have confidence in them going out there and delivering a point.”
Clarke is right to point to Willett’s status, although the Yorkshireman has been routinely out of sorts since his win at Augusta National in April. Questions, too, hover over the current touch of Andy Sullivan, Matthew Fitzpatrick and Chris Wood.
“I was part of that Brookline team and the rookies that we have now play more in America,” said Clarke. “I don’t mean any disrespect to the guys that didn’t play until Sunday at Brookline, but the guys are global players nowadays. Those guys did play considerably around the world but it’s different now. The rookies that we have now are more comfortable in America because they have been playing more over there, so it’s somewhat different to what it was back then.”
Westwood was similarly upbeat. “I see them not as rookies,” said the 43-year-old. “I look at a lot of the players’ characters and I think they can take it. They can take a fight and a bit of stick.”
Indeed this wave of debutants is not necessarily a disaster for Europe. Quite obviously the core of a team that included McDowell, Donald and Ian Poulter for years would change at some point. That Westwood – who will compete in his 10th Ryder Cup and, with 21 points, is four behind Nick Faldo’s record total – Rory McIlroy, Sergio García, Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson are on hand to assist with the transition is a benefit to Clarke, himself immersed in the biennial event.
The USA have players returning to familiar surroundings but the scar tissue associated with defeat upon defeat can hardly be deemed advantageous.
“It’s not like any other tournament,” said Clarke. “It’s going to be something totally different but the experienced guys will do what we do in the European way by looking after the first-time guys. Making picks is not just about stats. It’s not just about form, which is important, but it’s about the whole team dynamic, what goes on behind the scenes.
“I’ve consulted over this past couple of days with lots of previous Ryder Cup captains to try and just gain a little bit more of an insight and to see what they were thinking whenever they were making picks, in case I was doing anything that might not have fitted in, but every one of them was 100% behind me and very, very helpful.
“Their thoughts on their picks were exactly the same as mine; you’re adding to not just the playing, the playing bit is important, but you need more. Team is more important and the European team ethos is what has enabled us to be as successful as we have. With this team, that’s what I’m trying to do and take this forward.”
Clarke batted away fitness fears regarding Stenson, who withdrew after one round of The Barclays Championship in New York last week with the recurrence of a knee problem. “I’ve spoken to Henrik two or three times,” he said. “It was purely precautionary; he is OK. I think he has a slight issue but it’s not going to stop him playing.”
The overwhelming issue in Europe’s favour is pressure; namely the barrowload of it placed on the USA. A miserable recent run – they have lost six of the past seven – triggered a task force, the inclusion of Tiger Woods as a vice‑captain and the apparent acceptance of the complaints so vociferously aired by Phil Mickelson at Gleneagles two years ago. Quite where the PGA of America would turn to in event of another defeat is anybody’s guess.
For now Davis Love has to decide on four picks with some big names in Rickie Fowler, Bubba Watson, Matt Kuchar and Jim Furyk having failed to qualify automatically. Love will name three of his four on 12 September as he seeks to halt what would be an unprecedented fourth victory in a row for Europe.
“Thankfully one of my hard parts of the job is over and done with but Davis has that ahead of him,” said Clarke. “He’s been there before and I’m sure he will make very, very solid choices.
“I know he’s going to have a tough decision to make. There are some big names not on that American team and they are going to consult with everybody, with members of the task force, to see what they are going to do. They have got to try and get the right mix on the team as well.”
None of which is Clarke’s concern. On Tuesday,he exuded a level of confidence which, if transferred to Europe’s players, offers a decent antidote to betting markets.
The 12 players who will aim to retain the Ryder Cup for Europe
Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland)
Age 27 World ranking 5 Ryder Cups 3 (2010, 12, 14) This season’s earnings $2,700,835 Majors 4
Having once dismissed the Ryder Cup as “an exhibition” McIlroy has now been on the winning team in all three of his appearances. Won three points from five at Gleneagles in 2014, crucially beating Rickie Fowler in the singles. Has won six, lost four and halved four of his Ryder Cup matches
Danny Willett (England)
Age 28 World ranking 11 Ryder Cups rookie This season’s earnings $1,928,132 Majors 1
Willett became only the second Englishman to win the Masters this year and his third-place finish in the 2015 WGC Match Play stands him in good stead for Hazeltine. One of five rookies to automatically qualify, he started the year as the world No19 but climbed to No9 after Augusta
Henrik Stenson (Sweden)
Age 40 World ranking 4 Ryder Cups 3 (2006, 08, 14) This season’s earnings $3,365,923 Majors 1
Won all three of his matches alongside Justin Rose at Gleneagles and brings plenty of experience. Claimed his first major with the Open at Troon this year and a silver medal at the Olympic Games suggests he has maintained his form. Persistent back problem could be a worry
Chris Wood (England)
Age 28 World ranking 28 Ryder Cups rookie This season’s earnings $1,782,324 Majors 0
Wood won the BMW PGA Championship in May, which helped secure his place in the team. Having been forced to withdraw from this year’s Open with a neck injury, where he announced himself by finishing fifth as an amateur in 2008, the rookie will be eager to prove his worth at Hazeltine
Sergio García (Spain)
Age 36 World ranking 12 Ryder Cups 7 (1999, 2002, 04, 06, 08, 12, 14) This season’s earnings $3,155,365 Majors 0
A highly experienced competitor, the Spaniard was a vice-captain in the only recent match he missed, at Celtic Manor in 2010, and has won important matches throughout the course of his seven appearances. Won 2.5 points from four at Gleneagles, beating Jim Furyk in the singles
Rafael Cabrera–Bello (Spain)
Age 32 World ranking 27 Ryder Cups rookie This season’s earnings $1,111,553 Majors 0
Secured his spot with a highly consistent season which included runners-up spots in Dubai and Qatar and a series of top-five finishes.. Also managed 17th at the Masters, having finished third at the WGC-Dell Match Play. His only victory on the European Tour came in 2012
Justin Rose (England)
Age 36 World ranking 10 Ryder Cups 3 (2008, 12, 14) This season’s earnings $2,000,811 Majors 1
Won gold at the Olympics in Rio when beating his Gleneagles partner Stenson down the stretch and played all five matches in his last two events, making him a key member of the team. Only his fourth Ryder Cup appearance, he has a record of nine wins, three losses and two halves
Andy Sullivan (England)
Age 30 World ranking 42 Ryder Cups rookie This season’s earnings $925,625 Majors 0
A Walker Cup winner in 2011, Sullivan’s last tour win came in 2015, when he won the Portugal Masters by nine strokes from Chris Wood. Pushed McIlroy hard in the season-ending World Tour Championship in Dubai in 2015. Also finished second in Dubai but missed cut in final two qualifying events
Matt Fitzpatrick (England)
Age 21 World ranking 48 Ryder Cups rookie This season’s earnings $290,559 Majors 0
The 2013 Open silver medal winner and US Amateur champion won the Nordea Masters in June and has spent the longest time in the automatic positions after his first Tour title in October’s British Masters. Also fourth in DP World Tour Championship, secured his place with fifth in penultimate event
Martin Kaymer (Germany)
Age 31 World ranking 50 Ryder Cups 3 (2010, 12, 14) This season’s earnings $889,932 Majors 2
The wildcard pick secured the point that enabled Europe to retain the Ryder Cup at Medinah in 2012 with victory over Steve Stricker and has the 2014 Players Championship and US Open to his name, his last victories to date. Won four, halved three and lost three in his three appearances
Lee Westwood (England)
Age 43 World ranking 46 Ryder Cups 9 (1997, 99, 2002, 04, 06, 08, 10, 12, 14) This season’s earnings $380,333 Majors 0
The most experienced European player with nine consecutive Ryder Cup appearances, having made his debut at Valderrama in 1997. A second-place finish at the Masters and 14th on the world points list gave the captain Darren Clarke licence to pick his good friend as a wildcard
Thomas Pieters (Belgium)
Age 24 World ranking 41 Ryder Cups Rookie This season’s earnings $1,185,851 Majors 0
Finished just out of the medals in fourth at the Olympics, second in his defence of the Czech Masters and won the Made in Denmark title last Sunday. Big-hitting should be an advantage and Clarke played two rounds with him at the Danish event, with the Belgian shooting 62 and 71
