Ryder Cup: What has changed for Team Europe and Team USA since last meeting in 2021

Whistling Street. September 2021. A crushing 19-9 victory for Team USA to win the pandemic-delayed 43rd Ryder Cup, with the youngest team in its history.

Team Europe’s biggest defeat since expanding to players outside Great Britain and Ireland in 1979, and back to the drawing board to prepare for the next meeting at the Marco Simoni Golf and Country Club in Rome.

Two years is a long time in Ryder Cup terms, but even with that in mind, no one could have anticipated how much the landscape for both the American and European teams would change in the intervening 24 months.

The LIV effect

Part of the appeal of the Ryder Cup is the rivalry. The ill-tempered 1969 matches, the ‘War On The Shore’ and the ‘Battle Of Brookline’ are some of the more infamous moments in the tournament’s history that sparked this.

Generally speaking, it remained between opposing teams and individuals. But the arrival of LIV Golf on the scene last year and the defection of several top players from the traditional North American and European tours to the upstart series created rifts between potential teammates.

Even as LIV’s backers, the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund, the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, settled their differences earlier this year to agree a partnership, the divisions are still notable in the makeup of both teams for the 2023 Ryder Cup. .

PGA Championship winner Brooks Koepka is the only LIV player on Zach Johnson’s US team and was the captain’s choice even then. Fellow 2021 team members Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau are not included, while Phil Mickelson, holder of a record 12 Ryder Cup appearances and vice-captain last time out, is also not involved in Rome.

“I’m a pick this year, a little bit different,” Koepka said. “(I) would have liked to make it on my own, but it was close. (I’m) just happy to be on the team.”

For Europe, the split left experienced competitors Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and Paul Casey, plus potential pick Thomas Pieters, ineligible for selection.

It also cost them their original choice as captain after Henrik Stenson opted to defect to the Rebels tour, with Luke Donald now tasked with leading the hosts in their quest to regain the trophy.

“Henrik has made his decisions and he has his reasons,” Donald said after being named as Stenson’s replacement. “I’m not here to judge that, but I’m certainly excited about this opportunity.”

The European players come to the fore

With reigning Masters champion Jon Rahm, four-time major winner Rory McIlroy and Ryder Cup rookie Viktor Hovland, Team Europe captain Donald has three of the top four in the Official World Golf Ranking at his disposal.

Last year’s surprise US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick is also currently eighth, while 2023 PGA Tour Championship winner Hovland is one of four players in the 12-man squad making their debut in the biennial showdown with the US.

Both are signs of the European golf talent that has burst onto the scene since the last Ryder Cup, with 22-year-old Dane Nicolai Hojgaard and 23-year-old Swede Ludvig Åberg, who only turned professional in June, joining Norway’s Hovland . part of the next generation of rising Scandinavian stars.

Added to the mix is ​​Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre, with Donald optimistic the rookies can shine like they did when he made his Ryder Cup debut in the European victory over Oakland Hills in 2004.

“I think it’s a really nice mix of experience and novices,” Donald shared Sky Sports News about his team. “We have experience and some superstars, but it’s great to see those twelve all together now.

“We had five rookies on the team (in 2004) and it worked out well. I’m really excited about building this team.”

Changes for Team USA

Donald’s counterpart Johnson boasts the world’s No. 1 player in Scottie Scheffler, who has risen in the rankings after ranking 21st when he made his Ryder Cup debut as captain at Whistling Straits two years ago.

In that time, Scheffler has won the Masters and claimed five other PGA Tour titles, and is part of a team that includes two other players who have added major glory to their resumes in that time in the form of Wyndham Clark and Brian Harman – both of which placed in the OWGR top 10.

Clark and Harman are among four rookies on the team, along with this year’s WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play champion Sam Burns – one of Johnson’s six captains – and Max Homa. Meanwhile, Rickie Fowler has been recalled as captain after not being part of the 2021 team.

This time, however, Thomas, who has an 80 percent win record in Ryder Cup matches, and two-time major winner Collin Morikawa had to rely on the captain’s choice after becoming automatic selections two years ago after sliding down the world rankings.

However, handing one of his picks to Thomas was an eyebrow-raising move given the 30-year-old’s problems this year, but Johnson is confident his side can retain the Ryder Cup.

“I’m really excited about my 12 boys being complete,” Johnson said. “I’m really excited that these are the guys that all of us, business-wise, feel like we can go on a mission with one goal.

“But we’re going to do it together. We’re going to do it with character, we’re going to do it with high class, we’re going to do it with the integrity that the Ryder Cup deserves.”

Live coverage of the opening day of the Ryder Cup begins on Friday, September 29 from 6am on Sky Sports Golf, with live programming starting on Monday, September 25. Stream the PGA Tour, DP Tour, Ryder Cup and more NOW.