Ryder Cup

Head to Head

The 42^nd edition of the Ryder Cup is set to take place at the end of the month on the Albatros course of the picturesque venue of the Le Golf National. This is located in a suburb southwest of France. This will be just the second Ryder Cup taking place in continental Europe following on from the 1997 contest that took place in Spain. As expected team USA are heading in as slight favourites following there commanding performance from back in 2016 as they beat team Europe by 17 points to 11. Punters have been busy betting with the app from SBK on both sides. Team USA will be looking to overturn a long losing run in Europe that dates back to their last victory in 1993. So who has been selected for each side as anticipation continuous to grow ahead of the tournament?

TEAM USA

The Experienced Jim Furyk captain’s team USA and who better to do it as outside of Phil Michelson, no player has made more Ryder cup appearances following his nine tournaments dating back to 1997. He will have David Duval, Zach Johnson, Matt Kuchar, Davis Love III and Steve Stricker as vice-captains.

Team USA will be headed by world number one, two and three in Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Justin Thomas. All three have been in imperious form in recent years so are set to play a leading role for the defending champions. They will be supported by the likes of Rickie Fowler, 2018 Masters Winner Patrick Reed, Webb Simpson and Bubba Watson. Jordan Spieth is another key addition to the side and will be looking to return to his best.

However much of the build-up has been about Tiger Woods as he continuous his impressive return. He has been in fantastic form in recent months and thus was selected as a captain’s pick alongside the most experienced player in the history of the competition in Phil Mickelson. The final two captain’s picks were Bryson Dechambeau and finally Tony Finau. This team is stacked with talent and are going to take a lot of beating so are rightly the opening favourites.

TEAM EUROPE

Denmark national Thomas Bjorn captain’s team Europe having been on the winning side on each of his three appearances as a player at the Ryder Cup in 1997, 2002 and 2014. His vice-captains are Luke Donald, Padraig Harrington, Robert Karlsson, Graeme McDowell and Lee Westwood. Westwood was always going to be picked as a vice-captain having made ten consecutive starts for team Europe up to 2016 in which he was on the winning side on seven occasions.

Team Europe will be headed by world number four in Justin Rose and of course superstar Rory McIlroy. Other picks include Alex Noren, Jon Rahm, Thorbjorn Olesen, and Tyrrell Hatton. The 2018 Open winner Francesco Molinari is also in the side making his first appearance since 2012. Tommy Fleetwood will be making a rookie appearance but he continues to remain in top form having won the European tour’s race to Dubai in 2017.

As always the captain’s picks have been interesting and as expected Swedish legend Henrik Stenson was selected alongside Ian Poulter. The final two captain’s picks are Paul Casey who will be making his fourth Ryder Cup appearance and Spanish star Sergio Garcia. He will be an important addition to team Europe as he brings in a vast amount of experience and will be making his 9^th Ryder Cup appearance.