To recap, the full US team, captained by Tom Watson, consists of Rickie Fowler, Jim Furyk, Zach Johnson, Matt Kutchar, Phil Mickelson, Patrick Reed, Jordan Speith, Jimmie Walker, Bubba Watson, Keegan Bradley, Hunter Mahan, and Webb Simpson, as well as vice captains Steve Stricker, Andy North, and Raymond Floyd.
The European team, captained by Paul McGinley, consists of Rory McIlroy (NIR), Henrik Stenson (SWE), Sergio Garcia (ESP), Justin Rose (ENG), Martin Kaymer (GER), Victor Dubuisson (FRA), Thomas Bjørn (DEN), Jamie Donaldson (WAL), Graeme McDowell (NIR), Ian Poulter (ENG), Stephen Gallacher (SCO), and Lee Westwood (ENG), as well as vice captains Sam Torrance, Des Smyth, Padraig Harrington, Miguel Angel Jimenez, and 2012 Ryder Cup Captain Jose Maria Olazabal.
An ongoing theme of the Ryder Cup is how the European side, despite it's depth of nationality, always appears more united and "team-like" compared to the Americans. This is traditionally why the US team is always characterized as the underdogs, at least that's how it's been in the last several Ryder Cups. This is something that Captain Tom Watson wishes to dispel and disprove come the matches. However at least to the golfing experts, this seems to be the case this year too, as many have picked Europe as the winning side again.
For me, I'm picking Europe as the wining side this year, mainly for a few reasons. Firstly, I agree with the experts completely in that this year's European team is just as united as teams before, and more united that the US side (a unity which I think was started by the Ryder Cup legend Seve Ballesteros and a unity which lives vicariously through him). Secondly, the European team consists of some of my favourite players in the game; Graeme McDowell, Miguel Angel Jimenez, and Martin Kaymer. Naturally, everyone wants to see their favourites win! Lastly, is the course itself. The PGA Centenary course is considered by most more of a parkland course than a links course, but despite this, I think the Europeans will have an advantage here.
As for weather conditions over these three days, it looks like there's only a chance of rain on Sunday, with low winds throughout the three days, as well as temps in the high teens.
Earlier today during the Opening Ceremony for the Ryder Cup, Friday's Fourball pairs were announced by Captains Tom Watson and Paul McGinley. Being in Fourball format, each players of the 2-player team plays their own ball and the player that has the lowest score on each hole wins a point for their team, with half points being given out for a draw. The pairings are:
1) Bubba Watson/Webb Simpson VS Justin Rose/Henrik Stenson (2:35AM EST)
2) Rickie Fowler/Jimmy Walker VS Thomas Bjorn/Martin Kaymer (2:50AM EST)
3) Jordan Speith/Patrick Reed VS Stephen Gallacher/Ian Poulter (3:05AM EST)
4) Keegen Bradley/Phil Mickelson VS Rory McIlroy/Sergio Garcia (3:20AM EST)
Now these are some interesting pairings. For match #2, it seems likely that Poulter and Gallacher will be able to beat rookies Speith and Reed, but this may prove to not be true, given the way Poulter has been playing this year. Perhaps the biggest match of the morning is match #4. As we've seen in the past few weeks, Rory's dominant performance has almost been matched by Sergio Garcia in the events they were both in. It seems like when one's playing well, the other is too. This is a power group for sure, but let's not underestimate Mickelson and Bradley, who were an excellent pairing in the last Ryder Cup. This will be an interesting match to watch for sure.
There's just a few hours now before the first groups tee off and the excitement begins. We'll be covering as much as we can of it and we'll be recapping the day's action with daily posts, so stay tuned for those.
Who do you think will win it this year? Leave a comment, let us know...
-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews
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