Ryder Cup 2012 Teams Announced for US vs. Europe Battle

Davis Love III has named his final choices for the United States Ryder Cup squad before the 39th installment of the historic tournament begins on September 28. Love and Jose Maria Olazabal will captain the United States and European teams, respectively.

According to USA Today, here are the full American and European Ryder Cup rosters.

USA

Davis Love - C	Webb Simpson	Brandt Snedeker*
Tiger Woods	Bubba Watson	Dustin Johnson*
Phil Mickelson	Keegan Bradley	Jim Furyk*
Matt Kuchar	Jason Dufner	Steve Stricker*
Zach Johnson

C: captain (will not play)

* Denotes captain's pick

Europe

Jose Maria Olazabal - C	Luke Donald	Martin Kaymer
Rory McIlroy	Lee Westwood	Peter Hanson
Ian Poulter*	Graeme McDowell	Francesco Molinari
Nicolas Colsaerts*	Sergio Garcia
Paul Lawrie	Justin Rose

C: captain (will not play)

* Denotes captain's pick

Medinah Country Club in Illinois will be the site of the 2012 Ryder Cup. Since 1983, the United States has won just four times, while Europe has won the tournament eight times, with a tie in 1989 allowing Europe to retain the cup.

The competition happens every two years, and the location alternates between the United States and Europe.

This year's Ryder Cup could be one of the best ever since both teams are so even in terms of talent. Rory McIlroy's emergence in recent months has made the European squad far better. Lee Westwood, Luke Donald and Justin Rose are three consistent players who should also excel for the Europeans.

The American team is headlined by a number of stars, including Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. Neither of these players won a major tournament this year, but both have plenty of Ryder Cup experience, which will certainly be valuable to the team.

My early prediction would be the Americans winning a very close tournament, but ever since the United States' remarkable comeback in 1999, no player will believe any lead is safe.

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