Ryder Cup 2012: Final Rosters Give Edge to United States After Captain's Picks

In a press conference today, United States captain Davis Love III announced his four captain's picks for the 39th edition of the historic Ryder Cup, and as expected the United States are the early favorite to win back the Cup when the tournament starts on September 28. 

Love's four captain's picks have been awarded to Dustin Johnson, Brandt Snedeker, Jim Furyk and Steve Stricker. 

Now that the full rosters for both squads have been announced, let's take a look at both rosters to see just where the United States takes the advantage heading into Medinah.

USA	Europe
Davis Love III (C)	Jose Maria Olazabal (C)
Tiger Woods	Rory McIlroy
Phil Mickelson	Luke Donald
Matt Kuchar	Martin Kaymer
Zach Johnson	Lee Westwood
Webb Simpson	Ian Poulter
Bubba Watson	Nicolas Colsaerts
Keegan Bradley	Paul Lawrie
Jason Dufner	Graeme McDowell
Dustin Johnson	Sergio Garcia
Jim Furyk	Justin Rose
Brandt Snedeker	Peter Hanson
Steve Stricker	Francesco Molinari

As you can see, Europe will unleash the beast that is Rory McIlroy at the top of their lineup, and coupled with other consistent players like Luke Donald, Lee Westwood and Justin Rose, the Europeans have a formidable squad. 

However, on paper, it is a bit top-heavy. Like I stated, it offers young guns like McIlroy and Donald—who are two of the top players of the world—but when you get into the meat of the roster, where exactly are you going to get needed points in crucial situations?

That's where the United States will excel. They bring even more consistency from top to bottom than the Europeans, and with the likes of Keegan Bradley, Jason Dufner and Webb Simpson, it's a US squad that's not to be trifled with. 

Admittedly, the captain's picks only solidified that fact by adding a major champion in Furyk and one of the tour's best putters in Brandt Snedeker.

The Ryder Cup is always fun, and much of the reason for that is because it usually doesn't end how you think it will. It's always full of surprises, upsets and collapses that leave us fans glued to our televisions.

With the consistency from top to bottom, level of experience and the fact that it is on home soil, it's a solid pick to believe the United States has what it takes to bring the Ryder Cup back to the homeland.