2014 Ryder Cup: Burning Questions Ahead of Gleneagles
The Ryder Cup, the biennial golf competition between the United States and Europe, incites passion on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Some may say the passion has gone too far on occasion, but there's no denying the Ryder Cup is one of the great events in all of sports.
The United States has lost the last two meetings and has won just twice since 1995. That, in itself, raises considerable questions about the Americans' ability to get back to a place of dominance in this biennial competition.
But like any other big event, there are always questions leading up to next weekend.
Things like how will the rookies on this year's team will perform, what might be some of the key matchups involved and which team will have an edge on Gleneagles' Centenary Course?
Check out the following list.
Who Has the Better Team: USA or Europe?
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Considering that both Europe and the United States have four of the top 10 players in the world, the two teams are closer than some might believe.
The boys from across the ocean do have the No. 1 player in the world, Rory McIlroy, as well as No. 3 and No. 5 in Sergio Garcia and Henrik Stenson, respectively.
But keep in mind the last couple United States teams in the biennial competition were led by Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson and we all know how those worked out: a pair of hard-to-explain losses.
In terms of quality depth, the U.S. has eight team members ranked in the top 20 in the world, while Europe has six.
Team U.S.A's highest-ranked players, Jim Furyk (No. 4) and Rickie Fowler (No. 10) are their best players going in. Bubba Watson (No. 7) and Matt Kuchar (No. 9) are the other U.S. player in the top 10.
Based on all of that and still being days away from the first shots in the air, the nod goes to the Europeans. But, like the last two Ryder Cups, expect the competition to be very close.
And About Those Captain's Choices
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Nine members of each team earn their spots, the other three are chosen by each team's captain.
Those three choices are always interesting as the captain's try to pick players who combine the attributes of playing well as the PGA Tour season winds down, having some team play experience and being able to handle the pressure of big moments.
U.S. captain Tom Watson's three picks—Keegan Bradley, Webb Simpson and Hunter Mahan—have the experience.
They have combined for an 8-5-3 record in Ryder Cups. Mahan won The Barclays tournament in Auguest to begin the FedEx Cup playoffs, but Bradley hasn't won since the 2012 World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational and Simpson hasn't won since the 2012 U.S. Open.
For European captain Paul McGinley's team, Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood provide plenty of experience with a 30-16-6 record. Poulter hasn't won since 2012 and Westwood won the Maybank Malaysia Open in April. The third pick, Stephen Gallacher, is a Ryder Cup rookie who won the Dubai Desert Classic this year and last.
It will be interesting to see what contributions these six players make.
What Part Will Rookies Play?
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While some rookies have never played in a pressure-packed event like the Ryder Cup, many of them have years of experience as a professional.
Some will do well—remember Nicholas Colsaerts' eight birdies and eagle in 2012 at Medinah? How about Webb Simpson, Bubba Watson, Jason Dufner and Keegan Bradley running up a 9-3 record before the Sunday singles in 2012?
How will this year's crop do? For Europe, Jamie Donaldson and Victor Dubuisson made the team on points, while Stephen Gallacher was a captain's choice.
For the U.S., Jimmy Walker, Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed will each be representing their country in the Ryder Cup for the first time.
In a Golf Digest story, it was pointed out that, since 2002, the 49 rookies who have competed for both teams averaged 1.16 wins, 1.37 losses and 0.73 halves.
What does that mean? Well, having rookies on the team always creates great conversation. But when the Ryder Cup has been contested, chances are very good that the rookies won't have played a big part in the outcome.
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It's Live, but Will Many Be Watching at 3 A.M.?
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When the Ryder Cup is a home game for Team Europe, it's always been a difficult proposition for those on this side of the ocean in terms of covering and watching one of golf's premier events.
With the five-hour time difference, there has always been some portion of the day's proceedings that have been shown in a highlights package or tape-delayed. That won't be the case this year, however.
Golf Channel and NBC will team to show every shot live.
Golf Channel, taking over the Friday coverage from ESPN, will begin coverage at 2:30 a.m. EDT, running through the last match at 1 p.m. NBC will air coverage from 3 a.m. to 1 p.m. EDT on Saturday and from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. EDT Sunday.
There will be 26.5 hours of live coverage, more than has been shown of any other tournament from Europe.
The question is: Are you willing an able to set your alarm for 2:30 a.m. or 3:30 a.m. EDT to watch every minute of golf's most intense event?
Just How Big Will Matchups Be in Gleneagles?
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In addition to the patriotism that has become so dominant in the Ryder Cup, the pairings and matchups have evolved into great aspect for fans.
Rory McIlroy has not had another partner other than countryman Graeme McDowell, and it could be expected that the two will once again be partners in the foursomes and fourball competitions. That will happen even though the two are embroiled in a legal battle that revolves around the management company they both used.
For the U.S., the pairing of Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley was extremely successful in 2012, going 3-0. They'll be paired again if for no other reason than the enthusiasm they played with.
Mickelson played well at the PGA Championship, but neither is coming into the Ryder Cup on a roll.
If captains Watson and McGinley want to get the galleries at Gleneagles cranked up, they should put together Ian Poulter/Justin Rose vs. Mickelson/Bradley. It would be an intense matchup to say the least.
Or how about the successful pairing of Bubba Watson and Webb Simpson matched up against McIlroy and McDowell? There are bombers on each side as well as tacticians. McIlroy is playing much better than anyone else, making that look like a win for Europe.
Watching how these matchups and pairings come together is a big part of the event's popularity.
Does Either Side Have a Course Advantage at Gleneagles?
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Gleneagles' Centenary Course might not provide an advantage to either side in the Ryder Cup.
First, it's a parkland course, eliminating the edge Europeans might have had on a links course.
Yes, it will be set up with tightened fairways, but players on both teams face that when they play in the U.S. Open.
The greens figure to be a bit slower because European greens are generally slower than PGA Tour courses.
Perhaps the biggest factor might be the weather in Scotland in late September. Chances are there will be little sunshine, strong winds with a high likelihood of rain at some point over the weekend.
The course itself is a Jack Nicklaus design that he subsequently tweaked so it will feature plenty of holes that bend from left to right, paying homage to Nicklaus' famous preference for fades.
No home-field advantage here.
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