Ryder Cup 2014: Predictions for All 3 Days at Gleneagles
Team Europe figure to be favorites in the 2014 Ryder Cup due to the sheer fact that they're hosting the event at Gleneagles in Scotland.
With a superior amount of star power and the best player in the world in Rory McIlroy, expectations are even more skewed toward Europe defeating the USA.
Mixing and matching by the captains, the players' current form, the immense talent on both sides and how competitors handle the unique pressure of the team format creates a lot of unpredictability, though.
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The atmosphere should be electric, as the Americans seek to redeem 2012's collapse at Medinah. It appeared the Cup would go back to the U.S. until a stunning Sunday singles comeback by Europe, culminating with reigning U.S. Open champion Martin Kaymer's clinching putt on the 18th hole.
Avenging that epic loss on foreign soil will be a driving force for the likes of Phil Mickelson, Keegan Bradley and others to make up the perceptive gap between their side and the hosts.
Although the pairs have yet to be determined and won't be known until just before September 26's start, it's still worth looking ahead and predicting how the three days of the 2014 Ryder Cup might play out.
Note: Stats and records courtesy of RyderCup.com and PGATour.com unless otherwise indicated.
Day 1: Team Europe Seizes Lead In Afternoon Fourball
Foursomes will be the format to kick off the Ryder Cup, and that is a better fit for the USA. With an inferior amount of stars, alternate shot won't expose that as much.
The Americans have just as many or perhaps even more long hitters than Europe does. What will be key in foursomes, though, is for teammates to set up each other with approach-shot angles that fit their eye and natural shot shape.
As dynamic as Mickelson and Bradley were as a 3-0 team in 2012, neither of them has played their best golf this year. They ought to be separated in the morning, pairing with shorter, more accurate drivers such as Jim Furyk or Matt Kuchar.
Lefty and Bradley can reunite for fourball thereafter and will probably give the USA a point in their match. However, the Europeans' individual prowess is bound to shine through in the afternoon.
Playing better ball doesn't make teammates as reliant on each other, so this is where Europe figures to have a huge upper hand. Sending out any combination of McIlroy, 2013 FedEx Cup winner Henrik Stenson, and Ryder Cup stalwarts Sergio Garcia (16-8-4 record) and Ian Poulter (12-3) will be tough for the Americans to match up with.
Day 2: Americans Hang Tough, Pull Within 1 Point
An old-fashioned underdog storyline will unfold as Saturday's action progresses. A lot of blue will be on the board early, but some overnight adjustments by Captain Watson will see the USA mount a charge.
I see a scenario in which the three youngest studs on the U.S. side feed off each other. Both Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed have struggled for most of the summer. The freedom to fire at flags will benefit those two especially.
Golf Channel's Justin Ray alluded to the struggles Spieth and Reed endured at the Tour Championship, along with two other USA captain's picks:
Already as aggressive as anyone on the PGA Tour, Rickie Fowler has tempered his game somewhat, yet he will always be a bit of a maverick. Matchplay is where he was born to thrive, and after failing to make the 2012 Ryder Cup squad, he'll be back in full force.
Course management cautions be darned. If and when the USA is trailing entering Day 2 of the Ryder Cup, the stakes and intensity will raise, as will the urgency to make a move. By finishing in the top five in all four majors this year, there is little doubt that Fowler can rise to the occasion and assert himself as a leader.
Fowler has expressed an interest in partnering up with first-timer Jimmy Walker, along with the most experienced Americans in Mickelson and Furyk.
"I talked to (assistant captain Steve Stricker). He was checking in with a few of the guys and we’ve talked amongst ourselves," said Fowler, via GolfChannel.com's Rex Hoggard. "I’ve played with Jimmy (Walker) and I’ve played with (Jim) Furyk and I’ve played with Phil (Mickelson). I thought those were my possible three guys who stood out."
Both Fowler and Walker have experienced breakthroughs under the tutelage of swing coach Butch Harmon. That would certainly make for an ideal pairing, and on the second day, Walker should have the Ryder Cup rookie jitters out of the way and join forces with Fowler to give the U.S. a spark.
Mental toughness is a big strength for the USA, and it will shine through when the team strings together its best Ryder Cup day and pulls within a point entering the last day.
Day 3: Europe Dominates Sunday Singles, Retains Ryder Cup
Barring a catastrophe on the greens, Europe has the personnel on paper to lay waste to the USA in singles.
Good luck to anyone hoping to go against McIlroy and come out on top. McIlroy showed up minutes before his match versus Bradley in 2012 without any warmup, yet still won 2 and 1.
The two Americans who outplayed McIlroy in the FedEx Cup playoffs at various times, Chris Kirk and Billy Horschel, are not on the team. This quote from McIlroy, via WeiUnderPar.com's Stephanie Wei, is telling:
Captain Watson will either have to concede defeat by trotting out a lesser player or hope one of his thoroughbreds can best McIlroy on an off day.
Golf analyst Steve Elling brings up a valid point:
"In terms of the world ranking, the top member of the US Ryder Cup team is Jim Furyk. He has a career record of 9-17-4. #Iknowthistune
— Steve Elling (@EllingYelling) September 3, 2014"
Justin Rose's comeback versus Mickelson in the 2012 singles was a big turning point in Europe's charge, knotting the score at 11 when he finished. The 2013 U.S. Open winner drained a ton of clutch putts.
The same knack for holing out at pivotal moments has held true for both Garcia and Poulter over multiple Ryder Cups. Another past U.S. Open champ in Graeme McDowell closed out the U.S. in 2010, defeating Hunter Mahan in the final match.
One underrated player is 24-year-old Victor Dubuisson. Among the combined rookies on both teams, look for the rising French star to score the most points of anyone.
Dubuisson had top 10s at the last two majors, hits the ball over 300 yards off the tee and is a short-game magician. Evidence of that surfaced in his stunning runner-up finish to Jason Day at the WGC-Match Play Championship in February.
European captain Paul McGinley acknowledged how level the playing field can get in this international clash.
"My big worry, my one worry, is you're at the very pinnacle of world sport here," said McGinley, per The Guardian's Ewan Murray. "You've got 12 of the best players from Europe playing 12 of the best players from America. This is top-level sport and in top-level sport anything can happen, as we all know."
But the most consistent golfer on big stages for the U.S. this year has been Fowler, and he owns a career Ryder Cup record of 0-1-2.
One could argue there's more pressure on Europe as the consensus favorite. Nevertheless, this is a team full of cocksure personalities who have many returning members from the previous two Ryder Cup-winning squads.
That should allow the Europeans to at least halve the majority of the singles matches and finish the job, hoisting the Ryder Cup for the third time in a row.
Final Score: Europe retains Ryder Cup, 16-12
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