Ryder Cup 2014 Results: Updated Standings and Predictions After Day 2 Fourball

The 2014 Ryder Cup is showing the stark contrast between the talent in Europe and the United States. After another impressive performance in the afternoon session on Day 2, the European squad is just four points from retaining the championship and 4.5 from an outright win. 

Of course, even though no one in the United States wants to hear this or believe it, Europe's dominance was expected before the event began. Think back to before the teams were even finalized. There were no questions about who would feature in Paul McGinley's team. 

Tom Watson had to deflect questions about Tiger Woods, who was never in any condition to play in the Ryder Cup anyway, and doesn't have one player entering the event playing at his peak. It's shown through two days, but hope isn't entirely lost. 

Here's a look at the Ryder Cup standings after Saturday's action and predictions for what will happen on Sunday. 

Team	Points	Needed To Win
Europe	10	4.5
United States	6	8.5

Sunday Predictions

Jamie Squire/Getty Images

The most notable omission from the United States team on Saturday was Phil Mickelson. It wasn't a surprise because Lefty struggled on Day 1—despite winning the morning four-ball match with Keegan Bradley against Sergio Garcia and Rory McIlroy—and many analysts wondered why Tom Watson let him play in the afternoon. 

Butch Harmon, who is Mickelson's instructor, said on a Sky Sports broadcast, via Mike Walker of Golf.com, that Lefty "looks out of gas to me." When you can't even get his instructor to back him up, you know there is a problem. 

Mickelson didn't sound too bummed about being on the sidelines Saturday, saying in an Associated Press report, via ESPN, that it was in the best interest of the team:

"Whatever it takes to win," Mickelson said. "I want our team to win, and whatever we have to do is all I care about."

All of this is to say that with Mickelson notably fighting to keep his head above water on the course, the singles matches on Sunday don't figure to get any better for him. The good news is the 44-year-old is matched up with Stephen Gallacher on the final day. 

Gallacher, who got paired with Ian Poulter, was a mess on Friday with erratic shots and poor putting en route to a 5 & 4 loss against Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed. He was also given Saturday off, so who knows what to expect from that match. 

Given that Gallacher was making his Ryder Cup debut in his home country, you can understand if nerves played a factor in that round. He is going to be better with little pressure because of Europe's commanding lead. 

The best match of Sunday's pairings is Rickie Fowler taking on Rory McIlroy. These two know each other well from their battles in the majors this year. McIlroy, of course, won the British Open and PGA Championship. 

While every athlete will tell you that winning is the ultimate goal, Fowler's performance in the majors with four top-five finishes was nothing to scoff at. When you are behind four points, as the United States is, it's not enough to get half points. This group needs a lot of wins to have a shot, which means upsets have to happen. 

Unfortunately for the United States, McIlroy hasn't forgotten past instances of a European collapse in the Ryder Cup:

If you want a more recent example of a Ryder Cup collapse, Ashley Mayo of Golf Digest has you covered with this little nugget:

The point being that Europe knows it can't rest on its laurels heading into the final day, even with a commanding lead and needing just four points to retain the Ryder Cup. (As the defending champion, it only needs a 14-14 draw to retain.)

With so much volatility on the United States, including the criticisms of Watson, it looks like Europe will have no problems winning the Ryder Cup outright for the eighth time since 1995. 

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