A Capsule Look At The European Team
- Details
- Category: Inside Golf
- Published: 2021-09-21
By DOUG FERGUSON, Associated Press
A capsule look at the European team for the Ryder Cup matches on Sept. 24-26 at Whistling Straits in Sheboygan, Wisconsin.
JON RAHM
Country: Spain.
Age: 26.
World Ranking: 1.
Ryder Cup Record: 1-2-0.
Career Victories: 13.
2021 Victories: U.S. Open.
Majors: U.S. Open (2021).
Ryder Cup Partners: Justin Rose (0-1-0), Ian Poulter (0-1-0).
Ryder Cup Moment: Beating Tiger Woods in singles in his Ryder Cup debut.
Backspin: Becomes the fourth European to be No. 1 in the world at the Ryder Cup. Finished a big year by winning first major, having first child, missing two tournaments because of COVID-19 and winning the PGA TOUR money list and Vardon Trophy. He will be counted on for many points.
TOMMY FLEETWOOD
Country: England.
Age: 30.
World Ranking: 36.
Ryder Cup Record: 4-1-0.
Career Victories: 5.
2021 Victories: None.
Majors: None.
Ryder Cup Partners: Francesco Molinari (4-0-0).
Ryder Cup Moment: Becoming part of the “Moliwood” partnership that led Europe to victory in 2018.
Backspin: Fleetwood no longer has Francesco Molinari at this side for this Ryder Cup, and it’s his first Ryder Cup away from home. Has slipped out of the top 30 in the world ranking after a winless year thus far.
TYRRELL HATTON
Country: England.
Age: 29.
World Ranking: 19.
Ryder Cup Record: 1-2-0.
Career Victories: 6.
2021 Victories: Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.
Majors: None.
Ryder Cup Partners: Paul Casey (1-1-0).
Ryder Cup Moment: Teaming with Paul Casey to beat Dustin Johnson and Rickie Fowler, his only Ryder Cup point.
Backspin: Following a breakthrough year in 2020, added a victory against one of the strongest fields in Abu Dhabi. Hatton has been quiet since then, at least based on his results. He played with Casey in both team matches in Paris.
BERND WIESBERGER
Country: Austria.
Age: 35.
World Ranking: 61.
Ryder Cup Record: Rookie.
Career Victories: 10.
2021 Victories: Made in Himmerland.
Majors: None.
Ryder Cup Partners: None.
Ryder Cup Moment: A tie for 20th at the BMW PGA Championship to secure an automatic spot on his first Ryder Cup team.
Backspin: Not to be overlooked is that he has more European Tour victories than three other qualifiers. At No. 61 in the world, he is the only player at Whistling Straits outside the top 50. He had a three-win season in 2019 before the pandemic hit. He’s the first Austrian to play in the Ryder Cup.
RORY MCILROY
Country: Northern Ireland.
Age: 32.
World Ranking: 15.
Ryder Cup Record: 11-9-4
Career Victories: 27.
2021 Victories: Wells Fargo Championship.
Majors: U.S. Open (2011), PGA Championship (2012, 2014), British Open (2014).
Ryder Cup Partners: Graeme McDowell (2-3-1), Ian Poulter (2-1-1), Sergio Garcia (2-1-1), Andy Sullivan (0-1-0), Thomas Pieters (3-0-0), Thorbjorn Olesen (0-1-0).
Ryder Cup Moment: Showing up with minutes to spare for his singles match at Medinah in 2012, and with a police escort, because he forgot Chicago was in the central time zone. And then he beat Keegan Bradley.
Backspin: He won at Quail Hollow but still isn’t all the way back to living up to his talent. He remains a central figure for Europe. Since his debut in 2010, McIlroy has yet to sit out a match. He has partnered with rookies in each of the last two Ryder Cup matches.
VIKTOR HOVLAND
Country: Norway.
Age: 23.
World Ranking: 13.
Ryder Cup Record: Rookie.
Career Victories: 3.
2021 Victories: BMW International Open.
Majors: None.
Ryder Cup Partners: None.
Ryder Cup Moment: Easily qualifying in his first year of eligibility.
Backspin: He was looked upon as being on the Ryder Cup team almost from the moment he turned pro. The first Norwegian to play in the Ryder Cup, he already has two PGA TOUR victories and one in Europe this year in Germany. He won the U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach.
PAUL CASEY
Country: England.
Age: 44.
World Ranking: 23.
Ryder Cup Record: 4-3-5.
Career Victories: 19.
2021 Victories: Omega Dubai Desert Classic.
Majors: None.
Ryder Cup Partners: David Howell (2-0-0), Robert Karlsson (0-0-2), Henrik Stenson (0-1-0), Sergio Garcia (0-0-1), Tyrrell Hatton (1-1-0).
Ryder Cup Moment: Making a hole-in-one on the 14th hole in foursomes at The K Club to win the match in 2006.
Backspin: He went 10 years without the Ryder Cup as he focused on life in America, and now it means everything to him. He won in Dubai at the start of the year as part of his 10 top-10 finishes this year. Partnered Tyrrell Hatton for two matches in Paris.
MATT FITZPATRICK
Country: England.
Age: 27.
World Ranking: 27.
Ryder Cup Record: 0-2-0.
Career Victories: 6.
2021 Victories: None.
Majors: None.
Ryder Cup Partners: Henrik Stenson (0-1-0).
Ryder Cup Moment: Failing to play the 17th or 18th holes in his Ryder Cup matches.
Backspin: He ended last year by winning the DP World Tour Championship. While he hasn’t won this year, he tends to play his best golf on the strongest courses. He had a poor start to his Ryder Cup career, playing only two matches at Hazeltine in 2016 and losing them both.
LEE WESTWOOD
Country: England.
Age: 48.
World Ranking: 34.
Ryder Cup Record: 20-18-6.
Career Victories: 41.
2021 Victories: None.
Majors: None.
Ryder Cup Partners: Nick Faldo (2-2-0), Darren Clarke (6-2-0), Thomas Bjorn (1-0-0), Sergio Garcia (4-1-2), Colin Montgomerie (0-2-0), Soren Hansen (0-1-1), Martin Kaymer (1-0-1), Luke Donald (1-1-0), Francesco Molinari (0-1-0), Nicolas Colsaerts (1-0-0), Jamie Donaldson (2-1-0), Thomas Pieters (0-1-0), Danny Willett (0-1-0).
Ryder Cup Moment: Rallying to beat Kenny Perry in singles in 2004 at Oakland Hills, his first singles victory, in a match that assured Europe would keep the Ryder Cup.
Backspin: He ties Nick Faldo by making his 11th team and becomes the fourth-oldest European to play in the Ryder Cup. Westwood has been around so long that four of his 13 partners have gone on to become Ryder Cup captains. Held is own earlier in the year against Bryson DeChambeau in consecutive weeks on hard courses.
SERGIO GARCIA
Country: Spain.
Age: 41.
World Ranking: 43.
Ryder Cup Record: 22-12-7.
Career Victories: 31.
2021 Victories: None.
Majors: Masters (2017).
Ryder Cup Partners: Jesper Parnevik (3-0-1), Lee Westwood (4-1-2), Luke Donald (5-1-0), Jose Maria Olazabal (2-0-0), Miguel Angel Jimenez (0-1-0), Paul Casey (0-0-1), Nicolas Colsaerts (0-1-0), Rory McIlroy (1-1-1), Martin Kaymer (0-2-0), Rafa Cabrera Bello (1-0-1), Alex Noren (1-1-0).
Ryder Cup Moment: Beating Rickie Fowler in Paris to become the all-time points leader for Europe.
Backspin: He joins Lee Westwood as the only players on this team to have played in the Ryder Cup over parts of four decades. The youngest ever at age 19 in 1999 and he's been going strong ever since. He holds the Ryder Cup record for most points at 25 1/2.
SHANE LOWRY
Country: Ireland.
Age: 34.
World Ranking: 40.
Ryder Cup Record: Rookie.
Career Victories: 5.
2021 Victories: None.
Majors: British Open (2019).
Ryder Cup Partners: None.
Ryder Cup Moment: Getting the call from fellow Irishman Padraig Harrington that he was on the team.
Backspin: He hasn’t won since his major title at Royal Portrush, but he was strong at Kiawah Island in the PGA Championship and has played reasonably well under the pressure of trying to qualify for his first Ryder Cup. He tends to play his best on big stages.
IAN POULTER
Country: England.
Age: 45.
World Ranking: 49.
Ryder Cup Record: 14-6-2.
Career Victories: 15.
2021 Victories: None.
Majors: None.
Ryder Cup Partners: Darren Clarke (0-1-0), Justin Rose (4-1-0), Graeme McDowell (1-0-0), Ross Fisher (0-1-0), Luke Donald (1-0-0), Martin Kaymer (1-0-0), Rory McIlroy (2-1-1), Stephen Gallacher (0-1-0), Jon Rahm (0-1-0).
Ryder Cup Moment: Closing with five straight birdies in a tide-turning fourballs match at Medinah in 2012 that sparked Europe’s improbable rally.
Backspin: Known as “The Postman” because of his pledge to always deliver, and he usually does. He hasn’t won in three years. He doesn’t have the length for Whistling Straits. None of that seems to matter when Poulter is playing in a Ryder Cup. Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose are the only partners with whom he has played more than once.