The 43rd Ryder Cup

Whistling Straits, Kohler, Wisconsin, 7,390 yards, Par 71, Pete and Alice Dye architects.

Defending champion, Europe, won 17 1/2-10 1/2 at Le Golf National in France.

Format

Foursomes Friday and Saturday AM, alternate shot with one player teeing off on odd holes and the other teeing off on even holes.

Four Ball, Friday and Saturday PM. All 4 players play their respective balls with the lowest score on either side the winner of the hole.

Sunday, 12 singles matches. Should be electric.

If there is a tie at the end of 18, each side gets a half point.

Weather, Friday, 75, mostly sunny, wind SW 13. Saturday, 67, Sunny, Wind W 14. Sunday, Partly Sunny, 72, Wind WSW 11.

TV, Friday, 7 AM-6 PM CT, Golf Channel. Saturday, 7-8 AM CT, Golf. 8 AM-6 PM, NBC. Sunday, 11 AM-5 PM CT, NBC.

Captains, U.S. Steve “Here come those tears again,” Stricker. Big cryer.

Europe, Padraig Harrington.

U.S. Roster with experience in Ryder Cup play.

Collin Morikawa, Rookie, Dustin Johnson, 5th Ryder Cup, Bryson DeChambeau, 2nd, Brooks Koepka, 3rd, Justin Thomas , 2nd, Patrick Cantlay, Rookie, Tony Finau, 2nd, Xander Schauffele, Rookie, Jordan Spieth, 4th, Harris English, Rookie, Daniel Berger, Rookie, Scottie Scheffler, Rookie.

Euro, Joh Rahm, 2nd, Tommy Fleetwood, 2nd, Tyrrell Hatton, 2nd, Bernd Wiesberger, Rookie, Rory McIlory, 6th, Viktor Hovland, Rookie, Paul Casey, 5th, Matt Fitzpatrick, 2nd, Lee Westwood, 11th, Shane Lowry, Rookie, Sergio Garcia, 10th, Ian Poulter, 7th.

Average age of the U.S. team is 29.1 while Europe is 34.6

Some interesting facts. Whistling Straits is a Links Course on Lake Michigan about an hour north of Milwaukee. Milwaukee is challenging Champa Bay for championships with the Bucks winning the NBA Championship and the Brewers looking very strong heading into the MLB Playoffs, and the Packers looking like they’re getting their usual stellar form going again after a stong showing over the Lions on Monday Night Football. Jake from State Farm sure is proud.

It’ll be windy. To me, that favors the Euros who play in that all the time though the Texans, Spieth and Scheffler, are used to it as well.

There are 967 bunkers on Whistling Straits. Dustin Johnson forgot about one in 2010 and it cost hm the PGA Championship won by Martin Kaymer.

Like the veterans on the Euro team, Lee Westwood at 48, Ian Poulter at 45, and Sergio at 41. All excellent Ryder Cup players. Sergio has the most points all time of any Ryder Cup player with 25.

Justin Thomas is a hoss in match play going 12-3-3 in his career which includes The Ryder Cup, the President’s Cup and the Palmer Cup, the U.S.-Europ amateur competition.

Prediction

When Ronald Reagan was running for re-election in 1984 against Democrat Walter Mondale, Mondale said in the debate that Reagan was too old. The Old Guy’s response was,

“I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent’s youth and inexperience.” Reagan won in a landslide.

The U.S. has six rookies on its team. The Euros have the cagey veterans in Westwood, Poulter and Garcia, and you throw that in with World No.1 Rahm, Rory, an excellent Cup player, and the electric Viktor Hovland along with some other stellar competitors in Fleetwood, Hatton and Lowry. Justin Leonard said on the Golf Channel last night on Live From the Ryder Cup, that “how do you predict the most unpredictable sport (along with horse racing), in the most unpredictable event on one of the most unpredictable courses? It’s like being the mechanic of the Titanic.”

But I’m here to make predictions, so that is what I’m going to do. It may be considered unpatriotic to pick against the U.S., but it’s my patriotic duty as a sportswriter to say what I honestly believe. The U.S, has only won 2 Ryder Cups in the last 20 years, 2008 and 2016. The Euros just seem hungrier every time out. I like Rahm, Rory and the vets on the Euro team to prevail in a “major” upset.

Europe 14 1/2, U.S. 13 1/2