Previewing The 2014 Ryder Cup

As you will hear constantly throughout the course of this week, golf is an individual sport. You are alone on the course, and you are the only person who can effect the outcome of an event (barring the weather, course conditions, incompetent caddy, crowd screaming through your back swing, etc.) It is because of this individual nature that the Ryder Cup is held in such regard. It is one of the only times in professional golf where your performance effects other people around you.

For a lot of people, the Ryder Cup is the most prestigious event on the calender. I wouldn't go so far as agreeing with these people, but it is the most exciting, as it is the only event where the crowd gets to root for a particular team and could actually effect the outcome. For a long time, the Ryder Cup was hotly contested, especially throughout the 80's and 90's, when players like Watson, Crenshaw, Floyd, Irwin, Stewart and Couples would face players like Seve, Faldo, Woosnam, Monty, Langer and Lyle. These would be hotly contested, back and forth contested that were heated, sometimes nasty, and would sway by a single point depending on which team had the home course advantage.

Since the start of the new millennium, however, the United States has only won one Ryder Cup, in 2008. In fact, there have been more Cups won by the Europeans by more than three points (3) than there have been matches where the Europeans won by less than three points (2). That being said, the last two Ryder Cup matches have been one point contests, so the gap has been closing since those days in the mid-2000's where these would be huge blowouts. 

So, what should we expect this week? It is still the Ryder Cup, so anything could happen, but given what I have seen over the past year, here are a couple of predictions I have for the matches:

5) Sergio Garcia and Rickie Fowler will be their respective team's MVPs:

- Everyone is expecting Rory McIlroy to bull rush this competition and go 5-0, defeating every opponent without seeing the 18th green. Those people don't pay much attention to the Ryder Cup, where the top players in the world rarely dominate the event. Rory will get everyone's attention, and whoever plays him will be trying their hardest to take down the top player in the world. I expect Rory to go something like 1-1-2. Not bad, but not spectacular. Look at someone like Sergio, who has a lot of experience in these events and who revels in the Ryder Cup atmosphere to break out for Team Europe. For Team USA, it's easy to see Rickie, who has been playing well and who gets to excel in a rock star environment, to be the anchor for this team. 

4) Jamie Donaldson and Patrick Reed will be hidden:

- Because there are only four matches in each team session, and there are 12 players per team, it is very possible for certain players to play only once during the team portion of the event, as was the case with Martin Kaymer in 2012. Because of Donaldson's inexperience on the big stages and Reed's polarizing personality, I expect these two players to perhaps only play once during the team portion of the event, meaning all their Ryder Cup glory will have to wait until Sunday.

3) Team USA will go as Phil Mickelson goes:

- Lefty will be, without a doubt, the leader of Team USA, and his performance in the early matches will dictate whether or not the Americans have a shot going into Sunday. If Phil wins in an early match on Friday, that should pump up Team USA and give them some motivation for the rest of the week. If Phil plays poorly and isn't able to make anything happen in his early matches, it could be over relatively quickly.

2) The outcome will not be indicative of the coaching:

- Of course, when one of these teams lose a Ryder Cup, the first person that is blamed is usually the coach, either for his terrible captain's picks or for his strategy. In this case, however, I do not believe coaching will mean anything for either side. Europeans have the talent, Americans have the motivation, and both of these factors will mean more than the captain. Both Team USA and Team Europe made a great choice in selecting Tom Watson and Paul McGinley, respectively. 

1) Europe wins by at least two points:

- I know I'm supposed to put on my Uncle Sam hat and root hard for Team USA. Hey, I would love nothing more than to see the Americans pull off this victory, and not just because I'm an American. For the good of the game and for the strength of the Ryder Cup, there should be parity, and right now, there isn't any. Coming down the stretch Sunday morning, I will be pulling hard for every American that steps on the course to try and bring the Ryder Cup home...but all that rooting won't stop the inevitable. Europe is top to bottom the far better team, and having the advantage of being in Scotland isn't even fair. If Team USA can keep this within two points, it will be a moral victory. There is a possibility that this represents the Ryder Cup matches of the mid-2000s, and Team Europe could completely steam roll the Americans.

Hey, strange things happen in these matches, though, so none of this should be taken in stone. All we know is that there are 24 guys who are experiencing massive pressure right now, and the guys who can focus that energy the best will be the ones who thrive.