Ryder Cup 2023, the Team USA takes shape

• golf

Less than 60 days separate us from the start to the 44th edition of the Ryder Cup. On Wednesday, the first place in the team was assigned to a player through the automatic qualifications.

Ryder Cup 2023, team

Scottie Scheffler, after being one of Steve Stricker's picks at Whistling Straits, earned the right to wear the Team USA jacket in Rome.

But, obviously, the rumors and indiscretions thicken, and so the names of other players emerge who may already have seats on the plane to Rome. A very concrete indication came from Fred Couples, one of Zach Johnson's assistants, who, during an interview published by @SiriusXMPGATOUR, let slip the names of players who are on the bubble: “I'll tell you, Max Homa will be in Italy, without getting anyone in trouble…Cameron Young will be in Italy…Jordan Spieth? Yes, he will be there too ”.

The current situation of the automatic qualifications sees, apart from Scheffler who is already sure, Wyndham Clark, Brian Harman, Brooks Koepka, Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay as having the right. The three players named by Couples could still earn a place in the six automatic qualifiers in the coming weeks, thanks to significant performances, especially in the FedEx Cup playoffs.

The player at risk of dropping out is clearly Brooks Koepka, given that, playing on LIV Golf, he will have no way of increasing Ryder points. But we have already addressed the topic of the possible call of LIV players by the Captain of Team USA, so it could actually be a non-problem, neither for Koepka, nor for others.

Incredibly, the real unknown this year is called Justin Thomas. Currently out of the PlayOffs (he occupies the 75th position), very far from the automatic qualification (14th) and in a year of poor form (confirmed at the cut at the 3M Open underway at the TPC Twin Cities).

Thomas, one of the custodians of the spirit of Team USA, must rely on the trust of Zach Johnson's staff. The competition, which takes its name from the trophy donated by the Englishman Samuel Ryder (1858–1936) to the American federation in 1924, is co-managed by the European Tour and the PGA of America.

From 1927 to 1971 the tournament was played between the selection of the United States and that of Great Britain, with a clear American dominance (15-3) and only one draw. Ireland was incorporated into Great Britain in 1973 and the rest of continental Europe in 1979.

Following the acceptance of the European team as the antagonist of the US one, the tournament was much more balanced: from 1979 to 2018, in fact, there were eleven wins for Europe, eight for the United States and only one draw.

The Ryder Cup is hosted alternately on the two continents: for Europe, British golf courses have always been chosen, with the exception of the 1997 edition, held at the Valderrama Golf Club (Spain) in honor of the former Spanish golfer Severiano Ballesteros , that of 2018, which was played in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (France), and that of 2023, which will be played at the Marco Simone Golf & Country Club (Italy).

After the 1999 edition, due to the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, until the 2018 edition the Ryder Cup was always staged in even years. The 2020 edition was postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so the Ryder Cup is re-run in odd numbered years.