The 2014 Ryder Cup will tee off on Friday, September 26, in Gleneagles, Scotland. Europe has won seven of the last 10 meetings, including the 2012 event in Medinah, Illinois when the United States collapsed on the final day and fell to Europe 14 ½ to 13 ½.
U.S. team captain Tom Watson reiterated last week that he expects redemption on behalf of his team after the results of the 2012 Ryder Cup. Those who witnessed the horrid Sunday meltdown firsthand and are playing in the 2014 event include Bubba Watson, Phil Mickelson, Webb Simpson, Matt Kuchar, Zach Johnson, Jim Furyk and Keegan Bradley.
"It's redemption," said Watson, in this ESPN article. "There is that type of redemption theme that I have used with the players, and I think that's me as a competitor. Whenever I failed, if I had a failure, I wanted to redeem myself in the best and quickest way possible. These players understand. I understand the gut feeling they had in 2012 when the European team did what they did on Sunday, and to me that is a great motivator."
The U.S. team features six players who are either participating in their first or second Ryder Cup. Rickie Fowler, Keegan Bradley and Webb Simpson will play in their second this weekend and Patrick Reed, Jordan Spieth and Jimmy Walker will see their first action against Europe. Zach Johnson (6-4-1) is the only U.S. golfer who has a winning record in at least three Ryder Cup events. Phil Mickelson holds a 14-18-6 record in nine Ryder Cup appearances and Jim Furyk is 9-17-4 in eight appearances. Bubba Watson, Matt Kuchar and Hunter Mahan will each partake in their third Ryder Cup this weekend and hope to build off of past experience.
As for Europe, their roster is clearly superior to the United States, but they also have three golfers - Jamie Donaldson, Victor Dubuisson and Stephen Gallacher - who will be participating in their first Ryder Cup. Sergio Garcia (16-8-4), Ian Poulter (12-3-0) and Lee Westwood (18-13-6) are the team's veterans who have played integral roles in their last three victories. They also boast players such as Rory McIlroy (the No. 1 golfer in the world), Henrik Stenson (2013 FedEx Cup Champion), Martin Kaymer (winner of the 2014 U.S. Open and Players Championship), and Justin Rose (the No. 6 ranked golfer in the world). Graeme McDowell and Thomas Bjorn will also make another appearance for the European team.
Europe has been victorious on their own soil since 1997, which makes the test even tougher for the United States, who will be without Tiger Woods (back injury), Jason Dufner (neck injury) and Dustin Johnson (suspension) in this year's event.
The biennial match play event will feature three days of competition starting with 4 foursome alternate shot matches and 4 fourball (best ball) matches on Friday and Saturday and then 12 singles matches on Sunday to close it out.
You can read some more analysis of the 2014 Ryder Cup here.
