The 2023 Ryder Cup teams are set, and nobody is happy. Jack Holden takes a look at what might unfold in Rome in his Ryder Cup 2023 preview.
Controversy surrounds both team’s captains’ choices for the Ryder Cup, although it’s less clear to me what the issue is on the European side.
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2023 Ryder Cup Preview
For some reason, the American team is favored, as is usually the case with sportsbooks, despite a cast of controversial captain’s picks and their number one player Scottie Scheffler with a case of the yips.
Team Europe, meanwhile, includes the probable player of the year – Jon Rahm, the most consistent player of the year and former number one Rory McIlroy and the recent Fed Ex Cup champion Viktor Hovland.
They also boast a deep group of players at the top of their games, yet Europe are still deemed to be the underdogs heading to Rome with home advantage.
Maybe it’s a residual bias that refuses to recognize that the United States has not been the center of gravity in professional golf for decades.
The weekly leaderboards include more flags next to the player’s names than the United Nations. And many of the players designated from the US in terms of tours, such as Hovland, are actually part of Team Europe.
And I’m not even talking about the LPGA leaderboard, where finding an American flag on the leaderboard is as confusing as the LIV leaderboard.
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2023 Ryder Cup Prediction
The US team continues its losing streak on European soil by losing the 2023 Ryder Cup and handing over the trophy back to Europe.
Even absent their edge to play on a links course, the Europeans should have a convincing win at Marco Simone Golf Club in Rome.
Jack Holden retired from business and returned to writing full time about his lifelong passion for the game of golf. He was introduced to the game as a caddy in Westchester County, NY, where golf clubs and great golf courses proliferate. He provides unique golf course reviews, commentary, opinions, tales and other interesting tid-bits about the game he loves.
