Prediction: US to win Ryder Cup in huge upset

When you look at everything on paper,  how can Team Europe lose?

Playing in Wales at Celtic Manor on a course designed just for the The Ryder Cup aptly name ‘Twenty Ten’.  HRH Prince Charles (HRH means His Royal Highness) has visited with both teams, but mainly as a show of support for the Europeans.  This is labeled as the highest profile sports event in Wales history.

The last time Team America won in Europe was 1993.  In 2010 of the 37 PGA Tour events this year only 19 were American winners.  This years four majors had only one American winner, Phil Mickelson at The Masters.

Team Europe’s first time Captain, Colin Montgomerie, has had one of the finest careers in European Tour history, having won the Order of Merit a record eight times with 31 European Tour victories and one of the best records in Ryder Cup history. During his eight Ryder Cup appearances, ‘Monty’ has the second best record ever, the best held by Sir Nick Faldo.

With all of that said, Montgomery does have the dubious distinction of one of the most accomplished players to have never won a major championship but managed five runner-up finishes.  His relationship with the galleries, mainly in America, has been strained as he comes off as having a reputation for being misrable on he golf course with a temper.  For the sake of Team Europe, Montgomery needs to keep his current positive attitude intact..

Team America has a Captain playing the ‘David’ of this Goliath matchup in Corey Pavin.  This is Corey’s first time as Captain. He represented America three times in the Ryder Cup and was a member of the 1993 team which was the last American team to win in Europe.

One of the shortest hitters in professional golf, Pavin is a gutsy player with 15 PGA Tour wins to his credit and a U.S.Open win.

The teams with the player’s World Rankings

September 2010, the last assessment issued before the Ryder Cup. The average ranking of the American team was 17.3 and that of the European team was 18.3.

Team USA
Name	Age	Points rank	World ranking	Notes
Corey Pavin	50			Non-playing captain
Phil Mickelson	40	1	2	8th appearance
Hunter Mahan	28	2	14	2nd appearance
Bubba Watson	31	3	24	Ryder Cup rookie
Jim Furyk	40	4	5	7th appearance
Steve Stricker	43	5	4	2nd appearance
Dustin Johnson	26	6	12	Ryder Cup rookie
Jeff Overton	27	7	48	Ryder Cup rookie
Matt Kuchar	32	8	11	Ryder Cup rookie
Zach Johnson	34	11	19	Captain’s pick, 2nd appearance
Tiger Woods	34	12	1	Captain’s pick, 6th appearance
Stewart Cink	37	14	35	Captain’s pick, 5th appearance
Rickie Fowler	21	20	33	Captain’s pick, Ryder Cup rookie

Team Europe
Name	Age	Points rank (W)	Points rank (E)	World ranking	Notes
Colin Montgomerie	47				Non-playing captain
Lee Westwood	37	1	1	3	7th appearance
Rory McIlroy	21	2	3	9	Ryder Cup rookie
Martin Kaymer	25	3	2	6	Ryder Cup rookie
Graeme McDowell	31	4	4	13	2nd appearance
Ian Poulter	34	7	5	16	3rd appearance
Ross Fisher	29	14	6	27	Ryder Cup rookie
Francesco Molinari	27	10	7	32	Ryder Cup rookie
Miguel Ángel Jiménez	46	11	8	26	4th appearance
Peter Hanson	32	13	9	42	Ryder Cup rookie
Edoardo Molinari	29	5	10	15	Captain’s pick, Ryder Cup rookie
Luke Donald	32	6	16	8	Captain’s pick, 3rd appearance
Pádraig Harrington	39	8	12	22	Captain’s pick, 6th appearance

The Ryder Cup is held over three days – Friday, Saturday and Sunday – with three distinct formats all in Match Play.

There are four foursome (alternate shot) matches and four four-ball matches on Day 1 Friday, and the same schedule on Day 2 Saturday. Four-balls will be played in the morning on both Friday and Saturday and foursomes in the afternoon each day.

In a year where the Americans have seen their domination of the game continue to decline, we have a team of tough players who never give up.

I think this will be where Tiger finds himself and relaunches his future in golf.  I predict Colin will show outward irritation, and the Americans will continue to make his life misrable – and it will be contagious to his team.  Corey Pavin will have the sling prepared with the rock that will hit this Goliath of a team.

The Americans will win their second Ryder Cup in a row in the biggest upset in sports for 2010.