The Ryder Cup returns this weekend as Europe take on the USA in golf’s greatest team event.
It has been a spell of European dominance in recent years, but the US are hoping to build on their 2016 victory when they take to the course at Whistling Straits on Friday.
These are the 12 men looking to reclaim the Ryder Cup for the USA.
Collin Morikawa
The two-time major champion was still at university at the time of the last Ryder Cup, turning professional in June 2019.
A brilliant iron player, Morikawa, 24, became the first player to capture two different majors on the first attempt with his Open victory at Royal St George’s.
Dustin Johnson
Johnson played all five matches in 2018, but only picked up a single win in Paris.
He won the Tour Championship and FedEx Cup title in 2020 and followed up by claiming his second major title in November with a record-breaking victory in the Masters.
The 37-year-old will be hoping to improve on his 7-9-0 Ryder Cup record this weekend.
READ MORE:
- Everything you need to know about the Ryder
- Ryder Cup 2021 - how to watch events at Whistling Straits, and UK tee times
- Meet the 12 men looking to retain the Ryder Cup for Team Europe this week
- 2023 Ryder Cup tickets go on sale today - but you'll have to be quick
Bryson DeChambeau
A controversial figure, DeChambeau was likened to an eight-year-old by his own club manufacturer after complaining that his driver “sucks” during this year’s Open and has been subject to taunts from spectators who have taken team-mate Brooks Koepka’s side in their ongoing spat.
The 2020 US Open champion lost all three of his matches in his 2018 Ryder Cup debut.
Brooks Koepka
Since winning three points from four matches on his debut in 2016, Koepka became the first player since Curtis Strange in 1989 to win back-to-back US Open titles and also won the US PGA in both 2018 and 2019.
Reportedly fell out with Dustin Johnson in the aftermath of the 2018 defeat in Paris, during which Koepka’s errant tee shot hit a female spectator who lost the sight in one eye as a result, and is currently embroiled in an ongoing spat with Bryson DeChambeau.
Justin Thomas
The stand-out performer for the US on his debut in Paris in 2018, Thomas won four points from his five matches at Le Golf National.
Only the star European pairing of Tommy Fleetwood and Francesco Molinari were able to get the better of Thomas and Jordan Spieth, with Thomas also leading from the front by beating Rory McIlroy in the opening singles.
Patrick Cantlay
Cantlay claimed his place on the team in some style, shooting 27 under par in the BMW Championship before beating DeChambeau in a six-hole play-off to claim his third win of the season.
The 29-year-old is good friends with Xander Schauffele and the pair are likely to resume their Presidents Cup partnership from 2019, which produced two wins from four matches.
Jordan Spieth
Spieth formed a dream partnership with Patrick Reed in 2014 and 2016 but partnered Thomas – much to Reed’s unhappiness – in Paris and claimed three wins from four matches before losing his singles match.
The three-time major winner went almost four years without a victory before winning the Valero Texas Open in April.
Tony Finau
Finau is a hugely popular figure who shared 10th in the 2018 Masters despite dislocating his ankle when celebrating a hole-in-one during the par-three contest.
The two-time PGA tour winner was given a wild card in 2018 and thrashed European star Fleetwood 6&4 in the singles. He was rewarded with another captain’s pick this year.
Xander Schauffele
Schauffele will make his Ryder Cup debut this year after earning a captain’s pick from Steve Stricker.
The 27-year-old claimed gold at the Tokyo Olympics after getting up and down for par on the 72nd hole to win by one.
Harris English
Fourth and third in the US Open in the last two years, English followed his strong showing at Torrey Pines in June by winning his fourth PGA Tour title the following week at the Travelers Championship.
English, 32, also won the Sentry Tournament of Champions in January, to earn a captain’s pick for his Ryder Cup debut.
Daniel Berger
Berger, 28, won his fourth PGA Tour title in the Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February with an eagle on the final hole, but also impressed in the majors in 2021.
He will make his Ryder Cup debut this weekend.
Scottie Scheffler
Scheffler has yet to win on the PGA Tour, although he has also enjoyed an impressive year in the majors.
After finishing 18th in the Masters, Scheffler recorded top-10 finishes in the US PGA, US Open and Open Championship and his length off the tee will be an advantage at Whistling Straits.
The 25-year-old earned a captain’s pick and will appear at his first Ryder Cup in Wisconsin.
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