Is The USA Set To Steam Roll Europe At The Ryder Cup?

Team Europe will have a job on its hands to retain the Ryder Cup later this year...

Is The USA Set To Steam Roll Europe At The Ryder Cup?

Collin Morikawa's stunning Open Championship victory ensures that the US Ryder Cup side have another multiple Major winner on the team.

Morikawa, winner of both the PGA Championship and Open Championship, will be making his Ryder Cup debut as a two-time Major winner in September at Whistling Straits.

He'll be joined by the likes of two-time Major winner Dustin Johnson, four-time Major winner Brooks Koepka, three-time Major champion Jordan Spieth and, quite possibly, six-time Major winner Phil Mickelson.

Add in Justin Thomas, Bryson DeChambeau, Patrick Reed, Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay and the US side is looking formidable.

So, does Europe stand a chance?

Last time out in the US, Europe lost the Ryder Cup 17-11 at Hazeltine and Europe certainly has a job on its hands to regain the cup after the stunning Le Golf National triumph in 2018.

USA has 12 players inside the world's top 17 whereas Europe's top 12 players stretch down to 48th.

However, we all know that the Ryder Cup is not won on the world rankings, otherwise the USA would win every time.

Europe's strength comes from the 'togetherness' created in the team room thanks to years of camaraderie on the European Tour.

This is something the US has always struggled with, and this year is going to be even more difficult after the public feud between Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka.

Controversy surrounding Patrick Reed will also not help, neither will the fact that Koepka and Dustin Johnson no longer appear to be as close as they once were - especially after the rumours about their fight in Paris last time.

Related: Koepka on DeChambeau feud: "Now it's fair game"

Europe's side looks super-strong too, with the likes of Rahm and McIlroy as leaders alongside Tyrrell Hatton, Tommy Fleetwood, Paul Casey, the brilliant Viktor Hovland and the inevitable captain's picks of Ryder Cup legends Sergio Garcia and Ian Poulter.

It's certainly set to be a stronger European side that in 2016 when the side featured six rookies.

But saying all of this, the US team does look incredibly strong and the added bonus of playing on home soil may just give them the edge.

Will the US steam roll Europe to win the Ryder Cup back? It's possible, but it's certainly not a given.

Europe seem to just have that extra something every time they put on those European outfits and captain Padraig Harrington will surely shine in the role.

If we were to be pushed to make a prediction, we'd hazard a guess that the 2021 Ryder Cup will be extremely close but would still have to side with a European triumph over a fractured US team.

Jon Rahm is the best player in the world and will thrive again in the match and Rory McIlroy's work with Pete Cowen looks like it is starting to pay dividends.

Rory could well be playing his best golf once again come September and when he's on fire he simply can't be matched.

Add in the supremely talented rookie that is Viktor Hovland, the incredible Padraig Harrington as skipper and the experienced heads of Garcia and Poulter, who may well be playing their last Ryder Cups, and Europe may just have a winning formula.

Europe has won seven of the nine Ryder Cup this century, including two on US soil, and Whistling Straits may take away any advantage the Americans may have usually had - the links-style course has produced three international winners in the three PGA Championships it has hosted.

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