With the 2023 Ryder Cup only one year away both team captains remain in limbo as to who to consider, as the ongoing LIV Golf saga continues to roll on.
Following the initial decision to join LIV, players were handed suspensions from both the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, whilst also being told their Ryder Cup chances were diminished. In response though the Saudi defectors and the sport’s two leading tours remain locked in a legal battle, with their Tour memberships and Ryder Cup status on the line.
For now, it seems as if those who have made the LIV move will not be competing in Rome next year leaving plenty of holes in both Team Europe and defending champions USA.
For the Europeans especially, two of their biggest stalwarts in Sergio Garcia and Ian Poulter will not be available for selection due to their LIV allegiances. It also rules out the experience of Lee Westwood and Paul Casey amongst others.
In the American camp their talisman from Whistling Straits one year ago, Dustin Johnson will also be unavailable for selection, along with previous stars such as Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed. This leaves the question, who will come in to fill the gaps?
Team Europe
European skipper Luke Donald has been given more wildcard picks than ever before, with six players being selected through the team’s points systems and six through his own personal choice. The dead certs are pretty simple for the hosts. Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Matt Fitzpatrick, Viktor Hovland, Shane Lowry, Tyrrell Hatton and Tommy Fleetwood will all no doubt be in blue and gold next September.
Who would you like to see picked for Team Europe and USA in 2023? Let us know in the comments section.
This would leave five spots up for grabs, and there is a long list of both experience and rising talent that could forge their way into the team ahead of the off in Italy. If Donald was looking to side with experience, England’s Justin Rose and Italy’s Francesco Molinari could well find themselves in the 12-man team.
Rose offers the expertise a Garcia, Poulter or Westwood would bring having made five Ryder Cup appearances, winning three times. Molinari too possesses the experience that is paramount to any team, having proven the mastermind behind Europe’s thumping victory over the Americans in 2018. Whilst he has not shown his best form since, a Ryder Cup on home soil could well bring the best out of the Italian once more.
On the other side of the coin, Donald also has the option of selecting some of Europe’s brightest prospects and two names that stick out for many are Rasmus and Nicolai Hojgaard. Since project restart in 2020, the 21-year-old twins have lit up the DP World Tour with five wins between them despite their young age.
The Danish pair have been on the lips of everyone in European golf in the past two years, and it would be no surprise to see one - if not both - of their names on Donald’s team list come September 2023. Sticking with the DP World Tour’s prospects, another potential debutant is Robert MacIntyre .
The 26-year-old Scot showed he has what it takes on the Ryder Cup host course Marco Simone last week, after being crowned Italian Open champion. This was no doubt the perfect audition to captain Donald, and afterwards MacIntyre revealed making the European setup is his ‘only goal’ for 2023.
Finally one man who could complete Europe’s 12-man team is a player who bodes both form and Ryder Cup experience - Thomas Pieters . He is no stranger to the famous team event, having made the European team in 2016. The Belgian has missed the past two Ryder Cups, but an impressive improvement in form has seen him climb up the world rankings and into contention for selection in 2023.
Team USA
In a team full of superstars, the Americans blew their European rivals out of the water a year ago to secure the biggest victory in modern Ryder Cup history. Whilst most of their marquee names will be available for selection once more, there are some spots that have been left vacant after the LIV Golf defectors made their move.
Scottie Scheffler, Justin Thomas, Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele, Will Zalatoris, Collin Morikawa, Jordan Spieth, Tony Finau are all expected to be on the plane to Rome next year barring an injury or dramatic dip in form. This leaves skipper Zach Johnson with four spots still to fill, and here is a look at who could well be joining the defending champions come next year.
First up is one of the PGA Tour’s hottest prospects in Sam Burns . Like many young stars, Burns took his chance post-Covid restart and announced himself as one of the world’s top golfers, having won four times in a little over a year across 2021 and 2022.
The 26-year-old came within a whisker of making the American team 12 months ago, and after maintaining his impressive form you would expect him to finally get the nod this time around.
Three other debutants who could also make the cut include Billy Horschel, Cam Young and Max Homa. All three will be representing the USA at this week’s Presidents Cup following an impressive year for each on the PGA Tour. And after capitalising on the spots left open at Quail Hollow, they will no doubt be out to do the same thing at Marco Simone in 2023.
