14 Reasons Why The U.S. Is A LOCK To Win The Ryder Cup

By Alex Myers

September 27, 2016

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Photo By: US PGA TOUR

Photo By: 2014 Getty Images

Photo By: US PGA TOUR

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The U.S. Has Dustin Johnson

With all due respect to No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking, Jason Day, Dustin Johnson has been the best player on the planet in 2016. And he will be the best player at Hazeltine for the winning team. These are just facts*. (*These are not actually facts, but they seem likely outcomes based on DJ's recent form.)

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The U.S. Has Patrick Reed

The fire. The strength (Look at what he did to that gavel!). That gaudy stars and stripes tie. Patrick Reed IS America.

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Rory McIlroy's Putting

OK, OK, so McIlroy figured something out under new putting coach Phil Kenyon during his victories at the Deutsche Bank and Tour Championships, but making changes in technique or equipment (McIlroy is doing both) is never this easy. And then there's his spotty reputation on the greens. "If I was playing him," says an anonymous tour pro in Golf Digest's Ryder Cup issue, "I wouldn't be conceding many short ones. He's likely to miss at any time from under four feet." Something tells us the guys wearing red, white and blue won't be so generous, either.

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Martin Kaymer's chipping

This from another anonymous tour pro: "Martin has the heebie-jeebies on his chipping. He can play the flop shot, but he has trouble with relatively straightforward chips from tight lies. It started with slightly dodgy mechanics, and it has developed into a full-blown mental problem." Need we say more?

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Home-Course Advantage

U.S. fans in attendance at Hazeltine will treat this event as if we were at war with Europe and the safety of our nation is at stake. And the U.S. players will feed off that energy. (Reminder to the fans in attendance at Hazeltine: This is NOT an actual war. It's just a sporting event. But it's an important one. So go crazy. Just not too crazy. But definitely go crazy. OK, you get the point.)

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Europe Has Six Rookies

This isn't the same Team Europe that's been beating up on the U.S. for the past 14 years. There are a lot of untested, fresh faces -- including some baby faces. Look at Matthew Fitzpatrick! He looks like a kid practicing while he waits for his mom to pick him up from the course! The Hazeltine fans mob is going to be relentless with these guys.

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Some Of Europe's Best Aren't Even On The Team

Paul Casey couldn't get picked because he chose not to renew his European Tour membership. Russell Knox didn't get picked because apparently, he's not part of Europe's in crowd. And Alex Noren waited a little too long to go on the best run of his career. It's too bad these teams get chosen so early. Oh, wait. . .

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Davis Love III's well-timed captain's picks

Not only does the U.S. have four captain's picks, these selections came much later than those made by European captain Darren Clarke. Davis Love III picked Rickie Fowler, Matt Kuchar and J.B. Holmes two weeks after Clarke's team was finalized. Then he was able to add a hot hand -- arguably, America's hottest hand -- in Ryan Moore following the Tour Championship.

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Henrik Stenson's Knee

Sure, the Swede won the Open Championship in record fashion and nearly claimed Olympic gold. But he's also got a bum knee that required surgery last year and caused him to pull out of two FedEx Cup Playoff events. His fellow Europeans would be wise to go easy on any roughhousing around him in the team room.

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Tiger's Stare

If this is how intense Tiger Woods gets watching a match at the U.S. Open, imagine just how intimidating he'll look glaring at people from a golf cart.

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J.B. Holmes Is Back

Holmes (right) was one of Team USA's sparkplugs the last time it won this event in 2008, going 2-0-1 as one of Paul Azinger's captain's picks. He's also represented the U.S. in four international competitions ('08 Ryder Cup, '15 Presidents Cup, '05 Walker Cup and '05 Palmer Cup) and his team won every time. J.B. is basically a red, white and blue good luck charm.

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Ian Poulter Is Not

Yeah, yeah, Europe's key agitator will still be at Hazeltine as a vice captain (and he's still needling the U.S. as proven by the photo he posted of the cop car Rory McIlroy rode to the 2012 Ryder Cup), but it's not the same. No one has raised his game more in this event in recent history than Poulter. Officially, he boasts a sparkling 12-4-2 record. Unofficially, it seems even better than that.

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Arnie's (New) Army

Like Team Europe did in 2012 following the death of Seve Ballesteros, Team USA will rally around the passing of a golf legend. Sadly, Palmer didn't live long enough to watch the Americans turn the tide in this event, but a victory in his honor will be a fitting tribute to The King.

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The Law Of Averages

These teams are too balanced to have either side dominate, yet Europe has won the last three Ryder Cups and six out of seven. This has to end at some point. Some point soon. How many more scenes like this can U.S. golf fans endure?

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10 RULES WE CHOSE TO IGNORE

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10 RULES WE CHOSE TO IGNORE

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14 Reasons Why The U.S. Is A LOCK To Win The Ryder Cup

Shop This Look

The U.S. Has Dustin Johnson

The U.S. Has Patrick Reed

Rory McIlroy's Putting

Martin Kaymer's chipping

Home-Course Advantage

Europe Has Six Rookies

Some Of Europe's Best Aren't Even On The Team

Davis Love III's well-timed captain's picks

Henrik Stenson's Knee

Tiger's Stare

J.B. Holmes Is Back

Ian Poulter Is Not

Arnie's (New) Army

The Law Of Averages

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