USA vs Europe: How do the teams match up?
Published: Last updated:
How do the two Ryder Cup sides match up?
European Ryder Cup wildcard Paul Casey admitted during his press conference that Europe are wary of their opponents.
“We’re playing against a brilliant U.S. team and we have massive respect for them,” Casey said. “You know, on paper, they are better than us on paper.”
And he’s not wrong. With more winners this year, lower world rankings, more major champions and more Ryder Cup experience, the U.S team certainly seem to have the upper hand.
But they also haven’t won on European soil in 25 years, and they are heading to a course where the European team have two championships and 233 career rounds (compared to 8 from the Americans) at Le Golf National, which is as opposite to Hazeltine as could be. Tee shots are tight and short, the rough is penal and there is a lot of water to contend with.
As Jordan Spieth admitted, there will be a lot of holes potentially won with pars.
“I don’t think you’ll go anywhere else where you’ll see as many fist-pump pars as you’ll see this week” Spieth said, “especially in the afternoon foursomes when the wind picks up”
Couple that with the impressive win ratios of the European side and the fact that despite less Ryder Cup experience, the players on this European team have won more than the Americans, we’re expecting it to be a close contest.
Here, we break down the differences between the two teams
| TEAM USA | TEAM EUROPE | |
| 11.1 = Average World Rank | 19.1 = Average World Rank | |
| 32.1 = Average Age | 33.8 = Average Age | |
| 31 Majors | 8 Majors | |
| 9 Major Champions | 9 Major Champions | |
| 6 Top 10 Players | 4 Top 10 players | |
| 34 Ryder Cup Appearances | 30 Ryder Cup Appearances | |
| 67 Ryder Cup Points Won | 72.5 Ryder Cup Points Won | |
| 19 wins this season | 13 wins this season | |
| 3 Majors in 2018 (Reed, Koepka) | 1 Major in 2018 (Molinari) | |
| 8 Career Rounds in Paris | 233 Career Rounds in Paris | |
| 3 Rookies | 5 Rookies |
The Players Head to Head: USA vs Europe
| TEAM USA | TEAM EUROPE | |||
| Brooks Koepka
> World Ranking: #3 |
 |
|
Paul Casey > World Ranking: #21 |
|
| Dustin Johnson
> World Ranking: #1 |
 |
|
Tommy Fleetwood > World Ranking: #12 |
|
| Justin Thomas
> World Ranking: #4 |
 |
|
Sergio Garcia > World Ranking: #28 |
|
|
Jordan Spieth > World Ranking: #10 |
 |
|
Tyrrell Hatton > World Ranking: #26 |
|
| Rickie Fowler
> World Ranking: #9 |
 |
|
Rory McIlroy > World Ranking: #6 |
|
|
Patrick Reed > World Ranking: #15 |
 |
|
Francesco Molinari > World Ranking: #5 |
|
|
Webb Simpson > World Ranking: #16 |
 |
|
Alex Noren > World Ranking: #18 |
|
|
Tiger Woods > World Ranking: #13 |
 |
|
Thorbjorn Olesen > World Ranking: #45 |
|
|
Phil Mickelson > World Ranking: #25 |
 |
|
Ian Poulter > World Ranking: #34 |
|
|
Bubba Watson > World Ranking: #14 |
 |
|
Jon Rahm > World Ranking: #8 |
|
|
Bryson DeChambeau > World Ranking: #7 |
 |
|
Justin Rose > World Ranking: #2 |
|
|
Tony Finau > World Ranking: #17 |
 |
|
Henrik Stenson > World Ranking: #24 |
|
