USA Ryder Cup team guide: Stricker aiming to pilot high-class group to victory

Steve Palmer's player profiles & analysis for the 2021 US Ryder Cup team.

Captain

Steve Stricker

Age 54
Ryder Cups Three (2008, 2010, 2012)

The mild-mannered Wisconsin man is enjoying a home-state captaincy gig and was a popular choice for the top job. He does not boast a strong Ryder Cup record as a player, but as a captain he could be the perfect man to control the enormous egos in the American locker room.

Stricker made a bold, and arguably sensible, decision to leave Patrick Reed out of his team. A more harmonious squad should result. Stricker captained USA to a 19-11 Presidents Cup victory in 2017.

Daniel Berger

Age 28
Ryder Cups Rookie
World ranking 16

The feisty Floridian scored two points from three matches for Steve Stricker as a Presidents Cup rookie in 2017. He beat Si Woo Kim in his singles match, having teamed up successfully with Justin Thomas in the Saturday fourballs.

Brooks Koepka was also a partner for Berger in that Presidents Cup and the all-Floridian duo may be paired again in Wisconsin, with Thomas likely to be deployed alongside Jordan Spieth.

Patrick Cantlay

Age 29
Ryder Cups Rookie
World ranking 4

The FedEx Cup winner is full of self-belief, having seen off Jon Rahm in a Tour Championship duel, banking $15m. Cantlay has defeated top-class opposition for his last four PGA Tour victories, with Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa and Bryson DeChambeau among his victims.

Cantlay is close to fellow Californian, Xander Schauffele, who he partnered in the Zurich Classic in April. The pair played every session together when making their Presidents Cup debut in 2019, winning half of their four matches in tandem. Cantlay beat Joaquin Niemann in the singles. The Cantlay-Schauffele combo seems set to be the foundation of America's Cup campaign.

Bryson DeChambeau

Age 28
Ryder Cups One (2018)
Overall record P3, W0, L3, H0
Foursomes W0, L2, H0
Fourballs W0, L0, H0
Singles W0, L1, H0
World ranking 7

The cocksure Californian, seemingly obsessed with muscle gain and driving distance, has entered the World Long Drive Championship, which starts in Nevada on Monday. He seems likely to tee up there as a Ryder Cup winner, but may not play a pivotal role in the Whistling Straits shootout.

DeChambeau, who failed to register any points on his Ryder Cup debut in 2018, may be left out of the foursomes sessions. His explosive power could be saved for the fourballs. Scottie Scheffler seems a lively candidate for the role of partnering big Bryson.

Harris English

Age 32
Ryder Cups Rookie
World ranking 11

The Georgia man gets his first chance to represent his country as a professional. He won two points from four matches in the 2011 Walker Cup amateur event. English has won twice this year - the Sentry Tournament of Champions and the Travelers Championship - and both triumphs came after playoffs.

English, without an obvious weakness, could be a useful tool for Stricker in the foursomes. English is a three-time winner of the QBE Shootout pairs event. Dustin Johnson could prove an ideal foursomes sidekick. Tony Finau is another option.

Tony Finau

Age 32
Ryder Cups One (2018)
Overall record P3, W2, L1, H0
Foursomes W0, L0, H0
Fourballs W1, L1, H0
Singles W1, L0, H0
World ranking 9

Like his captain, one of the nicest guys on the circuit, and he did well on a losing side on his Ryder Cup debut three years ago. Finau won one point from two matches alongside Koepka over the first two days in Paris, then emphatically won his singles contest against Tommy Fleetwood (6&4).

Finau could be used alongside Koepka again, or maybe he would be the perfect partner for Collin Morikawa as the Open champion makes his Cup debut. A Finau-English pairing is also feasible.

Dustin Johnson

Age 37
Ryder Cups Four (2010, 2012, 2016, 2018)
Overall record P16, W7, L9, H0
Foursomes W1, L3, H0
Fourballs W3, L5, H0
Singles W3, L1, H0
World ranking 2

The highest-ranked player in the American team has not been in superb form and may not even get a full set of matches this time. He has had nine different partners in the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup, failing to properly gel with anyone. English seems a possible foursomes partner for Whistling Straits, while Collin Morikawa plays the same ball as Johnson (TaylorMade) and is another potential foil.

The course is where Johnson was infamously penalised in the 2010 US PGA for grounding his club in a sandy waste area which was deemed a bunker by the PGA of America. The two-shot penalty meant he missed out on a playoff place. He was seventh in the 2015 US PGA there.

Brooks Koepka

Age 31
Ryder Cups Two (2016, 2018)
Overall record P8, W4, L3, H1
Foursomes W1, L1, H0
Fourballs W2, L2, H0
Singles W1, L0, H1
World ranking 10

A wrist injury sustained in the Tour Championship at the start of this month threatened to force Koepka out of the Cup, but the Floridian powerhouse has declared himself fit for duty. He admits that he finds the atmosphere of team events difficult - and having arch-enemy DeChambeau as a colleague is not helping matters.

Perhaps fourballs action alongside fellow Floridian Daniel Berger is all Koepka will see prior to the singles.

Collin Morikawa

Age 24
Ryder Cups Rookie
World ranking 3

The king of Royal St George's suffered some injury niggles through the FedEx Cup playoffs and is a rookie who could be used sparingly by Stricker. Morikawa's tee-to-green accuracy makes him a probable starter in both foursomes sessions, though, with the equally genial Finau a potential partner. Johnson seems another candidate.

Morikawa won four points from four matches in the 2017 Walker Cup. The former world number one amateur won both the US PGA and the Open on his debut.

Xander Schauffele

Age 27
Ryder Cups Rookie
World ranking 5

The Californian ended a long victory drought by claiming gold at the Olympics at the start of last month. That joy in Japan, coupled with a strong performance in the season-ending Tour Championship, has sent Schauffele into his Ryder Cup debut full of beans.

Having impressed alongside Cantlay at Royal Melbourne in the 2019 Presidents Cup, it would be a shock should that duo be separated this week.

Scottie Scheffler

Age 25
Ryder Cups Rookie
World ranking 21

Stricker's horses-for-courses tactics went a long way to securing Scheffler a place on the team. The power-packed Texan seems ideally suited to the demands of Whistling Straits, getting the nod ahead of Webb Simpson, Kevin Na and other short drivers.

Scheffler, a generally relaxed character who will be happy to muck in wherever necessary in his first start for the States, could be in line for a fourballs berth alongside DeChambeau.

Jordan Spieth

Age 28
Ryder Cups Three (2014, 2016, 2018)
Overall record P14, W7, L5, H2
Foursomes W2, L1, H2
Fourballs W5, L1, H0
Singles W0, L3, H0
World ranking 13

The three-time Major champion has enjoyed a resurgence this year and should be ready to play a significant role for Team USA. Spieth and Justin Thomas, close friends with a mutual loathing of Patrick Reed, seem almost certain to see action together. Reed's absence from the squad could galvanise Spieth and Thomas.

Spieth and Thomas have won three matches from four as a pairing. Spieth was runner-up in the 2015 US PGA at Whistling Straits, but he never won a singles match in either the Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup, losing all six matches.

Justin Thomas

Age 28
Ryder Cups One (2018)
Overall record P5, W4, L1, H0
Foursomes W1, L1, H0
Fourballs W2, L0, H0
Singles W1, L0, H0
World ranking 6

Reed is the self-proclaimed Captain America, but Thomas has won four points from five matches in the Ryder Cup, and seven points from ten matches in the Presidents Cup. That strike-rate, allied to a strong FedEx Cup playoffs performance, makes JT a key component of the home side.

Expect Thomas to join forces with Spieth over the first two days. It is entirely feasible they could play all four pairs sessions together.

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