(Reuters) – A brief look at the 12-man U.S. Ryder Cup team that will face Europe in the biennial competition this week at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club in Rome.
SAM BURNS
Age: 27
World ranking: 20
Previous Ryder Cup appearances/points: None
Burns brings solid match play experience to Rome having won the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play event in March for his fifth career PGA Tour title.
PATRICK CANTLAY
Age: 31
World ranking: 5
Previous Ryder Cup appearances/points: 1, 3-1/2
Cantlay did not find the winner’s circle on the PGA Tour this year but possesses a well-rounded game and has been inside the top 10 in the world rankings since June 2021.
WYNDHAM CLARK
Age: 29
World ranking: 10
Previous Ryder Cup appearances/points: None
Clark enjoyed a breakout season during which he notched his first PGA Tour win in May followed by his U.S. Open triumph in June at Los Angeles Country Club to become the second player to automatically qualify for the U.S. team.
RICKIE FOWLER
Age: 34
World ranking: 25
Previous Ryder Cup appearances/points: 4, 5-1/2
Fowler, one of the most experienced members of the U.S. team and also one of the sport’s most popular personalities, snapped a four-year winless drought in July and returns to the Ryder Cup after not making the 2021 squad.
BRIAN HARMAN
Age: 36
World ranking: 9
Previous Ryder Cup appearances/points: None
The reigning British Open champion is one of four rookies on the American squad but is no stranger to match play experience having played on the winning side of the Walker Cup amateur team competition in 2005 and 2009.
MAX HOMA
Age: 32
World ranking: 7
Previous Ryder Cup appearances/points: None
After losing his PGA Tour card twice, Homa has showed he is not one to give up, and will undoubtedly draw on the experience he gained from the 2022 Presidents Cup where he went 4-0-0 on his debut.
BROOKS KOEPKA
Age: 33
World ranking: 17
Previous Ryder Cup appearances/points: 3, 6-1/2
The only player from LIV Golf competing at this year’s Ryder Cup, Koepka won his third PGA Championship, and fifth major, earlier this year at Oak Hill Country Club.
COLLIN MORIKAWA
Age: 26
World ranking: 19
Previous Ryder Cup appearances/points: 1, 3-1/2
The twice major champion made a stunning Ryder Cup debut in 2021 when he earned the decisive half-point in a runaway victory and became the first U.S. rookie to go 3-0-0 or better in foursomes and fourballs combined since Larry Nelson in 1979.
XANDER SCHAUFFELE
Age: 29
World ranking: 6
Previous Ryder Cup appearances/points: 1, 3
The final automatic qualifier on captain Zach Johnson’s team, Schauffele boasts a well-rounded game and went 3-1-0 as a Ryder Cup rookie in the U.S. team’s 19-9 triumph in 2021.
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER
Age: 27
World ranking: 1
Previous Ryder Cup appearances/points: 1, 2-1/2
World number one Scheffler enjoyed one of the more dominant periods in recent history this year, at one point earning seven consecutive top-5 finishes. However, his putter has not been anywhere near as sharp as his tee-to-green game.
JORDAN SPIETH
Age: 30
World ranking: 12
Previous Ryder Cup appearances/points: 4, 9-1/2
Spieth has never won a Ryder Cup singles match but is one of the most experienced members of the U.S. team and has competed in 18 matches since 2014, second only to Europe’s Rory McIlroy (19) over that time.
JUSTIN THOMAS
Age: 30
World ranking: 24
Previous Ryder Cup appearances/points: 2, 6-1/2
Thomas endured the worst season of his PGA Tour career this year but the twice major winner still boasts prodigious match play pedigree and was the American team’s emotional leader at the last two editions of the Ryder Cup.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
