Tag: Sky

We take a look at who features in Zach Johnson’s Team USA at the 2023 Ryder Cup, being held at Marco Simone Golf Club in Italy.

The six automatic qualifiers on the Ryder Cup points list are world No 1 Scottie Scheffler, US Open champion Wyndham Clark and Brian Harman, winner of The Open at Royal Liverpool – both rookies – along with Patrick Cantlay, Max Homa and Xander Schauffele.

Johnson’s six wildcard selections then included five-time major winner, LIV Golf’s Brooks Koepka, as well as Jordan Spieth, Collin Morikawa, Sam Burns, Rickie Fowler and Justin Thomas to complete the USA’s line-up.

Scottie Scheffler

Age 27. Caps 1. Majors 1

Ryder Cup record: 2-0-1

Singles: 1-0-0. Foursomes: 0-0-0. Fourball: 1-0-1

Can Scottie Scheffler impress for Team USA this week?

The world No 1 is the standout member of a strong-looking US team, although it’s somewhat of a surprise the 27-year-old failed to add a second major to his tally this season.

Scheffler did win The Players in March, along with the Phoenix Open a month prior, while he carded a tied-second finish at the PGA Championship and third at The US Open, albeit he barely threatened the runaway leaders (Brooks Koepka and Wyndham Clark, respectively) on the final day of either event.

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Highlights from the final round of The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass

Scheffler’s pedigree though is undoubted at this early stage of his career and more majors will certainly follow. As for Ryder Cups, it was an impressive start for him on debut two years ago, winning two of his matches and halving the other in Team USA’s convincing win at Whistling Straights.

Wyndham Clark

Age 29. Caps 0. Majors 1

Ryder Cup record: N/A

You would have been forgiven for not knowing the name Wydnham Clark at the start of the year, with the 29-year-old yet to win on the PGA Tour since turning professional in 2017 and a best major finish of tied-75th at the 2021 PGA Championship.

By June 18, however, you were left in no doubt as to who he was and his golfing credentials as Clark raised aloft the US Open trophy – having held off the final-day challenge of four-time major winner Rory McIlroy – to follow off the back of his first tour win at Wells Fargo the month prior.

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Highlights of the final round from the 123rd US Open as Wyndham Clark held off Rory McIlroy to claim his first major win

It does not look like a flash in the pan either, with Clark finishing third at the Tour Championship to close out the FedExCup Playoffs.

Brian Harman

Age 36. Caps 0. Majors 1

Ryder Cup record: N/A

Another Ryder Cup rookie, with Harman catapulting himself into contention much in the same way he blazed his way to the top of the leaderboard en route to winning The Open at Royal Liverpool this summer.

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Highlights from the final round of the 151st The Open championship from the Royal Liverpool Golf Club

Harman carded a six-under 65 on the second day and never looked back, ultimately running away with things to win by a massive six strokes.

Just to stir the competitive juices further among the English fans following the fortunes of Team Europe, Harman bears a striking resemblance to former Australian cricket captain, and great Ashes enemy, Ricky Ponting. Google it, trust us.

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Take a look back at Brian Harman’s final round of 70 that sealed him victory and the Claret Jug at Royal Liverpool

Patrick Cantlay

Age 31. Caps 1. Majors 0

Ryder Cup record: 3-0-1

Singles: 1-0-0. Foursomes: 2-0-0. Fourball: 0-0-1

Slow play or not, Cantlay performed brilliantly on his Ryder Cup debut two years ago, winning three of four matches and halving the other, while he is fully deserving of his spot on this team again as one of the most consistent performers on tour if not always the quickest.

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Patrick Cantlay made quick work of the seventh with this hole-in-one at the RBC Heritage

The 31-year-old has eight PGA Tour wins to his name, including the 2021 season-ending Tour Championship, but he has failed to add to that tally in 2023 and major success still eludes him, with a tied-ninth finish at the PGA Championship his best of the year and only the fourth top 10 of his career.

Max Homa

Age 32. Caps 0. Majors 0

Ryder Cup record: N/A

With six PGA Tour wins in total and five since the start of 2021, Homa has been a popular tip as ‘the next first-time major winner’ on tour.

However, the 32-year-old Homa has not lived up to those lofty expectations quite yet, with his tied-10th finish at The Open this year the first time he has cracked that very top 10.

A debut Ryder Cup cap now gives him a further chance to prove he can cut the mustard when the spotlight is at its brightest and pressure at its most intense.

Xander Schauffele

Age 29. Caps 1. Majors 0

Ryder Cup record: 3-1-0

Singles: 0-1-0. Foursomes: 2-0-0. Fourball: 1-0-0

Xander Schauffele is another to have impressed in his Ryder Cup debut two years ago, with a singles loss to Rory McIlroy to kick off Sunday his only blemish.

His foursomes partnership with Patrick Cantlay proved particularly fruitful, with two wins in two, so could that be a pairing we see again this year?

The 29-year-old has had a solid, if unspectacular, 2023 season, carding top-10 finishes at The Masters and US Open though that first major success still eludes him.

Brooks Koepka

Age 33. Caps 3. Majors 5

Ryder Cup record: 6-5-1

Singles: 2-0-1. Foursomes: 2-2-0. Fourball: 2-3-0

The only LIV Golf representative among the 24-player field, but it’s easy to see why Koepka has been able to bridge the divide despite his absence on the PGA Tour over the last year and a bit.

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As Brooks Koepka aims to win his third US Open title this week, check out his five previous major victories

The 33-year-old won his fifth major in some style, claiming the PGA Championship at Oak Hill courtesy of rounds of 66, 66 and 67 over the final three days. That also followed off the back of a brilliant week at Augusta, albeit one which ended in agonising fashion as he let a two-stroke lead slip to Jon Rahm on the final day to see a maiden Masters win slip through his fingers.

Koepka also brings a decent wedge of Ryder Cup experience to this US team, having appeared in the past three, which has included two big wins for the US either side of losing handily themselves in France in 2018.

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Highlights from the final round of the 2023 PGA Championship at Oak Hill which saw Brooks Koepka lift the trophy for a third time

Jordan Spieth

Age 30. Caps 4. Majors 3

Ryder Cup record: 8-7-3

Singles: 0-3-1. Foursomes: 3-2-2. Fourball: 5-2-0

Spieth is a four-time Ryder Cup veteran, at the age of 30, but it has been a bit of a mixed bag at times for the three-time major winner.

Spieth, for example, has still yet to win a final-day singles matchup, coming closest when halving his tie with Tommy Fleetwood two years ago. In pairing with his US team-mates he has fared much better, particularly when paired with his great mate Justin Thomas – the pair have won four of six matches they have played together.

Spieth had five top-five finishes on tour this year, including coming second to Matt Fitzpatrick at the RBC Heritage and ending tied for fourth at Augusta in his best placing at a major in 2023.

Collin Morikawa

Age 26. Caps 1. Majors 2

Ryder Cup record: 3-0-1

Singles: 0-0-1. Foursomes: 2-0-0. Fourball: 1-0-0

Two years ago, Morikawa was an absolute shoo-in for the US team, topping the points list – off the back of two major wins over the previous 12 months – to qualify outright.

This time, his path to Italy has not quite been so seamless, relying on a captain’s pick after finishing a still-decent 10th on the points list.

His selection was really a bit of a no-brainer, especially when you consider his success – three wins in four – last time out. That said, his budding partnership with Dustin Johnson, which secured a 100 per cent record in their three matchups, has been broken up. Who will he team up with this time round?

Sam Burns

Age 27. Caps 0. Majors 0

Ryder Cup record: N/A

It was no real surprise to see Burns claim one of Zach Johnson’s captain’s picks, having won five PGA Tour titles since 2021, including the World Matchplay earlier this year.

The 27-year-old is making his Ryder Cup debut, though he did get a little bit of a practice run when part of the US team at the Presidents Cup last year – albeit it did not go particularly well.

Burns went winless from his five ties (three losses, two halves), his partnership with great mate Scottie Scheffler proving far from fruitful as the high-profile pair lost two of their three matches. Will they dare to be paired together again this week?

Rickie Fowler

Age 34. Caps 4. Majors 0

Ryder Cup record: 3-7-5

Singles: 1-2-1. Foursomes: 1-3-2. Fourball: 1-2-2

Fowler has found the Ryder Cup a struggle, winning only three of his 15 career matchups and tasting victory on the US team only once in 2016 (where two of his wins came), having failed to make the team at Whistling Straights two years ago.

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Zane Scotland and Henni Koyack use the Audi Performance Zone to analyse Rickie Fowler’s technique

While Fowler might therefore seem a strange captain’s pick this time round, 2023 has seen the 34-year-old return to somewhere near his best form. Starting the year still outside the world’s top 100, and without a PGA Tour victory since 2019, Fowler’s return to former coach Butch Harmon has reaped stunning results, most notably at this year’s US Open where he equalled the lowest score in men’s major championship history with a stunning eight-under opening round of 62.

Fowler ultimately faded to finished tied-fifth but he would end that PGA Tour title drought less than a month later with success at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.

Justin Thomas

Age 30. Caps 2. Majors 2

Ryder Cup record: 6-2-1. Singles: 2-0-0. Foursomes: 3-1-0. Fourball: 1-1-1

Thomas can consider himself somewhat fortunate to earn a captain’s pick after one of his poorest seasons by his high standards.

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Justin Thomas missed the FedExCup Playoffs in a painful way as his chip attempt stayed out after hitting the pin, meaning he finished outside the top 70 in the points standings

The two-time major winner only just secured a spot in the FedExCup playoffs by the skin of his teeth after a dismal run which saw him miss the cut in five of seven PGA Tour starts. Those struggles stretched to the majors too, with his defence of the PGA Championship (finishing tied-65th) the only instance in which he made the weekend.

But, Thomas has earned captain Zach Johnson’s trust likely due to his Ryder Cup pedigree of years past. Thomas has won six of his nine career matches, including claiming four off five when last held on European soil in 2018.

Watch the Ryder Cup this month exclusively live Sky Sports. Live coverage of the opening day begins on Friday September 29 from 6am on Sky Sports Golf. Stream the PGA Tour, Ryder Cup and more with NOW.

Team Europe battled back in the fourballs to keep their hopes of a Solheim Cup threepeat alive, but what can Suzann Pettersen’s side learn from an eventful opening day against Team USA?

Europe arrived as pre-tournament favourites and with a side that Pettersen felt was the strongest in their history, with the hosts looking to build on victories at Gleneagles in 2019 and Ohio in 2021.

Momentum quickly went in the way of Stacy Lewis’ USA side after a dominant foursomes session, where they enjoyed a clean sweep for the first time in their history, only for Europe to fight back superbly to claim three of the four points on offer in the fourballs.

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On day one of the 2023 tournament Emily Pederson followed Anna Nordqvist’s 2013 ace with just the second hole-in-one in the history of the Solheim Cup

Europe now trail 5-3 heading into another double-session on Saturday, live from 6.30am on Sky Sports, although will be encouraged by their afternoon performance that their hopes of a historic threepeat remain on track.

Beware of Team USA’s talent

Team USA hadn’t led after an opening Solheim Cup session since 2009, when fourballs used to be played first, which makes the manner of their fast start to this year’s contest even more remarkable.

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A putt from Allisen Corpuz secured Team USA a clean-sweep in the morning foursome matches on day one at the Solheim Cup in Spain

It’s the first time since 1996 that the United States went undefeated in the opening round of a foursomes session and the first time in the biennial contest’s history that they swept a foursome round.

The fast start is just the sixth time in the Solheim Cup that a team has managed to win all four matches in a session and the first time since 2017, when Team USA won all four Friday fourball fixtures on their way to a 16.5-11.5 success.

One hope for Team Europe is that there has been a previous occasion when a team has recovered from losing a session 4-0 to win the Solheim Cup, with Team USA achieving that in 2002 after bouncing back from being swept in the Saturday fourballs.

Mixed fortunes for line-up gambles

The decision to lead off with two rookies quickly felt like a mistake for Europe, with Maja Stark and Linn Grant losing each of their opening three holes to immediately see Team USA dominate the leaderboard.

Although the Swedish pair battled back into the contest and were level with four holes remaining, they never led and were eventually beaten 2&1 by Lexi Thompson and Megan Khang.

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Linn Grant and Maja Stark were defeated 2&1 by Lexi Thompson and Megan Khang in the Friday morning foursomes session after Grant missed a short putt on the 17th hole at Finca Cortesin.

Thompson hit the opening tee shot despite struggling for form this season, with the Solheim Cup veteran without a top-10 all year on the LPGA Tour, with that decision a last-minute call from captain Stacy Lewis.

“She wasn’t in my line-up that I’ve had for a couple weeks and just the way the last four days have gone, just the way she seemed mentally, I had a good feeling about it,” Lewis explained.

Lewis also left out world No 2 Lilia Vu and rising star Rose Zhang from the opening session, although unlike Pettersen – who left out Caroline Hedwall all day – elected to use all 12 players in at least one match.

“You could not ask for much more,” Lewis added after the 4-0 session sweep. “We knew just seeing the pairings, those middle two matches were going to be tough. We saw a ton of fight in our girls and fortunately we were on the right side of it.”

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Team USA Solheim Cup captain Stacy Lewis claimed that Lexi Thompson wasn’t in her original plans for the Friday morning foursomes but her performance in practice convinced her to include her with Megan Khang

Europe’s character shines through

Having lost the foursomes 4-0, Europe went into the fourballs under extreme pressure.

Aside from the final pairing of Carlota Ciganda and Grant, who controlled their match from almost start to finish, the other six European players had to come through nail-biting finales knowing that coming up short would leave the team facing a mountain to climb over the weekend.

Rather than succumbing to the moment, the pressure produced the best play we saw from Europe all day.

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Leona Maguire chips in for birdie on the 18th to save the day for Team Europe at the Solheim Cup

Emily Pedersen, who had been heavily beaten alongside Charley Hull in the morning before struggling on the front nine of the fourballs, holed out at the 12th and almost did so again at the 17th to help herself and Stark to half a point.

Leona Maguire, having already made several clutch putts on the back nine, produced a shot that might have even upstaged Pedersen’s ace by chipping in at the 18th to turn a probable loss into victory for herself and Georgia Hall.

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Gemma Dryburgh puts a tough front nine behind her with this sensational chip-in birdie on the 16th at the Solheim Cup

Meanwhile debutant Gemma Dryburgh, who looked terribly nervous as she struggled on the greens in the front nine, came to life on the way in to hole out brilliantly at the 16th, having already holed a couple of crucial putts

If there was any doubt that Pettersen’s team had the characters to come back from an unenviable 4-0 deficit, they proved it on Friday afternoon.

‘No concerns’ for Hull despite record loss?

Hull mentioned she was dealing with a neck strain in the build-up to her sixth consecutive appearance for Team Europe, with the Englishwoman left out of the Friday fourballs after suffering the heaviest defeat of her Solheim Cup career.

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Emily Pedersen and Charley Hull went six down through nine holes as Team Europe struggled in the bottom match during the foursomes on day one of the Solheim Cup in Spain

Hull said midweek she was only swinging at 80 per cent and received physio ahead of partnering Pedersen, where they were an estimated eight over par for the front nine on their way to a 5&4 foursomes loss against Ally Ewing and Cheyenne Knight.

Hull was a late arrival at the first tee and was nowhere near her best during a convincing loss, although captain Pettersen played down any possible concerns over her fitness.

“Charley is okay,” Pettersen told Sky Sports. “Probably didn’t feel the best in the front nine and the more she played she felt better, so she’ll be fine. She has some treatments but nothing to worry about – just Charley being Charley, so I have no concerns!”

Unbeaten partnerships end for Europe

Celine Boutier and Hall’s four match unbeaten partnership – across two Solheim Cups – came to an end when they suffered a final-hole loss against Danielle Kang and Andrea Lee, with the pair kept apart for the afternoon session as the Frenchwoman sat out.

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Georgia Hall misses the green twice on the ninth in her match-up with Lexi Thompson and Lilia Vu at the Solheim Cup

Europe’s top-scorer from their 2021 success in Ohio, Maguire was unable to build on her unbeaten debut two years ago as her and Anna Nordqvist – a playing vice-captain – were also beaten by the same margin.

It was that dominant of a display from Team USA that the European team only led for four holes across the entire morning session, Stark, Grant, Pedersen and Hull completing the group that were heavily beaten.

Who will win the 2023 Solheim Cup? Watch exclusively live this week on Sky Sports! Live coverage continues on Saturday from 6.30am. Stream the Solheim Cup and more with NOW.