SB Nation’s 2016 Ryder Cup Preview

The best event in golf is here. It's been eight years since the United States won a Ryder Cup and now they're back on home soil after the 2014 implosion in Scotland. Of course, the last time they played in the U.S., there was that historic Sunday collapse in Chicago. Any way you look at it, the past two decades have been unkind for the American side. The Euros enter the 2016 Cup with half their team made up of rookies, and the other half a well-accomplished group at crushing American hopes and dreams. It's fair to say that neither team should be heavily favored, but we forge ahead and make some picks and predictions for the weekend at Hazeltine.

Do Davis Love III, the task force, and the cadre of assistant captains have any effect, for better or worse, on this competition?

Kyle: As a former player in team golf settings, I can tell you there's no question that a coach or captain, along with assistants, play a major role. Coaching golf is so much less about actually coaching — and so much more about managing personalities. Most coaches might notice a small swing thing or have a few edicts for how to attack the golf course, but the really good ones are brilliant psychological tacticians. They know the right pairings for players, how much to talk to them on the course, how much information they want to know, the right buttons to press. For one week, DL3 will basically be a college golf coach. Figuring out how to pair, how to prepare, how to manage personalities — that's how a captain can best affect the outcome here. But the task force? Who knows.

Emily: With all the press attention, they definitely won the Ryder Cup preseason, so there's that. While we won't know until Sunday night if all that hot air, texting, silly captain's pick hoopla, and copying the Euro's winning blueprint translates to a win (Phil Mickelson says we may not recognize the panel's influence for 10 years), the much-maligned task force will become an even bigger late-night punchline if the home team comes up short yet again.

Trevor: I go back and forth on the effect the captain has on the team. If you think about captains like Azinger (good!) and Tom Watson (bad!), they can certainly have an effect on the Ryder Cup from a strategy perspective. But on the other hand, it's the players that have to perform. As for the task force, I still have no idea what they actually did. I was hoping for some new blood or some outside the box thinking but we've gotten more of the same with DL3's captain's picks.

Brendan: Everything is judged with the perfection of hindsight when it comes to Ryder Cup captaincies, unless you're Tom Watson. I don't think captains have much of an influence, one way or another, except in an extreme case or two. The task force process may create a more bonded American team that's driven by the players, but if they still can't play, none of it matters. And it will be awesome to have Tiger around back in the public view as an assistant captain, but he's not making any of the shots this week. The task force will either be a spectacular failure with no real impact or the start of a revolutionary approach based on the result. That's how it goes.

Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

Who or what is your biggest concern for the European team?

Brendan: It seems like Henrik Stenson's body is a concern. The back locked up on him at the end of the Olympics, and now he's dealing with a knee issue that's forced him out of the last few FedExCup playoffs. He'll enter the week with almost a month's rest but the Euros need him to be one of their horses, especially with half the team being rookies. Stenson, Rose, Rory, and Sergio can't have losing records.

Kyle: I'm skeptical of this being that much a detriment, but inexperience in Ryder Cups. There's a host of rookies on Darren Clarke's roster, and this will be the first time most of these guys have experienced being the enemy. Tens of thousands of American fans will be jeering your every shot and it's hard to predict how different personalities respond to embracing the wrestling heel role.

Emily: Not really concerned for anyone on the European team, but Rory McIlroy's putting continues to be suspect.

Who or what is your biggest concern for the American side?

Emily: What keeps me up at night is worrying that Tiger Woods' bum back might hinder him at the ping pong table.

Kyle: Can we be honest? Save Dustin Johnson, there's few on this roster that have consistently played inspiring golf recently. Does a team that will have to count on Rickie Fowler and Zach Johnson as major contributors really leave you feeling good in 2016?

Steve Flynn-USA TODAY Sports

Trevor: I am still a little confused by the J.B. Holmes pick. I understand he hits the ball a long way, which may help during the alternate shot matches. But he is not very good after that. He's 98th on Tour in greens in regulation. His strokes gained approaching the green is abysmal. And he ranks 115 and 157 in strokes gained putting and total putting respectively. Maybe the plan is to hide him for the first two days and then hope he gets lucky in singles?

Brendan: Many things! But maybe that's just me being a pessimistic USA supporter. The pressure will be immense. No one has played especially well over the second half of the season, save for DJ. There is so much blah on the roster but again, this is the kind of approach you take after being burned for 20 years.

Who will have the most awkward celebration?

Emily: Matt Kuchar and assistant captain Tiger Woods, of course.

Trevor: I'd say it's a toss up between Kuchar and Zach Johnson. If you recall the 2013 President's Cup, Kuch and Tiger unveiled their "Fresh Prince" celebration, the most nerd-tastic and uncool celebration golf has maybe ever seen. And that is saying a lot. ZJ couldn't be cool if he tried.

Kyle: Not celebrating is the only bad Ryder Cup celebration. LOOKING AT YOU, DJ AND BROOKS.

Will we have a Ryder Cup contretemps? Who are the likely candidates here for a dustup?

Brendan: Sergio Garcia and Patrick Reed are the obvious choices here. But there are a couple young guys for the USA, like Jordan Spieth and Brooks Koepka, who I think will be "pissed off for greatness." Spieth gets feisty and whiny and now holds a different place in the game than he did back in 2014, and as a lead dog in the sport he won't hesitate to try and call people on their bullshit and mix it up. That hesitation probably existed two years ago before the Masters, U.S. Open, and World No. 1 accolades. And while soft-spoken and deadpan, Koepka just does not seem to give an eff about you or your sensitivities.

Those two young guys, and maybe an older Euro who has owned this competition for a long time like, say, Lee Westwood or asst. captain Ian Poulter, might take umbrage with these younger American attitudes. That could create a nice little mixture for some Ryder Cup drama. Here's hoping.

Ray Carlin-USA TODAY Sports

Kyle: Sergio's the easy answer here, as always. But push yourself to dream bigger. Can you imagine Patrick Reed and Andy Sullivan in a Sunday singles match? Give me that. Give me that right now.

Emily: Tiger takes issue with Lee Westwood for suggesting that DL3's illustrious vice captain "could have an adverse effect in the team room." Eldrick owns the team room, pal.

Who do you expect, either as a single or a pairing, to either carry or lead the Americans?

Trevor: Hopefully we get Spieth and Reed part two this year. They kicked ass in 2014 and were a lot of fun to watch. Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka would be another great pairing. And speaking of DJ, he is the best player in the world heading into the Ryder Cup. If he doesn't carry the U.S. (and whoever his partner may be) by winning three matches, I would consider that a disappointment.

Brendan: I know his overall record is negative, but I think Phil Mickelson has become America's lead horse in these team competitions now. Of course, his driver can go all over the map and that will get you killed in the alternate shot Foursomes format. I think Phillsy will have another positive record and lead the American side. Obviously, with DJ seeming to be the only American player in real form, he's got to come through and I think he will.

Kyle: If the Americans are going to win this Cup, it's going to start with Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed. Maybe they're not the perfect tactical pairing for Hazeltine, but who cares. This is the new dream team — and they'll both match the energy level and passion the Euros will likely bring to the course with so many rookies in tow. The rest of the U.S. best follow their lead to have chance.

Who do you expect, either as a single or a pairing, to either carry or lead the Europeans?

Brendan: I love, love, love the Stenson-Rose duo. They seemed impenetrable before the 2014 Ryder even started, and then delivered on the course. There's no reason to break that up and try to pair them each with one of the many Euro rookies. They make no mistakes and just let you hack it around and give away holes. Stenson's knee remains a concern, as I noted above, but this is the European power pairing that should put points up on the board.

Kyle: This is Rory and Sergio's Ryder Cup. McIlroy's heard for two years how he's been passed up as the game's greatest player — despite still holding as many majors as DJ, Jason Day, and Spieth combined. Sergio's coming off one of the better years of his career, complete with two major near-misses, and is one of the best Ryder Cuppers ever. These two paired together for three matches at the 2014 Ryder Cup at Gleneagles. They'll embrace the heel role at Hazeltine — and their energy should be infectious for their new teammates.

Getty Sports

The American team is technically the favorites, according to the oddsmakers. Who takes the Cup and what's the final tally?

Brendan: The year started with so much promise. So many young American talents were going to tear it up and turn over the roster. Now, everyone on the U.S. side not named Dustin Johnson is flailing a little bit and the Euros are, as usual, in ship shape heading into the matches. I want to believe — the U.S. can't keep losing this thing. But unfortunately, I think the Europeans retain the Cup and win for a record fourth straight time. In my opinion, this is a narrow margin year though — maybe a 1 to 1.5 point win. Neither of these teams are the force that the 2014 Euro squad was going into and then at Gleneagles.

Emily: Seems Team USA is always favored and how's that working out for the red, white, and blue? For sure, the Americans have a stronger roster, on paper. All this task force nonsense just adds to the burden of expectations that it'll be different this year but the pressure may be too much for a squad that has to be tightly wound going into Hazeltine. The underdog Euros ruin Davis Love's second and final return as skipper by another heartbreaking 14.5-13.5 score.

Trevor: My blind American homerism has me going with Team USA. Just as I did at Gleneagles. When they got trounced. But hey, we can't keep losing these things so I am going with the theory that the U.S. is due for a win. As an added bonus, I don't think Tom Watson will be anywhere near Hazeltine to screw things up. It is going to be close, though. I think the two teams will be separated by a point in the end. (Fingers crossed for a DJ-Rory deciding match/slugfest!)

Kyle: The Cup's staying in Europe and I'm not sure it's particularly close either, maybe a 4-6 point spread. It's a Ryder Cup year, and the Euros just seem to have more guys who are in form or rounded back into form for major championships this season. The U.S. task force was supposed to revamp the system, but it's mostly the same crew that got waxed at Gleneagles for the Americans — while the Euros got younger, more energetic, and more talented. We're ripe to have a rout in Minneapolis.