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Getty Patrick Reed and Tiger Woods share a light-hearted moment during the 2018 Ryder Cup.
Just when you thought golf could not get better after Tiger Woods’ performance at the Tour Championship, fans get one last hoorah thanks to the Ryder Cup. With the tournament being held in Paris, fans in the United States may need to stock up on coffee for the early morning tee times.
Team USA is hoping the depth of their roster allows them to make up some ground on Europe this weekend. After the U.S. jumped out to an early lead, Europe rallied to go on a stellar run to end Day 1.
Europe leads the United States 5-3 heading into Day 2. The United States’ slow start has ESPN’s Kevin Van Valkenburg suggesting the team make a change and bench Phil Mickelson after his rough first day.
Any match he’s playing in Saturday afternoon takes away an opportunity from a sharper, younger player. (Furyk has already said Mickelson won’t play Saturday morning in four-balls.) It might even annoy Mickelson a little to sit the entire day, spark something deep down in his competitive bones that gets him ready for singles. He’s been a staple of this team for two decades and has played well in the last two Ryder Cups, but it’s also hard to argue with the facts: He and DeChambeau’s loss at Le Golf National means he now has more career losses (21) than any other player in Ryder Cup history.
All eyes may be on Woods after his performance at East Lake, but Rory McIlroy admitted he thinks the Ryder Cup should be more about the two teams competing.
“It’s great what he did on Sunday,” McIlroy told ESPN. “It was great for golf. It brings a lot of excitement to the game…I think to focus on one player is silly, especially when I might not even see him this week at any point this week because I mightn’t be on the course with him or play against him…I don’t really want to speculate how he’s going to play or what he’s going to do. I think it’s great for the U.S. team that he’s in the mix, and it’s great that it’s given their team a little bit of momentum coming over here…You know, we’re looking to beat the U.S. team. We’re not looking to just beat Tiger Woods.”
Here’s a look at the Ryder Cup rosters for the United States and Europe.
Ryder Cup Team USA Roster 2018
GOLFER | PATH |
Brooks Koepka | Qualified |
Dustin Johnson | Qualified |
Jordan Spieth | Qualified |
Justin Thomas | Qualified |
Rickie Fowler | Qualified |
Bubba Watson | Qualified |
Webb Simpson | Qualified |
Patrick Reed | Qualified |
Phil Mickelson | Captain’s Pick |
Tiger Woods | Captain’s Pick |
Bryson DeChambeau | Captain’s Pick |
Tony Finau | Captain’s Pick |
Ryder Cup Team Europe Roster 2018
GOLFER | PATH |
Tommy Fleetwood | Qualified |
Tyrrell Hatton | Qualified |
Rory McIlroy | Qualified |
Francesco Molinari | Qualified |
Alex Noren | Qualified |
Thorbjorn Olesen | Qualified |
Jon Rahm | Qualified |
Justin Rose | Qualified |
Henrik Stenson | Captain’s Pick |
Sergio Garcia | Captain’s Pick |
Paul Casey | Captain’s Pick |
Ian Poulter | Captain’s Pick |
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Ryder Cup Teams 2018: USA & Europe Rosters