The 2023 Ryder Cup begins on Friday with Team Europe desperate to regain the trophy from the United States following a heavy defeat two years ago.
Among the 12-strong American squad are five of the past six major winners, making them arguably the stronger team on paper, but Europe have home advantage, as well as the likes of world No 2 Rory McIlroy and No 3 Jon Rahm among their ranks.
For each team six players qualify automatically through a points system based on performance, and six are chosen by the respective captains.
Selection has been somewhat muddied this year, as it is the first Ryder Cup since the formation of the controversial LIV Golf – the Saudi Arabia-financed tour that has caused a rift in the sport, and to which many of the world’s top players have defected, with huge prizes on offer.
Here are the rules on LIV golfers competing for both Europe and the US, and both teams in full.
Can LIV players play for Team Europe?
The European Ryder Cup team is run by the DP World Tour, which is one of LIV’s main rivals.
Players who joined LIV – among them Ryder Cup stalwarts Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter – were fined up to £800,000 by the DP World Tour, and so resigned from the tour. This made them ineligible for selection.
Also absent for the same reason are the likes of former vice-captains Martin Kaymer, Graeme McDowell and Henrik Stenson.
Garcia did attempt to revive his chances of appearing in Rome this weekend by bidding to rejoin the DP World Tour. This was in vain, and Europe enter the competition missing their record points scorer, who has appeared in 10 straight Ryder Cups.
Rory McIlroy addressed the absence of some of Europe’s Ryder Cup legends at a press conference on Thursday. “It’s certainly a little strange not having them around,” he said. “But I think this week of all weeks, it’s going to hit home with them that they are not here.
“I think they are going to miss being here more than we’re missing them, so it’s just more I think this week is a realisation that the decision that they made has led to not being a part of this week, and that’s tough.
“The landscape in golf is ever-changing and more dynamic, and we’ll see what happens and whether they will be part of it in the future. I always thought leading up to this week is when it’s going to hit home that they are not going to be here.”
Can LIV players play for Team USA?
The rules for US players were slightly more complicated. PGA of America selects the US team – a separate organisation to the PGA Tour, a LIV competitor – meaning there is nothing actually banning Americans who joined LIV from selection.
However, as LIV events do not earn world ranking points, players on the Saudi tour have been unable to qualify for the competition, and could only get in through captain’s picks.
Only Masters and USPGA champion Brooks Koepka was selected by US captain Zach Johnson, meaning the likes of eight-time PGA Tour winner Bryson DeChambeau, Patrick Reed and Dustin Johnson, who won all five of his matchups two years ago, miss out.
DeChambeau did not refrain from criticising the way PGA players have been given preference in this year’s team, suggesting that there are numerous people Johnson could have called up, but didn’t.
“I personally think that given the way I have played, I could have definitely racked up some points for Team USA,” he said.
Ryder Cup Team Europe player profiles
Jon Rahm (Spain)
- Age: 28
- Caps: 2
- Record: Won 4 Lost 3 Halved 1
Won three of his first five events of the year and then added his second major title in the Masters in April, also finishing tied second in the Open Championship. Won just one of his three matches in Paris but it was a vital one, beating Tiger Woods in the singles. Europe’s stand-out performer at Whistling Straits with three-and-a-half points from five matches.
Viktor Hovland (Norway)
- Age: 25
- Caps: 1 (2021)
- Record: Won 0 Lost 3 Halved 2
Earned just a point from five matches at Whistling Straits and will be expected to deliver much more in Rome after ending the season with back-to-back wins in the BMW Championship and Tour Championship to claim the FedEx Cup title. Partnered three different players in 2021, giving Luke Donald either welcome flexibility or a selection headache.
Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland)
- Age: 34
- Caps: 6 (2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2021)
- Record: Won 12 Lost 12 Halved 4
Was in tears after winning his singles at Whistling Straits as he felt he had let the side down by suffering three heavy defeats over the first two days. Produced a brilliant birdie-birdie finish to win the Scottish Open in July and ended the PGA Tour season with 10 consecutive top 10 finishes.
Tyrrell Hatton (England)
- Age: 31
- Caps: 2 (2018, 2021)
- Record: Won 2 Lost 4 Halved 1
Without a win since January 2021, but qualified via the World Points list after a consistent season which included a runners-up finish in the Players Championship, nine top 10s and just one missed cut. Played four matches at Whistling Straits but his caddie’s fitness following a knee operation could be a factor at a hilly venue in Rome.
Matt Fitzpatrick (England)
- Age: 29
- Caps: 2 (2016, 2021)
- Record: Won 0 Lost 5 Halved 0
Has a miserable record in the Ryder Cup to date, sitting out the opening day at Hazeltine and then losing his foursomes match with Henrik Stenson before being sent out last in the singles and losing to 2023 US captain Zach Johnson. Also lost all three matches at Whistling Straits but won the US Open in 2022 and will surely be picked for a fourballs session this time around.
Robert MacIntyre (Scotland)
Won the Italian Open at host venue Marco Simone last September and solidified his position with second in the Scottish Open, where he made a stunning birdie on the last hole before being denied by McIlroy. Fourth in the penultimate qualifying event after playing with Donald the first two days.
Tommy Fleetwood (England)
- Age: 32
- Caps: 2 (2018, 2021)
- Record: Won 4, Lost 2, Halved 2
Made his debut in 2018 and partnered Francesco Molinari to four wins, three of them against an American pairing containing Tiger Woods. Ran out of steam in the singles and was beaten 6&4 by Tony Finau. Without Molinari alongside, lost one and halved two of his matches in Wisconsin.
Shane Lowry (Ireland)
- Age: 36
- Caps: 1 (2021)
- Record: Won 1 Lost 2 Halved 0
Went into the last event in the final automatic qualifying place in 2021 but was pushed out by Bernd Wiesberger and had to rely on a wild card. Won the first qualifying event, the 2022 BMW Championship, this time around but still required a pick after recording just one top 10 finish in 2023.
Justin Rose (England)
- Age: 43
- Caps: 5 (2008, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018)
- Record: Won 13 Lost 8 Halved 2
The former US Open champion was overlooked for a wild card in 2021 but ended a four-year victory drought on the PGA Tour in February’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Previously formed a strong partnership with Stenson, whose switch to LIV Golf cost him the captaincy of the side for Rome.
Sepp Straka (Austria)
The second Austrian to play in the Ryder Cup after Wiesberger, Straka won his second PGA Tour title in July and followed it a fortnight later with a tie for second in the Open. Also finished seventh in the US PGA Championship and was part of the victorious Continental Europe side in January’s Hero Cup.
Ludvig Åberg
Former world number-one amateur who finished first in the PGA Tour University rankings to earn his card and only turned professional in June. Shot 65 and 67 alongside Donald in the first two rounds of the Rocket Mortgage Classic and won the final qualifying event in Switzerland with a closing 64.
Nicolai Højgaard (Denmark)
Finished 16th on the World Points list and just 25th on the European list, but won the first Italian Open at Marco Simone in September 2021 and was fifth in the same event this year. Finished third and fifth in the final two qualifying events and is ranked second in scoring average and strokes gained off the tee.
Ryder Cup Team USA player profiles
Sam Burns
- Age: 27
- Caps, total 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
- Caps, total points: 1, 3.5
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
- Caps, total points: None
Clark enjoyed a breakout season during which he notched his first PGA Tour win in May followed by his US Open triumph in June at Los Angeles Country Club to become the second player to automatically qualify for the US team.
Rickie Fowler
- Age: 34
- Caps, total points: 4, 5.5
Fowler, one of the most experienced members of the US 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
- Caps, total 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
- Caps, total 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
- Caps, total points: 3, 6.5
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
- Caps, total points: 1, 3.5
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 US rookie to go 3-0-0 or better in foursomes and fourballs combined since Larry Nelson in 1979.
Xander Schauffele
- Age: 29
- Caps, total 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 US team’s 19-9 triumph in 2021.
Scottie Scheffler
- Age: 27
- Caps, total points: 1, 2.5
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
- Caps, total points: 4, 9.5
Spieth has never won a Ryder Cup singles match but is one of the most experienced members of the US team and has competed in 18 matches since 2014, second only to Europe’s Rory McIlroy (19) over that time.
Justin Thomas
- Age: 30
- Caps, total points: 2, 6.5
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.