Ryder Cup 2023: Potential Ryder Cup teams for both sides

Tuesday 1 August 2023 by Jonathan Victoria Features

Who will be chosen to compete for their team?

Ryder Cup 2023: Potential Ryder Cup teams for both sides

With the Open Championship now complete (congrats to American Brian Harman for beating all the European players on their turf), the major season is now complete.

While the PGA Tour season isn’t fully over - The Tour Championship will be the last big must-win tournament for all players - everyone will be looking ahead to the returning Ryder Cup later this year.

Many players will be vying for a spot on their respective teams, so join us as we take a look at some of the information for the tournament and speculate who could be competing.

Captains of the Ryder Cup

Being a captain of the Ryder Cup team is a dream come true for many professional golfers. It is reserved for long-standing players who have earnt their right to stand above their fellow competitors and choose their champions to compete in that year's competition.

There are two captains for the Ryder Cup, one for each team. The two captains for this year's contest are:

Team Europe: Luke Donald

Team USA: Zach Johnson

Both captains will then choose a number of vice-captains. All the vice-captains for each team are yet to be announced, but here are the ones who have already been picked:

Team Europe

Nicolas Colsaerts
Edoardo Molinari

Team USA

Jim Furyk
Fred Couples
Steve Stricker
Davis Love III

Potential Ryder Cup teams

Members of the 2021 Ryder Cup; Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka, Jon Rahm, and Scottie Scheffler.

The teams for the Ryder Cup are made up of those who have qualified for their place and those that were picked by the captains.

There are 12 places up for grabs - six through qualification, and six captain picks.

Qualification is determined by how a player performs. Wins and strong finishes in the various competitions across the PGA Tour and DP World Tour will gain them more qualification points and thus more of a chance of an automatic place on the team.

Every tournament from here till the end of the PGA Tour season will be crucial for every player, so let's take a look at those players who are currently at the top of the standings and who could get picked by their captains.

The captains have until Sunday 3rd September to finalise their picks for their team.

Team Europe

Team Europe has two very familiar and unsurprising faces at the top of the standings - Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm.

Both have not yet qualified for the team, but it really is a formality that they will be there.

Despite losing overall in the last Ryder Cup, Rahm was the star for Team Europe, keeping them in it when times seemed most dire. He has continued his form, winning his first green jacket at The Masters this year, and should be a big factor for Team Europe once again. He currently sits second in the European Points rankings.

Ahead of him is four-time major winner Rory McIlroy. Rory has always been a fan favourite, and while he hasn’t won another major since 2014, on his day he is tough to beat.

The other players who are currently in the rankings are:

Robert MacIntyre
Viktor Hovland
Tyrell Hatton
Tommy Fleetwood

MacIntyre is currently making the cut through the European Points, while Hovland, Hatton and Fleetwood are making it through the World Points.

On the cusp are some other fantastic players who are likely to get the nod from the captains. Matt Fitzpatrick, Sepp Straka, Shane Lowry and Justin Rose round out the top 10 from the World Points and would all be great additions to Team Europe.

Team USA

So far only one player from both sides has qualified for their team, and it should come as no surprise as to who it is.

Of course, it is the current world number one-ranked player Scottie Scheffler who has already qualified for Team USA.

Scottie is making his second Ryder Cup appearance, after a triumphant first showing in his rookie season where he beat a flying Jon Rahm on the Sunday in singles competition.

He is currently joined by:

2023 US Open champion Wyndham Clarke (2nd)
2023 Open champion Brian Harman (3rd)
2023 PGA Championship champion Brooks Koepka (4th)
Xander Schauffelle
Patrick Cantlay

It's safe to say that with three of the four major winners this year, Team USA is going to have a very strong side that will be hard to overcome.

Along with them, there are countless other top players who the captain can choose from. Max Homa, Cameron Young, Jordan Spieth and Keegan Bradley make up the rest of the US rankings, but just outside of it are other very accomplished players such as Collin Morikawa, Rickie Fowler, Justin Thomas, Sam Burns, Tony Finau, and plenty more.

It will be a tough decision to choose the six players for the captain, and he will have to consider his options carefully and pick the players who have performed the best at European courses this year, as that is where the Ryder Cup will be taking place.

Ryder Cup venue

A view from a tee box at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club.

The Ryder Cup will be held on European soil this time around at the Marco Simone Golf & Country Club in Guidonia Montecelio, Italy.

It is an absolutely stunning course that has held just two big events, the Italian Open in 1994 and 2021.

As this is a course that isn’t used very much during PGA Tour events, there is a likelihood that the majority - if not all - of players have never played it before, thus bringing in a level playing field and adding to the competition to see who can get the best out of the course.

Ryder Cup 2023 dates

The official Ryder Cup tournament will be run from Friday 29th September to Sunday 1st October.

The Ryder Cup was not meant to be held this year, instead intended to be held in 2022. This was then pushed back a year due to COVID-19, as the originally planned 2020 Ryder Cup was moved to 2021, and the Ryder Cup has always been hosted biennially except in other extreme circumstances.

Past 5 Ryder Cup results

2021 | Whistling Straits, Wisconsin, USA – USA win 19 to 9

2018 | Le Golf National, France – Europe win 17.5 to 10.5

2016 | Hazeltine National Golf Club, Minnesota, USA – USA win 17 to 11

2014 | Gleneagles, Scotland – Europe win 16.5 to 11.5

2012 | Medinah Country Club, Illinois, USA – Europe win 14.5 to 13.5

How to watch the Ryder Cup 2023

The Ryder Cup will be shown live exclusively on Sky Sports after an extension to their broadcast partnership was confirmed in 2022. It also confirmed that they would have the rights to the next Ryder Cup in 2025.

If you’re not already a Sky customer or you don’t yet have Sky Sports added to your package but are interested in watching this year’s Ryder Cup, be sure to get set up with it now in time for it, as well as to enjoy many other sports such as the start of the new Premier League season.

Check out all the Sky Sports deals currently on offer, and have a look at our pick for the best one out there right now: