Team Europe backed to retain Ryder Cup despite Team USA’s home advantage

The 45th edition of the Ryder Cup tees off this Friday as Luke Donald leads Team Europe in a quest to retain the trophy against Keegan Bradley’s Team USA.

Donald captained Team Europe two years back in Italy where they obliterated the American team. He’ll be looking to defend the Ryder Cup crown and get a win for Team Europe on American soil - a feat that hasn’t happened since 2012.

We sat down with Sam Torrance, who won the Ryder Cup both as a player and captain, to get his thoughts and predictions for how things will unravel at Bethpage Black this weekend.

"I honestly believe Team Europe are favourites"

Home advantage is a defining feature of the Ryder Cup as the last time the visiting team won a Ryder Cup was during the unforgettable Miracle at Medinah when Europe took the trophy in 2012. Since then, the winner has been the host team and the majority of bookmakers have USA to repeat history as the favourites at odds of -150 and Europe at +175 (convert the odds here).

Despite that, Torrance brands Europe as the favourites considering that 11 of the 12 golfers also were part of the winning team in 2023. The only change is Rasmus Højgaard who’s replaced his brother Nicolai.

"I honestly believe Team Europe are favourites. We've got a very strong team. 11 of the 12 from the last Ryder Cup are back in and the only change is Højgaard - from Nicolai to Rasmus."

"The big bonus for our rookie, Rasmus, is that he was there in Italy two years ago. He was in a buggy, he was on the course, the opening ceremony. He saw everything. He was with the team, so he knows exactly what's coming. So that's a bonus for us."

Torrance adds that Team USA heads in with three rookies which makes them less experienced than Team Europe.

"The US has three rookies I think. I never bothered about the US team. When I was captain, we'd arrive on a Sunday night and the practice rounds were from Monday to Thursday, I didn't watch the American team once. I didn't watch them hit one shot on the range, or on the course. I didn't look at their pairings. It's just not worth it because you try to pre-empt yourself and you can easily get it wrong."

"So I just looked at putting out what was my best team each day, to try and win the session."

Torrance is hoping for Europe to go off on a blistering start but it will be unlikely.

"Let's put it this way, I'd like Europe to start off like they did in Rome. A whitewash, I think it's the only opening whitewash in history. It was an incredible start and even the very first hole with Viktor Hovland, whose chipping is allegedly not the strongest, ended up chipping fabulously. And we never looked back."

"It was a fantastic week for Europe. They played very strongly. They're very strong teammates who share a great brand. And the captain, Luke Donald, to a man, everyone asked for him to come back and do this one as well. That speaks volumes about what they thought about the captain."

Can’t fault Luke Donald’s picks

When asked about Luke Donald’s captain picks, Torrance believes it’s hard to find fault. Rasmus Højgaard’s strong performances led to him being an automatic pick which led to Shane Lowry being a captain pick.

Torrance says that Matt Wallace, Marco Penge and Harry Hall would have been solid picks too.

"It was very tricky. The top six were pretty much set until Rasmus had a fabulous finish and passed Shane Lowry which put Lowry into the selection process."

"I think his hand was kind of forced really by the quality he had and the six picks he made. Matt's (Fitzpatrick) a US Open champion. He's played in America. He's not had a great record in the Ryder Cup but who knows. You don't need to play badly to lose a match, you can play great and lose matches. He has an awful lot of confidence in him."

"There was Matt Wallace or maybe Marco Penge who would certainly have been looked at. Harry Hall as well. He plays in America and has won there."

"The last one was the hardest pick and I think he's made the right choice. He's gone for experience, and someone who had dropped down to 70th in the world at the start of the season and has played excellent this year to get right back up to where he should be."

Advice for Luke Donald

Several Team Europe golfers enter the tournament having had some outstanding results this year. Rory McIlroy captured his first Masters title and Tommy Fleetwood won the FedEx Championship.

Success also brings pressure but Torrance doesn’t think the pressure will be more on specific players. He emphasizes that it is a team tournament and they will go through the highs and lows together.

"I think the pressure is the same for everyone. It's a team. Individuals don't get picked out in the Ryder Cup. It's all about a team."

"Four guys sit out each session, the first four sessions and they'll be looked after properly. The pressure's the same on everyone. There's no more pressure on someone because they're a better player. They all have to turn up and play well, or they won't win it."

"They're great golfers. They're going to turn up."

Torrance also gives some advice to Luke Donald, telling him to trust his heart and decisions and not be phased by mistakes.

"One hundred percent trust your heart. Your heart tells you so much. If you make a bad decision, you'll know immediately. If you think about it prior, you may not make that decision because you might be wrong. It's a dangerous one. A risky pairing. But he's too sharp and too clever, Luke, to make any mistakes."

"Mistakes will happen but I don't think they'll come from the captain."

Team Europe weaknesses

Course experience was one of the aspects that Torrance feels the Americans have over Team Europe. He pointed to the three majors that have taken place at Bethpage Black, as well as the experience of current members of Team USA at the course

It's very difficult of me to think of weaknesses in Team Europe (laughs)."

"The course. There's been three majors there, two US Opens and a US PGA. Tiger, Lucas Glover and Brooks Koepka winning them respectively."

"The experience on the course slightly favours America. The only person to win there from the team is Cam Young who won there as an amateur. So they have a little bit of history there."

"I'm not sure about Team Europe's experience at the course but they've played there. They've been there all this week, they'll be ready. So the course advantage isn't as big."

Torrance also sees the course setup favouring American golfers but believes that Team Europe won’t be affected too much by it.

"The setup. The Americans have kind of gone the other way round in terms of setting up the course than what they did maybe 20-30 years ago. They now set up quite easily. The roughs will be down, the greens will be quick. It is set up for American golf which is hundred percent legal. That's what the captain's supposed to do."

"I don't think that will harm Europe's chances at all. They know it. They'll have played the course. And when the pins come out in the morning, each day and each lunchtime, they'll know exactly what's coming."

"I'm very positive about Team Europe's chances and that's not because I'm European and a former captain. I have a hundred percent faith in this team."

Crowd’s role and how to deal with it

The crowd is expected to be very partisan and Team Europe will have to contend with audience members jeering every shot and clapping at every missed putt.

Torrance’s solution to dealing with the crowd is a simple piece of advice that Seve Ballesteros shared with him. Focus.

"The crowd's role will be huge. But it's the same every time. It was huge for us in Italy, it was huge for America in Whistling Straits and what a hiding they gave us. So we're looking forward to come back from that."

"Since 1985, I think we've had 13 wins and they've had six with one tie. So we're on a run, even though we lost heavily at Whistling Straits. Between 1985 and 2004 we won three out of four in the US, so we've learned how to beat them in their own country.”

"Seve's favourite word was focus and all you can do is focus on your own game. There's nothing else you can do in the Ryder Cup. You can go out and support your team once you're finished. Even if you go four-five down and you win a hole, that reverberates around the European team. Keep going no matter what the score is and play your best."

As a spectator, he sees the excitement a rowdy crowd brings and he calls it one of the necessary ingredients for a thrilling Ryder Cup.

"It'll be very thrilling, very exciting and rowdy. We got all three necessary ingredients for a great Ryder Cup. Of course the crowd is going to be tough but we know that. Over the years we've developed a strong understanding of what it's like to play away from home."

"It's really, don't get involved, let them shout, scream whatever they want, and you just have to play your game. That's all you can do."

Team Europe had also practiced with VR headsets that mimicked crowd noise, in order to get used to playing in such a situation. Torrance alluded to that and was pleased with the players embracing the technology.

"Matt Wallace was the only one who responded unfavourably, I believe.”

"They took it in stride. They just had this guy shouting abuse at them and it was quite good to watch and how they handled it. And that's what you have to get used to. There will be abuse shouted at you, there will be clapping when you miss putts, miss greens or when you go in the bunker."

"But that's fine. It incites you. It makes you angry and you can't beat an angry golfer as long as he controls it."

Optimal pairings

Talking about optimal pairings Torrance exclaimed that the European team has players who can all play alongside each other. When he was captain, he used to have his wildcards or movables who could line up alongside each other. In the current team, he points to McIlroy, Fleetwood, Lowry and Jon Rahm being of that calibre.

“We have some fabulous players in the team. I used to call my players wildcards or movables as they could play with anyone. McIlroy, Fleetwood, Lowry, Hatton, Rahm.. I can almost name all 12 of them who can play with anyone.”

As Luke Donald has so much quality in his team, Torrance is excited to see what pairings he decides to field

“I can't wait to see what Luke Donald does. It is really interesting, because it is a bit of unknown territory. I don't think there's a pairing he could put on that I wouldn't like."

“They have a big advantage of the 11 players back in the same team. Rasmus Højgaard wouldn't be any different than Nicolai, I would imagine. He makes it into where he would have wanted Nicolai to fit in at the last one. He will have fairings tested at the Ryder Cup, which is a big advantage.”

“I don't see much to change. The quality of the golf can maybe change the pairings but I don’t really know. I’m not inside Luke’s wonderful brain.”

Score Prediction

Torrance’s score prediction is 15-13 in Europe’s favour, with the tournament most likely being decided in the final match. Europe needs 14 on the board to take the trophy back but Torrance hopes that it doesn’t happen as it will be heartbreaking for either team.

"So often it comes down to margins and the last match. I think Europe might win 15-13. That'd be my call."

"14 is the number. We're defending so if we get 14, we take the cup home but no one wants that on either team. Neither captain would be happy with a tie. There's nothing worse to be honest. The dissatisfaction at the end when you think, 'God, half-a-point and we would've won it.'"

"So I would like to see someone get to 15."

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