Eddie Pepperell
Collin Morikawa’s victory on debut in The Open was quite a performance and a fine way to round out this year’s Majors, which have all been compelling. I watched Collin in the final round of the Scottish Open the week before and he was five-over after seven holes and having a nightmare on the greens, so to turn it around the next week is testament to his ability and mental strength. He led the putting stats at Royal St George’s, which was a remarkable achievement.
He’s taken to professional golf like a duck to water and when you’re such a worldclass iron player, you’re going to give yourself so many chances to win tournaments, even if you’re not considered one of the best putters on tour. In many ways, he’s looking a bit like Tiger Woods 2.0, even though there are clearly differences and it’s far too early to be making those comparisons. But his iron play looks to be as good as Tiger’s was and he’s developed a knack of winning the biggest events at a young age. He really is very impressive.
You’d expect Morikawa to be one of the key performers at the Ryder Cup, which is shaping up to be an absolute belter. It does seem like the stars are aligning in the USA’S favour. Obviously you never know with match play, and momentum always plays a part, but the American side looks so strong on paper. I know the teams haven’t been finalised yet, but as I write this, there are eight Americans in the world’s top ten. Europe only has one.
I think the first day is going to be absolutely crucial. I wouldn’t want to be a European player or Padraig Harrington if the US win 3-1 in the Friday morning fourballs. If that happens, I think it’s going to be very, very challenging for Europe to find a way back. You never know with the Ryder Cup, but at the moment, things look quite rosy for the US. What’s more, some of our traditional stalwarts haven’t been performing as well as they’d like of late – Fleetwood, Molinari, Mcilroy, Rose, Stenson and so on.
Of course, we still have a lot of talent – Jon Rahm and Viktor Hovland look to be the players who will lead the charge – and it’ll be interesting to see if Harrington goes with experience in the form of your Poulters, Garcias and so on, or whether he turns to newcomers like Bob Macintyre. Either way, winning looks a tough ask. At the moment, it seems as if our best chance is Bryson and Brooks being in the same room and disrupting the American team dynamic!
In terms of the course, I don’t think it will necessarily suit one team more than the other. Even if Steve Stricker opts to cut the rough down – the American approach in 2016 at Hazeltine – it isn’t going to make a huge amount of difference because of the topography of Whistling Straits. Wild shots will be punished. It’s a pretty big course, which favours the longer hitters, but I played the USPGA there in 2015 and I also remember it requiring a lot of skill. It’s a great course for a Ryder Cup.
It’s not as if Europe will have a weak team, either. Yes, the American side may look daunting, but we’ll turn up with 12 brilliant players who are more than capable of inflicting defeat on their opponents. I’m sure Padraig will instil an excellent team spirit and you wouldn’t be surprised to see Europe come flying out of the blocks during the first session. Similarly, Stricker will put forward the point that his guys could crush Europe if they get on top early. It’s going to be a fascinating contest.
In terms of predictions, I think Rahm will be the star for Europe – he’ll hopefully have more points than positive coronavirus tests – and Jordan Spieth will be the man for Team USA. I do think America will come out on top, but I hope to be proved wrong.
“It does seem like the stars are aligning in the USA’S favour”