How Many Rookies Are There on U.S. Ryder Cup Team This Year?

USA Team captain Steve Stricker recently announced the team for the 2021 Ryder Cup. With the highest number of captain’s pick in the cup’s history, the 12-man American team has 6 rookies. This is the highest number since the team that won at the 2008 Ryder Cup in Valhalla.

The Ryder Cup, jointly administered by the PGA of America and Ryder Cup Europe, is a biennial men’s golf tournament between teams from Europe and the USA. With the location alternating every edition between the two, this year it is being played at the Whistling Straits in Wisconsin, United States.

Jun 4, 2021; Dublin, Ohio, USA; Patrick Cantlay hits his tee shot on the 18th hole during the conclusion of the rain-delayed first round of the Memorial Tournament golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

How are the Ryder Cup teams selected?

For team USA, six golfers automatically qualify based on their ranking and performance in the past few seasons. The rest are up to the team captain’s choice – in this case, Steve Stricker. As for Europe, a total of nine golfers qualify automatically and the remaining three are up to the captain’s discretion.

Team. Complete.

With his Captain’s Picks locked, @SteveStricker selects:

@DanielBerger59
@Harris_English
@tonyfinaugolf
@XSchauffele
Scottie Scheffler
@JordanSpieth pic.twitter.com/wFGR3bw8IH

— Ryder Cup USA (@RyderCupUSA) September 8, 2021

Six American golfers will be making their debut this season; amongst them are Collin Morikawa, Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele, Harris English, Daniel Berger, and Scottie Scheffler. While these are rookies, they are all experienced and high-ranked golfers, with Morikawa, Cantlay and Schauffele ranked in the top 10.

Stricker went on to choose the legendary Phil Mickelson and Fred Couples as the Vice Captains.

The full American line-up

This is the list of the complete US Team for the tournament which is to be played in less than 2 weeks:

Golfer
Position

Steve Stricker
Captain

Phil Mickelson
Vice captain

Fred Couples
Vice captain

Collin Morikawa
Automatic qualifier

Dustin Johnson
Automatic qualifier

Bryson DeChambeau
Automatic qualifier

Brooks Koepka
Automatic qualifier

Justin Thomas
Automatic qualifier

Patrick Cantlay
Automatic qualifier

Daniel Berger
Captain’s pick

Harris English
Captain’s pick

Tony Finau
Captain’s pick

Xander Schauffele
Captain’s pick

Scottie Scheffler
Captain’s pick

Jordan Spieth
Captain’s pick

Europe’s qualifying will end this week with the BMW PGA Championship, after which the European Captain Padraig Harrington will announce his picks. Until then, which member that got left out of the US team will you miss the most?

Read More- An Incredible Stat That Solidifies Phil Mickelson as an Eternal Ryder Cup Legend

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