Being named to a Ryder Cup team for the first time can be the honor of a lifetime. And sometimes, rookies can be the difference between a win or a loss in golf’s most prestigious team event.
“They bring in an excitement level that is unmatched,” 2021 U.S. Captain Steve Stricker said at Whistling Straits, “and they are eager, they are willing to learn. (Rookies) just come here with eyes wide open and a ‘Put me in, Coach,’ kind of attitude. So it’s refreshing. It’s great to see.”
This year in Rome, there will be four debutantes on the U.S. Team —Wyndham Clark, Brian Harman, Max Homa and Sam Burns, while four rookies — Ludvig Åberg, Robert MacIntyre, Sepp Straka and Nicolai Højgaard — will tee it up for the Europeans.
Though rookies have provided a bevy of storylines throughout Ryder Cup history, they have played pivotal roles for the U.S. within the last 15 years, boasting a 54-33-20 since 2008. Let’s take a look back at how the rookies fared in each cup.
Valhalla Golf Club, 2008
Captain Paul Azinger’s pod system proved to be brilliant, helping the U.S. win its first Ryder Cup since 1999 by a score of 16½ -11½, the largest margin of victory for the U.S. since 1981.
The team showcased six rookies — Anthony Kim, Hunter Mahan, Boo Weekley, J.B. Holmes, Ben Curtis and Steve Stricker — who rose to the occasion. They combined for 13 of the Americans’ 16 ½ points and collected 5.5 of the 7.5 won by the U.S. during Sunday’s singles matches.
Kim, the team’s youngest player at 23 years old, had arguably had the signature moment of the U.S. Team’s triumph, besting Sergio Garcia, one of Europe's most feared players, 5 and 4 during their singles match.
“Anthony Kim took Tiger Woods’ confidence slot for us,” Stewart Cink said as it was the first Ryder Cup Woods didn’t play since 1997 due to a broken leg and torn ACL.
The rookies may have flashed their dominance during the matches, but their chemistry in the team room was also vital to the team.
“It was their energy that changed the team,” Jim Furyk said afterward. “It was a big bonus to have six guys who didn’t know anything about losing in the Ryder Cup. For some veteran players, the more time you have to think about the results of the previous Ryder Cups, the more it weighs on you.
“But the new guys weren’t coming from there. They made us all loose.”
Celtic Manor, 2010
It was the maiden cup for many future U.S. Ryder Cup stalwarts — Dustin Johnson, Bubba Watson, Matt Kuchar, Jeff Overton and Rickie Fowler.
The rookies, though, failed to replicate the same success from 2008, notching a combined seven points (Overton and Kuchar had to most of the bunch with two apiece) in the U.S. Team’s 14.5-13.5 loss.
Fowler, however, still managed to steal the show on the last day.
The 21-year-old was the first PGA Tour rookie to ever make a Ryder Cup team when U.S. Captain Corey Pavin selected him with the final Captain’s pick, hoping he’d bring a youthful exuberance to the squad.
Fowler got off to a bumpy start when he played the wrong ball on the fourth hole of the second foursomes session. But on Sunday, he won his last three holes to halve his singles match with Edoardo Molinari. The U.S. still fell short of the win, but Fowler’s comeback lightened the mood after the defeat.
“Rickie played well this week,” Pavin said. “As a Captain's pick, I thought he would. That's why I picked him. He's a great kid. He's going to be out here a long time. He's going to play in a lot of Ryder Cups in the future.”
Medinah Country Club, 2012
Known as the Miracle at Medinah, It was one of the most disappointing defeats in American Ryder Cup history.
The U.S. needed only four-and-a-half points during Sunday singles to clinch the victory, but the Europeans captured eight and a half en route to a historic 14½-13½ win.
The four American rookies, however, played relatively well.
Keegan Bradley, who went undefeated playing with Phil Mickelson, and Jason Dufner recorded three points, tied for the most on the team, while Webb Simpson had two and Brandt Snedeker had one. Dufner was one of three Americans to win their singles match.
Gleneagles, 2014
It was a forgettable Ryder Cup for the U.S., falling 16½-11½.
But rookies Jordan Spieth, Patrick Reed and Jimmy Walker made their mark.
U.S. Captain Tom Watson paired Spieth and Reed, who would become future staples of the U.S. teams, in Friday fourballs, and their combined age of 45 was the youngest since Tiger Woods and Justin Leonard in 1997 (combined age of 46). They defeated Ian Poulter and James Gallacher, 5 and 4; however, Watson decided to sit them during foursomes.
On Saturday, Reed and Spieth won in fourballs and halved in foursomes. Spieth lost his singles match to Graeme McDowell and finished with a 2-1-1 record (2.5 points), while Reed boasted a 3-0-1 record and led the U.S. with 3.5 points. Walker, meanwhile, went 1-1-3 for 2.5 points after beating Lee Westwood in singles.
“The youthful energy that Jordan Spieth brought this week, that Patrick Reed brought, they are the ones that kept us in it,” Phil Mickelson said following the loss.
Hazeltine National Golf Club, 2016
The U.S. Team had only two first-timers, Ryan Moore and Brooks Koepka, the fewest since 1999.
And they played a pivotal part in preventing the Europeans from notching a four-peat.
Koepka, a year before he won his maiden major, suffered an ankle injury during the 2016 season, but captured his spot on the team with a fourth-place showing at the PGA Championship. Though he would miss the Tour Championship, Koepka dazzled at Hazeltine, going 3-1-0 with three points, which was second on the team.
“To come in here as a rookie, to go in the team room, it's been unreal,” Koepka said afterward. “I didn't know what to expect, but it really has been unbelievable.”
Moore, meanwhile, was the final captain’s pick by Davis Love III after pushing Rory McIlroy to four playoff holes at the Tour Championship before eventually falling short of the victory. Eight days later, Moore clinched the win for the U.S. by topping Westwood in singles, despite being two down through 15 holes.
“I can't believe a week ago that I didn't even know I was going to be here, really,” said the 33-year-old, who finished with a 2-1-0 record. “And to come here and just be a part of it, get a couple points for the team … I wouldn't want to do it with any other guys than there's sitting around me right now. It's been an absolute blast.”
Le Golf National, 2018
The U.S. Team’s winless drought on foreign soil extended to 25 years, but the Americans did find a diamond in the rough.
Justin Thomas.
In a 17 ½-10½ loss, the 2017 PGA Championship winner led the team with four points, partnering with Spieth and then edging McIlroy in singles.
Tony Finau and Bryson DeChambeau were Thomas’ fellow rookies. Finau played well, garnering two points, but DeChambeau struggled with a 0-3-0 record.
Whistling Straits, 2021
COVID-19 caused the U.S. Team to wait an extra year for revenge. But when the time came, six rookies — the most since 2008 — helped the U.S. to a historic 19-9 trouncing.
Those six were Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa, Harris English, Daniel Berger and Scottie Scheffler — and they collectively went 14-4-3.
Plus, Cantlay and Schauffele took momentum for their 2019 Presidents Cup success and again proved to be a lethal tandem, going 2-0 in foursomes and showing the potential to be the next great partnership in Ryder Cup history.
“(Cantlay and Schauffele) just enjoy being around each other, and that’s half the battle when you try to pair guys up, Stricker said. “Each of their games complements the other one. That’s another thing when you put guys together, especially in foursomes, that you want their games to complement each other. Theirs do.”
Then, half of the U.S. Team’s rookies won their singles matches on Sunday, while Morikawa halved with Viktor Hovland.
The future looked as bright as ever for the Americans.
“This is going to be the next era of Ryder Cup teams for the U.S. side,” Cantlay said after the win. “We have a lot of young guys and I think they are going to be on teams for a long time … Everyone has that killer instinct and we are going to bring that to future Cups.”
Now, four of those six rookies will again be teeing it up for the U.S. in Rome, looking to back up their momentous victory by ending the Americans’ 30-year winless drought on foreign soil.
And the 2023 squad’s four first-timers will be needed to achieve that feat.
