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Ryder Cup Week
Ryder Cup heads to Rome where Team Europe looks to take back the Cup, LPGA is back on after the Solheim Cup, the Japan Women's Open Championship takes place at Awara Golf Club
Jack Middlebrook
September 27, 2023
Top 100 preview
Rome takes center stage for the world of golf with the Ryder Cup as the main event. All 24 of the top 100 men’s players active will be competing.
On the women’s side, the LPGA event in Arkansas has 36 of the top 100 players the week after the Solheim Cup. Another 16 are in Korea, 14 are in Japan, and one is in France for the Ladies European Tour.
Purses
LPGA Arkansas Championship
Japan Women's Open Golf Championship
Taiwan Masters
Daebo hausD Open
Vantelin Tokai Classic
Ladies Open de France
Ryder Cup
The highly anticipated Ryder Cup in Rome gets underway on Friday.
Ciao from @marcosimonegolf 👋
#RyderCup
— Ryder Cup (@rydercup)
12:44 PM • Sep 25, 2023
The host course, Marco Simone, is a regular stop on the European Tour calendar and will be familiar to some of the players on Team Europe. Amongst the changes to the layout for this week’s event is the par 4 fifth hole, which is shortened to 302 yards and will be reachable with a long carry over water to find the green. From recent reports, the rough around the course has grown out thick, albeit more graduated and not as tight to the fairways as Le Golf National was set up for the last European Ryder Cup in 2018.
While the American team has the stronger roster on paper, the European side hasn’t lost in Europe since 1993 at the Belfry.
The U.S. is coming off a big win at Whistling Straits, with seven of the same team members making the trip to Rome. Justin Thomas has the best record with a 6-2-1 over his nine matches played in Ryder Cups. While his form in 2023 has been less than stellar, he played well in Napa and doesn’t lack confidence when heading to team events. Expect to see him with Jordan Spieth in the team pairings where they have had success before, and his play could be key to a U.S. victory.
Red, White & Blue (& Green 💚)
@RickieFowler | #RyderCup | #GoUSA
— Ryder Cup USA (@RyderCupUSA)
11:44 AM • Sep 27, 2023
For the U.S. team to end the streak of losses in Europe, the four rookies - Max Homa, Wyndham Clark, Brian Harman, and Sam Burns - will need to step up. While we have seen Max Homa shine in the Presidents Cup, it will be a new level of pressure in Rome.
The European team has looked better and better as the Ryder Cup approached. The European’s play at the BMW PGA Championship left no doubt that the players are in good form, including the three top dogs Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, and Viktor Hovland. Surprisingly, Hovland’s record over five matches is 0-3-2, but he is clearly a different player recently with the improvements to his short game. All three should be leading point scorers for Europe.
The biggest question mark for the Europeans will be the depth of the team. The top of the roster is solid, but the play of Nicolai Højgaard, Ludvig Åberg, Shane Lowry, and Justin Rose will be crucial. There is no hiding in singles on Sunday, and those four players could be the difference makers for a European win.
🇪🇺💪
#TeamEurope
— Ryder Cup Europe (@RyderCupEurope)
5:45 PM • Sep 26, 2023
European captain Luke Donald has opted to start Friday with foursomes, counter to the past European editions where the team sessions started with four-ball. In response to questions about the change, Donald cited the statistical deep dive done by his team and the slightly stronger teams in foursomes compared to four-ball. It will be interesting to see if the decision will help Team Europe to an early lead in Rome.
Pairings will be announced during the opening ceremony on Thursday.
LPGA - NW Arkansas Championship
LPGA is back after the Solheim Cup wrapped up in Spain last Sunday. The remaining LPGA schedule for the year includes seven more events before the Tour Championship finale in November. This week, they are at Pinnacle Country Club in Arkansas. Hyo-Joo Kim is the only top 10 player in the world teeing it up this week, with many top players opting to skip the event.
The defending champion, Atthaya Thitikul, is coming off a three-week rest after the Portland Classic. While she has yet to capture a win this year, Thitikul has been knocking on the door with 10 top 10 finishes already.
Japan LPGA - Japan Women's Open Golf Championship
One of the biggest Japanese golf tournaments of the year takes place this week at Awara Golf Club. The two-time defending champion Minami Katsu will not be in the field to attempt a three-peat as she is competing in the LPGA event this week.