Rating every Team USA and Team Europe Ryder Cup star out of 10

Team Europe look to have a slight edge on home, Roman soil.

At Marco Simone Golf Club, Team Europe and Team USA will thrown down, over three days, in the 44th Ryder Cup. The Americans are reigning champions after walloping Team Europe 19-9 in the last outing, at Whistling Straits, Wisconsin. We tasked golf writer Paddy Morgan with giving out ratings - based on 2023 Ryder Cup potential and threat - for both sides. These player thumbnails and ratings make for quite a read:

TEAM EUROPE - 79 (out of 120)

[caption id="attachment_293376" align="aligncenter" width="845"] Rory McIlroy is lifted up by Shane Lowry as the Team Europe assemble for their team photo during the team portraits at the 2023 Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf Club. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)[/caption] Rory McIlroy - 9 McIlroy has played in six Ryder Cup’s were he has won 16 points from 24 matches. In 2021 McIlroy was in tears as he only won one match at Whistling Straits and will be targeting to win more games at Marco Simone. Rating 10. Jon Rahm - 9 Rahm has played in two Ryder Cup’s and has won four games. Rahm won the Masters in 2023 and is coming into the Ryder Cup in good form after finishing fourth at the BMW PGA Championship. Tommy Fleetwood - 7 Fleetwood’s best memories of the Ryder Cup was when he partnered Francesco Molinari at Paris National in 2018 and won four games. Fleetwood will play in his third Ryder Cup at Marco Simone after been picked as a wildcard. Shane Lowry - 8 Lowry was one of the player’s that performed well in the big defeat at Whistling Straits as he won one match. Lowry will make his second Ryder Cup appearance at Marco Simone and the Offaly man is looking to become the sixth Irish golfer to hole a winning putt. Tyrrell Hatton - 7 Hatton will play his third Ryder Cup at Marco Simone and is looking to make it two wins in a row on European soil. Donald will be looking for Hatton to step up and it would be fantastic if the Englishman could repeat his form that seen him finish second at both the Players Championship and BMW PGA Championship. Matt Fitzpatrick - 6 Fitzpatrick has played in two Ryder Cup’s and hasn’t been successful in been a part of a winning European team. Even though Fitzpatrick has played in two Ryder Cup’s he still hasn’t managed to win a game. Viktor Hovland - 9 Hovland played in his first Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits in 2021 but didn’t manage to win a game. The Norwegian will play his second Ryder Cup at Marco Simone and is currently one of the best players on form after winning the 2022/2023 FedEx Cup. Justin Rose - 5 Donald went with experience by picking Rose as he will play in his sixth Ryder Cup. Rose has won 13 games from 23 games in his five Ryder Cup appearances. Sepp Straka - 6 Straka will become the second Austrian golfer to play in a Ryder Cup after Bernd Wiesberger at Whistling Straits in 2021. Straka was picked as a wildcard due to his great form of winning on the PGA Tour this year and finishing in a tie for second at The Open. Robert MacIntyre - 5 MacIntyre was amazing in the Genesis Scottish Open especially in finishing second to McIlroy. MacIntyre is the first golfer from Scotland to play in a Ryder Cup since Stephen Gallacher in 2014. Ludvig Aberg - 4 Aberg only turned professional earlier this year. Donald picked Aberg as a wildcard after winning the Omega European Masters in Switzerland. Rating 4. Nicolai Hojgaard - 4 Hojgaard won the Italian Open in 2021 which was also played at Marco Simone. Hojgaard is ranked 18 th in the Race to Dubai rankings and his good form was rewarded with a wildcard pick from Donald.

TEAM USA - 76 (out of 120)

[caption id="attachment_293377" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Zach Zohnson The United States Team captain holds the Ryder Cup alongside (L-R) Max Homa, Sam Burns and Scottie Scheffler and USA caddies in front during the United States Team Portraits at the 2023 Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf Club. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)[/caption] Scottie Scheffler - 9 Scheffler played his first Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits were he was victorious as USA beat Europe 19-9. Scheffler won two of his games in 2021 and goes into his second Ryder Cup as world number one. Xander Schauffele - 8 Schauffele played in his first Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits were he won three matches. Schauffele was formidable with Patrick Cantlay as a partnership and this will be a strong pairing for Zach Johnson in Rome. Patrick Cantlay - 7 Cantlay also played in his first Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits and will play in his second at Marco Simone. Cantlay won 3.5 points in 2021 and qualified automatically for Rome due to consistent form all year. Brooks Koepka - 9 This pick was controversial as Koepka is a member of LIV Tour but won the 2023 PGA Championship. Koepka has played in the last three Ryder Cup’s were he has won six matches and never lost a singles match. Jordan Spieth - 7 Johnson picked Spieth for experience as this will be his fifth Ryder Cup. Spieth has played 18 games and has won eight games at the Ryder Cup. Justin Thomas - 5 It was a surprise that Johnson picked Thomas due to his poor form this year and not qualifying for the FedEx Cup play-offs. Thomas will play his third Ryder Cup in Rome and will be looking to repeat his form from 2018 were he won four matches. Rickie Fowler - 5 It was great to see Fowler return back inside the top 50 in the world and this good form rewarded him with a wildcard pick from Johnson. Fowler has played 15 matches but has only won three games at the Ryder Cup. Collin Morikawa - 7 Morikawa is a two-time major winner and is arguably one of the best iron players on the tour. Morikawa won 3.5 points at his first Ryder Cup which included winning a half point in the singles. Sam Burns - 4 Burns won the 2023 WGC Dell Technologies Match Play earlier this year. Burns made it to East Lake and his good form rewarded him playing his first Ryder Cup in Rome. Brian Harman- 5 Harman qualified automatically for Rome after an incredible display to win The Open at Royal Liverpool. Harman will become the third left handed golfer to play in the Ryder Cup for USA. Max Homa - 6 Homa was very impressive as he won four matches at the 2022 Presidents Cup in Quail Hollow. Homa qualified automatically for the Ryder Cup due to been number seven in the world rankings. Wyndham Clark - 4 It has been a memorable 2023 for Clark as he won his first PGA Tour event then won the US Open at Los Angeles Country Club. Clark will play in his first Ryder Cup after qualifying automatically and is in great form as he finished third at East Lake.

---

There you have it - Paddy Morgan is backing Team Europe to edge this one. Related articles:

• You'll have to be a complete Ryder Cup die-hard to get full marks in our quiz
• Shane Lowry "incredibly proud" as he's named as Ireland's second Ryder Cup player
• Full Swing: Best quotes, weirdest moments and wildest finishes from new Netflix documentary
• "I’m living in reality, I don’t know where he’s living" - Rory McIlroy on Patrick Reed feud
• Shane Lowry interrupts Kiwi journalist after himself and McIlroy asked about Ireland's chances at Rugby World Cup

---