Ryder Cup Radicals: Last Licks Before Italia

Local Knowledge

19-09-2023 • 52 mins

We've been talking about it so long that we almost can't believe it's happening: The Ryder Cup is imminent. Before we pack our bags and head to Rome, though, there are a couple last orders of business. All 12 Europeans teed it up at their flagship event, the BMW PGA Championship, and two Americans—most notably Justin Thomas—played at the Fortinet Championship on the PGA Tour. Together, the Radicals analyze how those tournaments went, and what it might say about the team and the captain's picks. Then we delve into the realm of pairings, particularly what we might glean from what we saw at Wentworth. One of the great critical questions for Luke Donald revolves around Rory McIlroy; who should he play with? Should it be a star, an up-and-comer like Ludvig Aberg, or someone we're not yet considering? Does pairing two prominent personalities present too tempting a target for the other team, a la Tiger and Phil in '04? And finally, considering the recent home blowouts, does home course edge need to be mitigated in some way? All this and more as the Radicals count you down to Marco Simone.