It is Wednesday of Ryder Cup week and somehow the golf is still so far away. Such is life with these big events.
While two sleeps separate us until then soon enough balls will be in the air. Foursomes will get going and we will be off and running towards determining whether an away team can win one of these things for the first time in forever.
In no way am I trying to fast forward through the foursomes and four-ball action, but when it comes to the Ryder Cup or match play in general we are always interested in who is going to square off against who. So much has to and ultimately will happen between now and Sunday when lineups trot out for the decisive day at Bethpage Black, but while we sit and wait we can dream about battles that would be amazing to watch.
There are two that come to mind.
Bryson DeChambeau vs. Rory McIlroy
This is an easy number one for me.
Many people want to see Scottie Scheffler be the one to take on Rory McIlroy, and while that would be a matchup of the two best golfers in the world it would lack the theater that makes the Ryder Cup the event that it is. DeChambeau and McIlroy are arguably the two most passionate members of their respective teams and seeing them duke it out would be phenomenal.
Consider that this would also be a repeat pairing of the final one from the Masters this year. It would serve as a great way to tie a bow on the season that was in the game of golf.
Beyond that… Rory has been pretty vocal about his distaste for YouTube Golf, whatever you want to call that space (I say this with great respect for it as a fan of many creators in the area), where Bryson has embraced the arena and become a top player within it. Not to be dramatic, but the winner of this hypothetical match would shape a lot of opinions about what is and is not right in the minds of many when it comes to approach to off-course things in the game of golf. The Ryder Cup produces those exact kind of hard and intense takeaways.
Scottie Scheffler vs. John Rahm
People forget because so much has happened since, but Scottie Scheffler and Jon Rahm faced off in Sunday singles the last time that the Ryder Cup was held in the United States at Whistling Straits in 2021. Scheffler was a captain’s pick on that team and pretty unknown, relatively speaking, with regards to his golf game. When the calendar turned to 2022 he would begin his run that he is still on, but the headliner of the match was clearly Rahm who was the reigning U.S. Open Champion when the Cup began play.
Scottie shocked the world and not only defeated Rahm but did so soundly (4-and-3). It was a bit of a footnote in a dominating performance by the American side and even as impressed with Scottie’s game as the golf world was, nobody had any idea what was on its way.
It would be quite the treat to get this matchup once more. Scheffler has dealt with just about every other would-be challenge to his throne since initially taking it on a consistent basis, but with Rahm having left for LIV Golf a few years ago the battles against him have been non-existent.
Justin Thomas vs. Justin Rose
Bryson DeChambeau and Rory McIlroy may be the most passionate members of each team in this event, but Justin Thomas and Justin Rose may be the most catalytic with regards to their squads.
JT has specialized in creating energy during the team events he has played in over the course of his career, a role that Rose has played for the Europeans over the course of his time. Watching them duel would feature plenty of acknowledgments to the crowd and would be a showman squaring off against a showman. That is what the Ryder Cup is all about.
This would also serve as a great representation of the longevity of golf. Rose has been dancing through Ryder Cup lore forever at this point and while Thomas is hardly a rookie or young player, he clearly has more cups ahead of him to serve as a maestro in that sense.
