With the decade coming to an end, here at ProGolfNow, we wanted to take a look back at who would make the European Ryder Cup Team of the Decade.
There have been five Ryder Cup events contested in the 2010s, as the European team has won four of the five, their only defeat coming at Hazeltine in 2016.
They tasted success at Celtic Manor in 2010, in the first-ever Ryder Cup to finish on a Monday. Europe then went on to then claim the title with the ‘Miracle of Medinah’, before retaining the trophy at Gleneagles in 2014. Europe hold the Ryder Cup now, courtesy of their comfortable victory at Le Golf National in Paris last September.
In total, 33 Europeans have played in the Ryder Cup this decade, but only a third of those have featured in multiple editions, with Rory McIlroy being the only player to have played in all five Ryder Cups in the 2010s.
Compare that to the 25 Americans that have played in the event in the last ten years, with over two-thirds of those having played multiple times. Like Europe, only one man has played at all five, with Phil Mickelson joining Rory McIlroy in achieving that feat.
As is the tradition with the Ryder Cup selection, our Team of the Decades have been made up of the top eight players in points ratio won, plus a further four picked by us, those who deserve to get in.
Of the eight to automatically make it into ProGolfNow’s European Ryder Cup Team of the Decade, six of those have only featured in a single Ryder Cup, with the other two golfers having played in seven editions between them in the same period of time.
Across both teams, all 24 players won at least half of their points, but some big names missed out on both sides. For the European’s, the likes of major winners Padraig Harrington (50% points won) and Martin Kaymer (46%) failed to make the cut, while former World No.1’s Luke Donald (63%) and Lee Westwood (43%) did not earn a “captain’s pick”.
Although Luke Donald won 63% of his points during his two appearances in the Ryder Cup this decade, more than the four picks, we feel that the four that have been chosen did more for the team over a longer period of time.
Meanwhile, four men were unable to score a point for the European time, with Matthew Fitzpatrick, Stephen Gallacher, Andy Sullivan, and Danny Willett all failing to make an impression on the scoreboards in their respective attempts at the Ryder Cup.
So here it is… the European Ryder Cup Team of the Decade. We know you won’t agree with all of them, but here is our best 12 anyway!