3 Takeaways with a Ryder Cup lens from the WGC Dell Match Play

The WGC Dell Match Play is fun for a lot of reasons. Having 64 of the best players in the world in the same place is never a bad thing, first and foremost. It also gives us a look into the world of match play, something we only get a couple times every season.

But most importantly, it gives us insight on how the team event at the end of each season might play out. This year’s Match Play painted a more complete picture on both sides of the Ryder Cup equation. The world was introduced to Victor Perez, the 28-year-old with one European Tour win that made his way to the semifinal and beat some big names along the way. Oh, and he’s fifth on the European Ryder Cup team points list.

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We were reminded just how good Kevin Kisner is and match play and how good Matt Kuchar is when there are 18, one hole competitions throughout the course of a match. The last time Kuchar finished inside the top 30 in an official PGA Tour event was THE NORTHERN TRUST in August of last year. He looked virtually unbeatable until Sunday morning posting a 5-0-0 record up until that point.

This week at Austin Country Club we learned some things that we’ll be talking about again when we get to Whistling Straits in September. Steve Stricker and the US Ryder Cup Team should’ve been paying attention as well. Let’s take a look at three takeaways from the WGC Matchplay with a Ryder Cup lens.

1. The common golf fan probably doesn’t know who Victor Perez is, but they will.

Perez entered the week 25th in the Race to Dubai standings. His lone European Tour win came at the 2019 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, but he has three top seven finishes on the ET since October of last year. His most recent result was a T-9 at The Players before finishing fourth at the Match Play.

More importantly for this conversation, he’s on pace to qualify for the European Ryder Cup team this fall and he’s exactly the type of player who has had success against the US team. He doesn’t make a lot of big mistakes. He’s top 30 in greens in regulation on the ET and an above average driver of the golf ball. In 2020, he was 16th on Tour in putts per GIR. In other words, he hits a lot of greens and he capitalizes more times than not when he does.

He wins a lot of holes and takes care of matches quickly. Billy Horschel had played 11 more holes of golf than Perez when they met in the semifinals. Apart from the first hole (a hole Perez struggled with multiple times), he made his opponents win holes with birdies or better rather than letting them get a leg up because he made a bogey.

Perez also has a longtime caddie on the bag. Remember the guy on Rory McIlroy’s bag when he was winning majors? JP Fitzgerald? Well, he’s found another home in Perez’s bag. NBC’s coverage mentioned JP’s impact on Perez’s belief that he’s actually good enough to win golf tournaments and not just make cuts. He’s turned in back-to-back top 10 finishes in some of the deepest fields golf has to offer. He’s only going to get better, so don’t be surprised if he’s another European that US Ryder Cup fans can’t stand come September because he keeps putting points in Europe’s column.

2. Let’s talk about what Steve Stricker should remember about this week when making captain’s picks.

Before we dive in, let me remind you how automatic qualifiers and captain’s picks will work for the US team this year. Normally, the top eight players on the points list qualify leaving four players to be picked by the captain. This year, it’s an even split, six qualifiers, six picks. As of right now, the top six players are as follows: Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Justin Thomas, Brooks Koepka, Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele. That doesn’t include Captain America, a.k.a Patrick Reed, or six other Americans currently in the top 20 of the Official World Golf Rankings.

Five of those six players (excluding Koepka) played in Austin this weekend. None of them advanced to the knockout round and none of them were especially inspiring, either. However, there were seven Americans who made it to the round of 16. The highest seed to make it out was runner-up Scottie Scheffler playing in the same city he played his college golf.

The players who did make the round of 16 were guys like Matt Kuchar, Jordan Spieth, Billy Horschel and Brian Harman. Those are guys who don’t make a lot of mistakes, make opponents make birdies to win holes and can seemingly every putt they need to. There’s nothing intimidating about Kuchar on the golf course, but in match play he hits fairways, greens and makes a lot of putts. That’s hard to beat.

In 2018, it was obvious why the American’s lost. On paper, it was one of the best groups of players ever assembled for a team event. Koepka, DJ, JT, Reed, Bubba Watson, Spieth, Rickie Fowler, Webb Simpson, DeChambeau, Tiger, Phil and Tony Finau. But Le Golf National required precision, not guys who overpower a golf course. They didn’t need guys who aren’t consistent off the tee like Phil and Tiger. They needed guys like Kuchar or Kevin Kisner or Billy Horschel and they’ll need them again this year.

The star power is always on the US’s side at this point, but the European team always makes more sense. This weekend, we were reminded why it’s so important to have guys like Kisner and Kuchar on a Ryder Cup team. Hopefully, Stricker was paying attention, too.

3. Europe is in a good spot.

What’s a little peculiar is why the US would pick a links style course when they get to host the Ryder Cup against a team that grew up on links style courses.

Just a thought, but maybe pick a course that gives your team the advantage. At least a more obvious one.

That aside there were five European players in the round of 16 who we will likely see in September and maybe even a sixth. Tommy Fleetwood, Ian Poulter, Jon Rahm, Sergio Garcia and Perez make up a very solid foundation for the European team. Matthew Fitzpatrick has played well recently and Lee Westwood is in the same boat.

dark. Next. Honda Classic: Winners and Losers from PGA National

Yes, Rory McIlroy will be on the team but the star power won’t go much further than that. Once again, the US team will have the big names and their average OWGR ranking will be much lower than that of Europe, but Europe once again proved that they have guys who always come to play when match play is on the menu and that didn’t change this week in Austin.

We’ve got a long time before 24 of the world’s best meet in Wisconsin, but don’t be surprised if some of this week’s events end up foreshadowing the 2021 Ryder Cup.

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