Bob Harig: FACT. <\/strong>The only other players truly in the conversation were Mav McNealy, Brian Harman and Chris Gotterup. Certainly there were arguments for all of them, but not above those players who were chosen and certainly not in any significant way.<\/p>\nJeff Ritter: FACT. <\/strong>Not sure you can really make a case for Maverick McNealy or Brian Harman over the other guys on the team. I think Chris Gotterup could\u2019ve been a sneaky-good selection over Morikawa, but I don\u2019t think it rises to the level of a \u201csnub.\u201d<\/p>\nJohn Pluym:<\/strong> FICTION. <\/strong>Gotterup should have made the team. He\u2019s played superb golf down the stretch, way better than Morikawa. And I\u2019ll throw one more name out there: Patrick Reed. Yes, I know not a lot of golf fans like him, but he\u2019s been money in the Ryder Cup (7\u20133\u20132 in team, 3\u20130\u20130 singles). I would have loved to have seen another Reed\u2013McIlroy showdown.\u00a0<\/p>\nMax Schreiber: FICTION. <\/strong>To be honest, Morikawa did not deserve to be on the team, based on the final few months of his season. Maverick McNealy, Chris Gotterup and Akshay Bhatia had more upside, but were also more of a risk. Morikawa has established himself as a Ryder Cup mainstay, and that will likely be the case moving forward, too.\u00a0<\/p>\nJohn Schwarb: FACT<\/strong>. There\u2019s a very mild case to be made for Maverick McNealy, simply because he was 10th in points, but he was also a rookie and Bradley said Wednesday that rookies have to expect to make their first team on points. There\u2019s no Monday-morning quarterbacking to be made around these picks, though check back with us on Monday, Sept. 29.<\/p>\nBob Harig: FICTION. <\/strong>The always crazy thing about the picks: they often the players who will be in the lineup the least. Certainly Justin Thomas and Collin Morikawa might play often. But the breakout player you are looking for here is Russell Henley, who is quite likely to be Scottie Scheffler\u2019s partner. He\u2019s never played in a Ryder Cup. That\u2019s the guy who has a chance to be a star.<\/p>\nJeff Ritter: FICTION. <\/strong>I like that Young made the team, but if I had to guess, I might tap Griffin as a surprise breakout star. Remember, he won the team event in New Orleans this year, which includes foursomes and fourball, and he\u2019s been steady all summer.<\/p>\nJohn Pluym:<\/strong> FICTION. <\/strong>I\u2019m going to go with Griffin. He was consistent throughout the season. And his +0.905 strokes-gained total speaks volumes. It always comes down to putting at the Ryder Cup.<\/p>\nMax Schreiber: FICTION. <\/strong>Not to dodge the question, but for someone who has never played in a Ryder Cup, it\u2019s hard to know how they\u2019ll fare. Luckily for Young, he\u2019s near home, and the New York fans will be behind their own all week. Also, a 2\u20131\u20130 record in his first Presidents Cup is promising, but that\u2019s a different animal from a Ryder Cup.\u00a0<\/p>\nJohn Schwarb: FACT<\/strong>. Sure sets up for Young to take his star turn, from this setting to the fact that he seems poised for a giant leap now that he finally has a Tour win under his belt. Why not become a legend with the fans in a U.S. win?<\/p>\nBob Harig: FICTION. <\/strong>They are actually 1\u20133 in their last four matches together, all foursomes, with a 1\u20131 record last year at the Presidents Cup and 0\u20132 at the 2023 Ryder Cup. Their familiarity suggests they will be together\u2014and should be\u2014but there\u2019s hardly any guarantees there, especially given that neither player has been as good this year as the last two.<\/p>\nJeff Ritter: FACT. <\/strong>It\u2019s the most accomplished team entering this year\u2019s event, and I\u2019d expect to see them together sometime on Ryder Cup Friday. But to win, the U.S. will need to create more pairings that are just as formidable.<\/p>\nJohn Pluym:<\/strong> FACT. <\/strong>It\u2019s hard to argue with results (I would love to argue about Cantlay\u2019s slow play and Hatgate at the last Ryder Cup), and Cantlay\u2019s 16\u20135\u20131 record in Ryder and Presidents Cups is off the charts. Team USA is going to need him to be on top of his game after Xander Schauffele struggled this season.\u00a0<\/p>\nMax Schreiber: FICTION: <\/strong>I echo Bob\u2019s sentiment, especially with their overall lackluster play this season. I think Scheffler and Henley (unless Scheffler plays with his best friend Burns) has the potential to be a lethal tandem with Scottie\u2019s ball striking and Henley\u2019s putting.\u00a0<\/p>\nJohn Schwarb: FACT<\/strong>. Cantlay, for all the hatgate distractions of Rome and a frequent target for slow play and dull demeanor, is a bulldozer in team play with a 16\u20135\u20131 all-time record in Ryder and Presidents Cups plus a perfect 5\u20130\u20130 mark in singles. Schauffele hasn\u2019t been at his best but expect him to come to life here. Capt. Bradley will lean heavily on this pair.<\/p>\n