8 Positives Team USA Can Take Out Of The 2023 Ryder Cup

Europe won the 2023 Ryder Cup by 16.5 points to 11.5, an inevitable ending after dominating the opening session 4-0 and then stretching their lead over the next two.

Zach Johnson's Team USA took on a spirited European side in front of raucous crowds, extending their losing run away from home to over 30 years.

On paper, it was a bad week for the Americans after their record win last time out at Whistling Straits but there were still some positives to emerge from the week...

1. Max Homa

Homa was the tied-second-highest points scorer of all 24 players this Ryder Cup on 3.5 points, level with Viktor Hovland and Tyrrell Hatton, only behind Rory McIlroy. He was the only US player to win more than two points so was a full 1.5 ahead of the next best - Cantlay and Harman.

The World No.7 won two matches with Brian Harman on Saturday after their opening morning foursomes loss before taking down Matt Fitzpatrick in the singles.

Homa will almost certainly be an integral part of Team USA next time out at Bethpage.

2. Their team room

Despite the reports of a fractured team room, on the outside at least it seems like it was in fact a united front.

"This is one of the most united teams I have ever been associated with," Zach Johnson said.

"We truly all got along, we clicked," Justin Thomas said. "We had a lot of fun hanging out with each other. Me, who had not played in the Playoffs, I had not seen these guys in about a month and a half, so I was pretty excited to see them and hang out with them."

The US did seem to be a close-knit team and will have bonded even closer after a superb final two sessions.

3. The last two sessions

USA trailed 9.5-2.5 after three sessions but won the final two sessions 9-7.

After going down 4-0 in the morning foursomes and then falling seven behind little over 24 hours later, Zach Johnson's men won on an aggregate score over the last two sessions. That's no mean feat against an inspired European side playing on home soil with a partisan crowd.

It threatened to be a demolition job early on Saturday afternoon but they put up a heck of a fight and never gave in. 

4. Brooks Koepka

Much was made of the PGA Tour/LIV divide heading into this Ryder Cup, and Koepka was the only player from the 54-hole breakaway series teeing it up at Marco Simone this week.

Koepka is clearly very popular with his peers and won a solid 1.5 points for USA this week. Perhaps there were a few LIV chats in the evenings and how the players from each organization can help make it a smooth transition if or when it comes time for the game to unite again. He even got some members of the side to wear Smash GC shirts! 

"I said it before the event, I thought this was the closest team that I think I've been on," Koepka said. "We've got a great group of guys. This week, they just holed a lot more putts, a few more chip-ins. This team, we fought hard, and wouldn't want to do it with another group of guys."

5. Winning in Europe is hard

Much was spoken about Europe's home record of consecutive wins since 1993, and pretty much as soon as play started on Friday morning we were reminded of just how tough it is to get a win on the road in the Ryder Cup.

Rory McIlroy thinks winning a Ryder Cup on away soil is "one of the biggest accomplishments" in golf and he's probably right when you look at the stats.

A positive to take out of Rome? In two years they'll be playing at home in front of what will surely be electric crowds at Bethpage Black.

Europe looked blown away in Whistling Straits last time out but it goes to show how quickly Ryder Cups can turn around, and the power of home advantage.

6. Learnings

There may well be some learnings behind-the-scenes that the captain and his vices will be discussing, but one obvious one that is in the public debate is the side's preparation.

Much was made of the fact nine of USA's 12 players didn't play competitive golf for four weeks before Marco Simone, all the while all of Team Europe played in the BMW PGA Championship just two weeks ago. Other Europeans played other events in that four week spell, too.

Jordan Spieth questioned if they should have just one or two weeks off next time, and that's a good learning for Team USA. Before Bethpage in 2025, don't be surprised to see the team getting more reps closer to the event in order to come in game ready.

7. Strength in depth

USA is the best nation in the world when it comes to men's golf, with the States home to dozens of world class players capable of winning big PGA Tour events and even Majors.

Even this year, the likes of Lucas Glover, Keegan Bradley, Cameron Young and Tony Finau didn't make the side. Next time around it's basically a 100% guarantee that USA will feature a stacked line up.

Did I forget anyone? Move onto point 8.

8. The return of the LIV players?

With the potential of unity in the game, the 2025 Ryder Cup teams *should* feature the 12 best players from each continent/country without politics getting in the way.

Europe would have had Sergio Garcia on their side without the introduction of LIV Golf, while the US probably would have had both Bryson DeChambeau and Dustin Johnson.

The two could well return to Team USA next time around, which would surely be a positive considering they contributed 7.5 points in the record win at Whistling Straits just two years ago. They're both bombers, too, which is a trait required to score well at Bethpage.

A number of other LIVers could well make the team if/when golf starts to be unified again. Talor Gooch could well go on to be a great player in two years time the way he's going, for example.

So while Europe got the W this time, Team USA will have home advantage next time around and a chance to win back the famous gold trophy.