2023 Ryder Cup: Strengths, flaws, picks for U.S. vs. Europe

GUIDONIA MONTECELIO, Italy -- There has been a transformation of the European Ryder Cup team, which might be a good thing after the United States handed Europe a 19-9 defeat at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin in 2021.

That was the worst defeat for Europe since players from outside Great Britain and Ireland were made eligible to compete in the Ryder Cup in 1979. The American team that walloped Europe on Lake Michigan's banks two years ago was the youngest the U.S. had ever fielded in the biennial international competition.

Of course, winning a Ryder Cup away from the United States has been an entirely different matter for the Americans. Europe hasn't lost a home match since a 15-13 defeat at…