Expert Picks: The Open Championship

SHEBOYGAN, Wis. — The Americans won back the Ryder Cup and perhaps a whole lot more Sunday, sending a strong message to Europe with a powerful performance from their youngest team in history. RELATED: Full recap from Day 3 | Rory McIlroy tearful after Sunday singles win Scottie Scheffler, one of six Ryder Cup newcomers for the Americans, took down the No. 1 player in the world with a 4-and-3 victory over Jon Rahm as the scoreboards around Whistling Straits quickly filled with American red. The final blow came from Collin Morikawa, at 24 the youngest player on the team and already a two-time major champion. He holed a 3-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole that assured the Americans at least the 14 1/2 points they needed. Then it was a matter of the final margin. “I woke up this morning and I was trying to tell the guys, ‘Let’s get to 20 points,’ because this is going to be the next era of Ryder Cup team for the U.S. side,” Patrick Cantlay said, finishing an unbeaten week with a win over Shane Lowry. “We’ve got a lot of young guys. I think they’re going to be on teams for a long time, and I wanted to send a message.” Tony Finau had said on the eve of these matches that this was “the big one” because Europe had won nine of the last 12, and the Americans had so many fresh faces without any lasting scars from watching Europe celebrate so much over the years. The big one became one big rout. The Americans were young, yes, and very good, with four of the top five in the world ranking. The difference is they finally played like it.

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JERSEY CITY, N.J. – FedExCup champion Justin Rose has started his quest to be the first back-to-back champion in style. In the much trickier afternoon conditions at Liberty National Rose fired a 6-under 65, the best of the afternoon wave, to be three shots back and into a tie for fifth at THE NORTHERN TRUST. No one has ever won the FedExCup in consecutive seasons. Tiger Woods is the only two-time winner (2007, 2009). In fact the defending champion has only qualified for the TOUR Championship three out of 11 occasions. Only Brandt Snedeker, Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas have returned to East Lake the year after winning it all. “Everything,â€� Rose said when asked what defending meant to him. “No one’s done it yet. Justin Thomas came the closest I think, right? There was a bit of a FedExCup curse, wasn’t there, for a while; guys who won it had a terrible next season. “I feel like I’ve given myself a good opportunity to have a run at it. I’ve made the most of this year, even though I haven’t had my best. I feel like I have a great shot.â€� RELATED: Big stars shine in opening round | Tiger starts slow with 75 | FedExCup Playoffs new format detailed Starting the FedExCup Playoffs 11th on the points list Rose is looking to climb his way into a better position before the TOUR Championship so he can create his history. In a change from the past the FedExCup leader heading to the TOUR Championship will start at 10 under at East Lake. Second place will be at 8 under, third 7 under, fourth 6 under with fifth at 5 under. Players ranked 6-10 will start at 4 under, 11-15 at 3 under, 16-20 at 2 under, 21-25 at 1 under and 26-30 at even par. As the leaderboard stands at Liberty National right now Rose projects to ninth. But he has designs on being higher. “If you could be within four shots, I’d say. One a day, you can chisel away at that lead,â€� Rose said of what he’s looking to achieve. “Brooks and Rory, these guys, you don’t want to spot them too many. If they go ahead and play well, you don’t want to give them an insurmountable lead. But listen, if I win one or two of these next few events, then I’m going to be that guy, 10-under, so it offers everybody that opportunity.â€�

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