This Ryder Rookie has a game that's trending upwards, but a mental state that is uneasy. Playing Buffalo Point four times in two days is just not enough for him, sacrificing all to go play a practice round on Ryder Eve. Maybe I. McDonald is causing these goosebumps, as both are playing frequently and well enough pushing each other to the edge of blueness. But as with the tail of the Buffalo, these cliffs can prove deadly. We all know he wants to be the number one pick in this year's draft, but he will need to tread safely into the unknown waters (and water hazards) that the MB Ryder brings. He will need his new conquering weapon, his SIM 2 Driver, to prove his rookie relevance in 2021.

Two time club champion: that's a title enough to rattle any opponent. Unfortunately it has nothing to do with golf, and everything to do with looks. The hottest man at Rossmere as voted by the cart girls. The question is, he may get the ladies, but will he get the birdies? Look out fellas, this Rossmere member has all sorts of game.

His hands around the course this past weekend in his Black vs Green tee match vs I. McDonald were suspect at best. A perennial match non-winner (the writer is too nice to call somebody a loser) with a handicap trending in the wrong direction, he could still not negotiate his way from a gold ranking to a blue ranking and is starting the event in a bad headspace; however, captains should place some value of his ability to potentially grind somebody down over the six hours of his match.

Even during Covid, this player has truly embraced the “club life”. His golf schedule at Southwood makes him busier than a school teacher during report card season. This newly minted champion of the prestigious OB Smith Trophy is a force to be reckoned with. Although this is his first year in the Gold group, his Southwood gear and steady play are surely to give him confidence on the tight fairways of Lake of the Sandhills. While Horn should be a top pick, one questions whether this year’s organizing duties will put extra pressure on this player's Hole-In-One or nothing attitude.

KVW was meant to be 2021 Tamarack Champion. However, word on the street was a small group of people and a lot of money pushed him to the bottom of the waitlist leaving him with not even a hair of chance of getting in - which I guess is kind of ironic if you've ever seen him with his hat off. As he is part of the smaller Westman contingent of the tournament, KVWs golf game is like his girlfriend - we are told he has one, but nobody can really be too sure.

Referred to as the GOAT... by himself only, Benning has been very busy lately with the birth of a new baby boy... busy golfing all of the time. Fed up with greens that looked like they were used to feed actual goats, Benning rescinded his memby at Wildewood to become a guest member at Southwood. He proclaims he's the greatest, and that this year he will be "vintage" Benning. However, we have been hearing this for years.

Pre-Ryder Confidence Ranking: 4.0 3.0 2.5 stars.

Long bombs and chunked chips, it’s aaaallll in the hips. A disciple of the Pelz Bible himself, J Ray finds himself flying high into the Ryder Cup with a brand-new set of Mavrik “Pro” irons (or a demo set, because the guy he is relying on is the ASSISTANT to the course pro) and a so-called “calibrated” short game. Will he continue to fly high directly into a 5^th Ryder Cup Championship? Or will he fly too close to the sun on wings of pastrami and learn the harsh lessons of “Icarito”?

Pre-Ryder Confidence Ranking: 3.5 stars.

McDonald has taken his talent to Glendale over the spring, when he should have been practicing in the Spirit Sands of Spruce Woods. He finds himself in the bunker more times than Donald Trump shits his pants. Getting out of the sand may be a problem for McDonald, however the rest of his game is looking minty, with his butter draw drives. He's your clutch go to at any Ryder, and is guaranteed to have more BL's than you.

Pre-Ryder Confidence Ranking: 4.0 stars.

With a swing as pure as his desire to "just play in a scramble with another gold!!", Garry will look to once again be the clubhouse leader in 'ability per rounds played'. The betting favourite to fall asleep in his full golf kit, "The Natural" will look to overcome his wife and kids and lead his team to victory.

Pre-Ryder Confidence Ranking: 3.5 stars.

In an attempt to improve his golf game this year, B Horn is attempting the bold strategy of PLAYING MORE GOLF. Is it helping? Only time will tell, but if we had to pick someone in the MB Ryder to shoot exactly 83 with no birdies we would choose Blar. In only a year he has changed the loft on his driver from 16 to 10 degrees, and we can't wait to see the results. Always looking to help his team with fun and friendship, B Horn is always a solid glue guy who will do whatever it takes to get the boys ready for a good round.

Pre-Ryder Confidence Ranking: 4.5 stars.

What can we say about B Zander that hasn't already been said about Stephen Harper? The guy buys himself a new house more often than he golfs, and gets new grips on his irons every month. You know of him as the voice on morning radio, but we know of him as a sleepy mid-round pick with high upside despite hitting from the wrong side of the ball. If he hits enough of the trees on the Killarney front nine, he may just get revenge by knocking down his own tree in his new front yard.

Pre-Ryder Confidence Ranking: 3.0 stars.

A hater of routine and simplicity, Pilloud will have made enough adaptations to the Modified Scotch format it will formally be called “the Pilloud Format”. His supreme ball striking skills are belied by the fact he is a holder of a sub 500 record. If he were to do a spreadsheet handicapping his odds for this tournament, it would be whether his new clubs are enough to overcome his annual pattern of too many BLs and inevitable verbal lashing by G Hargreaves.

Pre-Ryder Confidence Ranking: 4.5 stars

A generous man who can be found taking the “courtesy gun” even when he hits the green on shotgun par 3s, he is also known to donate his putters to the trees. We ask ourselves annually, “is this the year Fordyce puts it all together?”. The odds are invariably against; however, this Rossmere member is a solid glue guy whose actual results are more likely reflected in his teammates stats than his own, making him a solid option for any captain looking for fun, friendship and a lot of beers.

Pre-Ryder Confidence Ranking: Off the Board

A mix of Bryson DeChambeau’s thinking, Kim Jong Un’s game and his own unique time management skills, R Lall has really spent a lot of his time this golf season “in the zone”. Unfortunately, that is the drop zone. A career .500 record with 6 cups, Lall really brings his best to the Ryder Cup and we see no reason why this wouldn’t continue this year. A soon to be father, Lall will be looking to have one last triumphant hurrah before life as he knows it ends.

Pre-Ryder Confidence Ranking: 3.5 stars.

Coming off a a 3rd flight championship at the Gilbert Plains Championship, KVW is a captain's dream selection, possessing one of the most impressive records in Ryder Cup history and has a team first attitude. A look behind the numbers show a different story as Keith spent years as the Goliath of the blues, beating up on those weaker than him. Despite this, he has acquitted himself quite nicely as a Gold, taking on the other Titans of the Ryder Cup. With his quick with, innovative attitude (Eagle Cam) and competitive spirit, Van Walleghem will attempt to rise to the occasion once again. While the grind of 72 holes and late nights may be daunting for some, this is just a regular weekend for him.

Pre-Ryder Confidence Ranking: 4.5 stars

Even with red and blue mandatory uniform requirements in place this year, we still expect Gunnlaugson to be wearing white and yellow all weekend. It's only curling, and it's just one province; give it up already, right? With the dirtiest hook you'll ever see continuing to find the fairway, he will mesmerize his opponents into a daze of confusion and defeat. Another guy who will use the odds to find any advantage, if he's lucky the cameras will be rolling all weekend and he'll find himself on Sportcentre's highlight of the night yet again.

Pre-Ryder Confidence Ranking: 4 stars

The shorter yardage of the host courses play well for this Ryder Cup veteran who's longest reliable club is his 6-iron. This would act as a confidence booster for most Ryder Cup participants, but no Professor Kehler. Simply put, the norms of golf, or society for that matter, have no application to this man. A competitor who can never be counted out, his come back against Benning's best friend (just don't ask Challis if he feels the same way) still lives in MB Ryder Cup lore. A match with C Kehler is always an experience and we wonder if he continues to redefine the meaning of winning - can he ever really be beaten?

Pre-Ryder Confidence Ranking: where and how do we know that mathematical entities exist, and how do we know about them?

On his continual quest for scratch, G Cramer will leave no stone unturned. No swing tweak unexplored. No ball-address quirk unused. The eternal pursuit of perfection is every golfer's undying vice. MB Ryder Cup Veteran Cramer, with a musician's passion for harmony and a relentless drive for perfectly symphonic sound of a pured hybrid, will always provide a sound voice and an unwavering competitiveness looking to lead by example with a fresh cup of free trade small batch coffee on the first tee.

Pre Ryder Confidence Ranking: 3 stars

M Phin has had a rough start to the 2020 golf campaign. He finds himself entering MB Ryder Cup 2020 playing some of the worst golf of his life, playing primarily as a green fee payer at Rossmere Country Club. It almost seems like he's treating his golf game like a Hydro Monday; a complete write off. Most likely will be selected in the later rounds of the draft, he still has some upside if the liquor can straighten out his ginormous slice. Early odds at MGM have him as the favourite for highest alcohol consumers over the weekend.

Pre-Ryder Confidence Ranking: 0.5 stars

E St-Hilaire's will and determination to become a better golfer took a turn in the positive direction this year, with him adding a membership to Southwood on the bag. We are unsure if E St-Hilaire knows that this gives him privileges to actually play on the course, and not just to use the back roads to drive past it to go play softball. Somebody should make this Director aware that sliding into home is not the same as a bending 5 footer for birdie. Maybe St-Hilaire has his own secret formula; he did beat H Benning and C Kehler playing alternate straight up back in 2016. This no fear attitude is what we aspire from our MB Ryder Cup members; anybody who can upset H Benning, is our friend too.

Pre-Ryder Confidence Rankings: 3.5 softballs.

Assessing the damage. This is the arena of J Rabe. With an attention to detail rivaled only by the smoothness of his golf swing, this captain will look to assemble the most damaging team of golfers this side of the Assiniboine, and lay a beat down for the ages on his opponent. Needing only a few nine hole rounds to whip his low-maintenance game into shape, J Rabe has dreams of drafting a team that will provide the most lopsided victory in Ryder Cup history.

Pre-Ryder Confidence Ranking: 4 stars

Sup Babe? With D McInnes, anything goes. A barefoot round with a bottle of Pink Whitney in the bag, you will find D McInnes in the middle of the fairway anywhere on the course. This Thompson boy can grind out any skill level over time as no liquid is an inhibitor for him. Shotgun par 3's always in effect. If wins and fireball shots are your thing, this teammate is a must have on the train to glory.

Pre-Ryder Confidence Ranking: 3 stars

*Shake Shake Shake* That's not the sound of a maraca if you are around N Milnes for the day. Coming off a 39 during men's night at Rossmere, N Milnes is looking to shake his way to multiple wins in this year's MB Ryder Cup. Feared by many on the CoD scene with his deathly snipe, his controller skills are turning into pars and birdies on the course. As relaxed on the course as you can be, he'll rattle his way through 36, shaking the knees of his opponents victory by victory.

Pre-Ryder Confidence Ranking: 4.5 stars

ESPN Golf has C Macaulay as the #1 ranked player going into the 2020 MB Ryder Cup, so don't expect sir bombs a lot to go anywhere other than this slot. However, ESPN Golf has been wrong before. In 2018, they had given 99.69% chance that he would be picked 1st and go on to win the championship held in Brainerd, MN. He ended up going 2nd, only after M Pilloud, then went on to display a very lackluster performance not being able to earn a half point over four matches. But this is a Killarney boy, where the locals whisper that the only place you saw this kid between the ages of 5-18 was the Blarney Stone or the Killarney Lakeside Golf Course. He knows the course better than Benning knows the inside of a... Nevermind. You must think this is a guaranteed 3.5 points out of this young punk at his home course.

Pre-Ryder Confidence Ranking: 4.9 stars

Sporting a stache you'd normally pay $9.99 a month to see, A Sefton's pupils will be tiny little specks. He's been bunkered down in who knows where mock drafting the shit out of the 24 player model of this year's MB Ryder Cup. Continually complaining that his handicap isn't actually that low, he'll go shoot a 76 and still think he's a blue. One of the OG's from the inaugural MB Ryder Cup in Minnewasta/Carman, back when he was good at golf, will rely on his teammates to carry him to a Captain's victory. The guy has lived with nearly half of the field, so he will have a keen sense of who may just fire it up and go low all weekend. Expect big things from the beaking craving captain. He just hopes the chirps are coming from a lot of birdies.

Pre-Ryder Confidence Ranking: 3.5 stars.

Greenhalgh, back for another go after a less than stellar Ryder Cup debut. Out matched in the top tier group in the past, attempted to drop his handicap to the blue level but ran out of time. Hopefully has gotten new irons since he was not up to possessing the power of the BLADES! Can anyone go 0-8-0? We certainly hope not. This report was made while sitting on the toilet.

Pre-Ryder Confidence Ranking: 0 stars

A MB Ryder Cup rookie with boundless potential, D McMillan will mostly just be confused for/with/by D McInnes all weekend. Known to some as The Supple Panda, the rotational integrity of McMillan's high maintenance spinal chord will be put to the test during the grueling 72 hole challenge of Ryder Cup golf. If his body holds up, there may be no bigger sleeper pick than this first time participant.

Pre-Ryder Confidence Ranking: 3.5 stars

After an enjoyable time in his rookie year, B Bayes is BACK for round two. We are not sure if Bayes is actually coming to Killarney for the golf, or just to visit the local mead distillery, but either way, we've already made the warning call to the beer cart. Even though 72 holes in 48 hours will be more work than he has done since March, he's likely one of the only contenders who can put back more BLs than in-law McDonald. Bayes won a cup in his first and only Ryder; will the Westman local bode well for his game and allow him to repeat this year? Or will he find himself without a trophy and instead many many new potential tent clients in his second ever MB Ryder Cup?

Pre-Ryder Confidence Ranking: 4.0 stars