Captain Tom Watson will be entering play at the Ryder Cup with some young untested players on his squad. He will be without the services of Jason Dufner, Dustin Johnson and Tiger Woods. Past Ryder Cup team members, Brandt Snedeker and Bill Haas did not play well enough to earn consideration for the team.

In addition, one of the team veterans, Phil Mickelson only had one top-10 finish all season. He withdrew after two rounds at the BMW Championship, when it became evident, he would not qualify for the Tour Championship.

Jordan Spieth, Patrick Reed and Rickie Fowler are three young players that could be the key ingredient for the American team.

Fowler has some Ryder Cup experience, he was a captain’s pick on the 2010 team that lost to the Europeans at Celtic Manor, but is only 25 years old.

His lone win on the PGA Tour came at the 2012 Wells Fargo Championship. He finished inside the top-five in all four major championships in 2014 and is playing at a very high level.

He is a strong match-play competitor and finished third in the WGC-Accenture Match Play in February.

Swing changes initiated by Butch Harmon seem to be working. He is No. 11 in the Official World Golf Ranking and only Bubba Watson topped him on the Ryder Cup points list.

Patrick Reed turned 24 years old in August. He won his first title at the 2013 Wyndham Championship. Two wins early in the 2014 season have placed him among the best players on tour. He had a stellar collegiate career and is touted as being a superb match-play specialist.

He has the brash attitude and go-for-broke style that can make the difference in the Ryder Cup.

The final piece of Captain Watson’s puzzle may just be Jordan Spieth.

Spieth burst onto the PGA Tour in 2013 with a win and nine top-10 finishes. After beginning the year with no status on tour, he ended the year at No. 8 in the FedEx Cup.

At 21-years-old, Spieth is just two years removed from the University of Texas, but has shown a maturity and game well beyond his years. Fred Couples made him a captain’s pick on the 2013 Presidents Cup team, where he earned two points and lost two points in his four matches. 

The Europeans will enter Gleneagles with four of the top-six-ranked players in the world on their team and have won seven of the last nine Ryder Cups contested. Plus they have Ian Poulter, who dons a red cape and becomes “Super Putter” every two years.

On paper, this is possibly the weakest team the U.S. has ever fielded.

It’s a good thing most of these guys are too young to understand they aren’t suppose to win.