Sir Nick Faldo and Dame Laura Davies make their Ryder Cup predictions

Sir Nick Faldo played in 11 Ryder Cups (Picture: Getty)

Sir Nick Faldo and Dame Laura Davies have made their Ryder Cup predictions as Europe prepare to take on Team USA in New York.

Luke Donald’s side is looking to become only the fifth European team to win a Ryder Cup on away soil, but they will have to improve greatly on their previous effort in 2021, which saw them lose by a record 19-9 margin.

Europe are the current holder of the Ryder Cup, though, after bouncing back from their thrashing at Whistling Straits to win in style in Rome two years ago.

And the visitors have arrived at Bethpage Black equipped with virtually the same team from Marco Simone in 2023, with the only change seeing Rasmus Hojgaard replace his twin brother Nicolai Hojgaard.

Team USA have a vast array of talent to call upon, including World No1 Scottie Scheffler, but Faldo believes Europe’s continuity could well be the deciding factor this week.

‘I think it [continuity] is very good for Luke,’ Faldo said on the Sky Sports Golf Podcast. ‘I voiced before they went to battle in Rome that should get two goes [at captaincy] because you do all that great work and he will have learned from Rome.

‘It was obviously a success, but there maybe just five or 10 per cent more things you can do, just to fine-tune it, to get it even better.

Europe are trying to win an away Ryder Cup for just the fifth time (Picture: Getty)

‘We are on a mission to come and do it this week, so it’s not going to be a surprise if it happens.

‘They [Team Europe] are in that team room and I can promise you the adrenaline is going around and the intensity.

‘Everyone knows that [winning] is the goal – there’s no point in getting about excited about leading after day one or whatever this, the goal is Sunday night.

Europe won the last edition in Rome (Picture: Getty)

I’m predicting 15-13 to Europe – I think we’re going to do it, because I generally think we’re on a mission.’

Solheim Cup stalwart, Davies, meanwhile, is also confident that Europe can keep hold of the trophy come the end of Sunday’s play – even if they don’t win the tournament outright.

‘I think the match is going to be really close and I think it’s going to be a draw,’ she told Metro via BetMGM.

‘So I’m saying we retain the cup. And I know, having drawn a couple of Solheim Cups in Spain, that the Americans just couldn’t accept it.

‘I think that would be even better if we don’t even win it, but we retain the cup and we get the prize given and back to Ireland and we’ll go and win it again [in 2027].’

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