The 2012 Ryder Cup is in the books, and all of the stereotypes have seemingly come true – the Euros were gutsier, seemed to want it more, and made the putts when they had to. There’s little the US team can do except shake their heads, lay low during silly season, and get their games in order for the 2013 Masters. While nearly every player on the European squad stepped it up in the Sunday singles, here are the players that proved to be the X factor for the European team.

1) Martin Kaymer – Most people will call me crazy, but if you make a 5-foot putt that essentially decides the Ryder Cup then you’re my Ryder Cup hero #1A. Kaymer’s deciding putt was dead center after Steve Stricker forced him to make it, with only Tiger Woods and his 1-up lead over Francesco Molinari left on the course. If Kaymer had missed, the Cup in all likelihood would have been won by Woods in the final pairing – good enough for me. Few players have ever had a putt under that much pressure, and Kaymer proved to be up to the task.

2) Ian Poulter – Ian Poulter put up one of the finest performances in the history of the Ryder Cup, no doubt. Going a perfect 4-0, Poulter’s performance was as cold blooded as could be. He’s an easy villain, but you have to give it up for his performance between the ropes. No matter how you cut it, this guy is an all-time Ryder Cupper - now owning a 12-3 career record. But God is he annoying.

3) Justin Rose - The putts that Justin Rose holed on 16, 17, and 18 allowed him to eek out an improbable win over Phil Mickelson after finding himself 1-down with 3 to play. The definition of clutch on all three holes, Phil could do little but applaud as Rose would not be denied. Without this crucial birdie-birdie finish, the Cup resides in US hands. As one of two Europeans to tee it up in every single event, Rose finished 3-2-0 for the week.

Honorable Mention: Luke Donald - Luke Donald went 2-2-0 for the week, but he gets the honorable mention nod for setting the pace on Sunday. As the first match out on the course for the Euros, Donald was able to get up on Bubba Watson early, establishing some much-needed momentum. His final round was pretty close to flawless, featuring 6 birdies in 17 holes.

You got to hand it to the Euros – they went out there and did what they needed to do to seize this thing.

Phil Mickelson is in every sense a Ryder Cup veteran – when he tees it up at Medinah later this week he’ll be making his 9th Ryder Cup appearance. Unfortunately for the US, despite Phil’s talents and aggressive style of play he has a lousy Ryder Cup record of just 11-17-6. He’s performed particularly poorly in the team events (7-13-6) and is batting just .500 in singles. So is there reason to believe that this year will be different? I think so. Here are my 5 reasons why Phil will tear up Medinah and the Euros.

1) Phil is hot at the moment – Almost every Ryder Cup captain likes to go with the hot hand, and Phil is certainly hot at the moment. After a relatively poor season in which Phil won only a single tournament, he turned it on during the FedEx Cup playoffs (finishing 5th overall). Mickelson shot 7 consecutive rounds of 68 or lower throughout the Deutsche Bank and BMW Championships, en route to finishes of T4 and T2 respectively. During this streak Mickelson earned over $1 million – he’s clearly returned to form just in time.

2) The crowd is in his corner – Phil is, without a doubt, the US player that the fans will get behind the most. In major events (see the 2002 US Open, for example) the crowd has literally carried Phil around the course. He’ll feed off of this energy, and his opponents will have to deal with the noise and the cheers every time Phil pulls out one of his tricks.

3) He’s a different player now – Phil’s career record in the Ryder Cup is indicative of a player who has a hard time dealing with the extreme pressure cooker that is the Ryder Cup. We saw this with Phil, a lot, earlier in his career with regards to major championships as well. Phil has since shaken the major monkey, and it’s done a ton for his confidence and his ability to perform under the most intense pressure. I’d expect this to be his Ryder Cup coming out party, much like the 2004 Masters was for Phil in the majors.

4) Medinah’s length – At 7,658 yards, Medinah is going to be playing long. Like way long. Phil can bomb it with the best of them, and his high ballflight will help him stop the ball near the hole more effectively than many of the other players – especially the Euros who are used to playing in the wind. There’s a reason Phil excels at Augusta and stinks at the British Open.

5) His core competencies – When you think about Phil’s countless talents, the ability to bomb in is certainly one. But Phil’s long game hasn’t been so hot this year. He’s 101st in greens in regulation, and 166th in driving accuracy. This certainly is in line with the stereotype of Phil being a player who sprays it all over the place, then scrambles to recover. But there are two statistics that stand out to me – Phil is 7th on tour in strokes gained putting, and 6th on tour in birdie average. Birdies win matches, and if Phil is able to get the putter going at all he’ll make them in bunches.

Now the question is if Phil has a 10-footer to win the Cup, will he drain it? I wonder how his ups are compared to 2004…

The 2012 Ryder Cup is set to begin September 28th at Medinah Country Club in Medinah, Illinois. The big names and the usual Ryder Cup suspects will all be there – Rory, Tiger, Phil, Sergio – you get the idea. But as a team competition, this sure isn’t just McIlroy versus Woods (although that sure would be fun to watch in singles). It may very well be one of the lessor known players who tips the scale in his team’s favor.

As I thought about putting together my initial Ryder Cup predictions, I couldn’t help but notice the strength of the European team. It’s a pretty bulletproof group, although I’m shocked that Padraig Harrington didn’t make the cut. By most accounts that was due to a personality conflict with European  captain Jose Maria Olazabal. Regardless, my initial inkling was “big win for the Euros.” I’ve since back-pedaled on that stance, in large part due to the course – Medinah is certainly “American style golf” and at 7,658 yards it’s an absolute beast in terms of length. With four par 5s, the course certainly plays into the Americans’ hands. While I’m still picking the Euros to win, I think it will be closer than expected – and I think it may very well come down to one of the lessor known players acting as the “X” factor. Here are four guys that I wouldn’t be surprised to see make the difference.

For Team USA:

Keegan Bradley – Averaging 302.5 yards per drive off the tee on the PGA tour, Keegan Bradley has the length to tame Medinah. Normally I’d discount a 26-year-old Ryder Cup Rookie, but given that Bradley has proven he can handle major championship pressure (he won the 2011 PGA Championship), I’m reading that as guts of steel and the ignorance of youth. Nothing like reppin’ Vermont on an international stage.

Webb Simpson – Webb Simpson has quickly established himself as one of the best players in the world – he’s currently 8th in the Official World Golf Rankings. He’s won 3 times, including a major, and he’s only 27 years old. He’s also a pretty amazing putter, currently ranking 6th in putting on the PGA Tour. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a match-winning putt come off his blade.

For the Europeans:

Nicolas Colsaerts – I recently wrote about Colsaerts as one of the 5 European players I’d like to see play more on the PGA Tour. The man is crazy long, currently leading the Euro tour with an average drive of 317.7 yards. He’s easily the European best equipped to deal with Medinah’s length. Colsaerts has also proven to be a great match play player, capturing the 2012 Volvo World Match Play title on the Euro Tour.

Perhaps more importantly, Colasaerts is a rare Belgian golfer. The only thing the Euros care about more than representing their continent is representing their home country, and Nicolas has a rare opportunity to do that for Belgium.

Martin Kaymer – Martin Kaymer may be the single golfer that the more I watch, the more I’m impressed by him. He’s been a dominant player on the Euro Tour, winning 10 times since 2008. He’s also shown proficiency in match play, finishing 2nd in the 2011 WGC Accenture Match Play Championship. His game is all around rock solid.

With the international golf scene as competitive as ever and new-found rivalries forming at the top of the World Golf Rankings, this year’s Ryder Cup should provide plenty of fireworks. Just don’t be surprised if it’s one of these lesser known players setting them off.