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.

A Belgian, a South African, a German, a Spaniard, and a Dane walk into a bar. Whaddya got? Just another week in the clubhouse pub at the most recent European Tour stop. In all seriousness though, the group below are all ranked in the top 90 in the Official World Golf Rankings, are all proven winners, and all have bank accounts worthy of your envy.

The Euro Tour is often forgotten by those of us stateside, who tend to care very little about any tournament unless Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, or Rory McIlroy is in contention. But to me, the Euro Tour is about as sexy as it comes. What could be cooler than running around Europe, with a bunch of Europeans, playing golf? Not a whole lot. While the PGA Tour has the flash and the prestige, we’ve seen several “unknown” major champions come from the Euro Tour as of late – Charl Schwartzel and Louis Oosthuizen immediately come to mind. You may surprised to see these guys winning majors, but I can assure you their peers are not. The Euro Tour prepares professional golfers exceptionally well, with the players having to deal with less manicured courses and brutal travel schedules just to eek out their millions. Don’t be surprised if the names below pop up and win a big one soon – I for one would like to see each of them play a bit more here on this side of the pond.

1) Nicolas Colsaerts – A rare Belgian golfer, Colsaerts is currently 8th in the Race to Dubai (the European Tour’s money list) and is ranked 33rd in the world. That’s right, 33rd. That’s higher than the likes of David Toms, Geoff Ogilvy, Vijay Singh, Darren Clarke, Padraig Harrington and Retief Goosen, just to name a few. He’s won twice on the Euro Tour thus far but is perhaps best known for his length – he’s averaging an absurd 316 yards off the tee this year. Best of all, the man loves to rave and considers house music among his most important hobbies.

2) Branden Grace – At 24 years old Branden Grace has already had a career nearly all young South African players could only dream of. A product of Ernie Els’ golf foundation, Grace’s game has already drawn compliments from Gary Player. Better yet, he’s already beaten countrymen Ernie Els and Retief Goosen head to head (am I the only one wondering aloud if they let him win for the good of South African golf?). Branden is currently 11th in the Race to Dubai, and is just outside the top 50 players in the world coming in at number 51. Grace has won 3 times on the Euro Tour, with each of those victories coming this year.

3) Marcel Siem – A tall lanky German with a pony tail, Marcel Siem is not lacking in the personality department. He’s a veteran amongst this group, and has won twice on the Euro Tour. Siem also teamed up with Bernard Langer to win the World Cup of Golf in Barbados in 2006. He’s currently 13th in the Race to Dubai and 60th in the world.

4) Rafa Cabrera-Bello – A Spaniard who is 45th in the world, Cabrera-Bello has won twice on the Euro Tour. One of those victories came this year at the prestigious Dubai Desert Classic.  After taking up the game at 6 years old, Rafa would go on to win the Spanish National Championship in the under-7 age bracket. He’d continue to win the same title each year all the way through the under-18 age bracket. His sister also competes on the Ladies European Tour.

5) Thorbjorn Olesen – Thorbjorn is a 23-year-old Dane, whose golfing idol is more-known fellow countryman Soren Hanson. This kid has one Euro Tour win under his belt, and is currently 85th in the Official World Golf Rankings. Better yet, he’s still improving – Olesen improved his game in almost every statistical category from 2011 to 2012 including dropping his stroke average by over a full stroke per round. With Thomas Bjorn getting up there in age, Danish golf needs a new king – why not Thorbjorn? His name is very much a combination of Thomas Bjorn’s anyways…

Keep an eye on these guys – you may just see them on a leader board soon. You can also catch Colsaerts in the upcoming Ryder Cup, as he was just asked by captain Jose Maria Olazabal with a captain’s pick.

All statistics courtesy of http://www.europeantour.com/.

European Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie has selected his three captain’s picks for the European team — a controversial decision where Monty had to select 3 players with at least 5 very good options. Ultimately Montgomerie selected Italy’s Edoardo Molinari (#15 in the world), Ireland’s Padraig Harrington (#19), and England’s Luke Donald (#11). Just as big of a story is the two players left off of the team — England’s Paul Casey (#8) and Justin Rose (#23).

Each of these players is certainly worthy of being on the team, and following is the case for each player:

Eduardo Molinari – Won on the European tour last week when he birdied the final 3 holes. His brother Francesco is also on the team, and Monty can pair them together during the Ryder Cup.

Padraig Harrington — Recent winner of two majors, although a 7-11-3 Ryder Cup record.

Luke Donald — He’s consistent, #11 in the world, and is 5-1-1 in the Ryder Cup.

Paul Casey – Europe’s best overall player, he’s been on the last three Ryder Cup teams.

Justin Rose — Has 2 wins on the PGA tour this season.

If it were up to me, I would have picked Padraig, Casey, and Donald. While I think Monty is thinking outside of the box in picking Molinari so that he can play with his brother (I bet they kill it), I think that he is easily the least qualified. While Rose is having arguably the best season of any of these players, he ultimately is the most streaky and hasn’t proven himself as well under pressure. I think Padraig is a lock, based off his tough as nails performances in majors and Donald has earned a spot on the team given his past Ryder Cup performances. I just can’t see Paul Casey not making this team. He’s #8 in the world, has a reputation for winning big match play tournaments (which makes him hugely beneficial in the Ryder Cup), and brings some of the cockiness the European team could use.

Now we just need to wait and see who Corey Pavin, the US captain, selects for his squad. Based on his performance this week, Tiger should get one of the nods.

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