Ryder Cup dream team: The best U.S. and European players through the ages

The 41st edition of the Ryder Cup is almost upon us, and David Love III and Darren Clarke have finalised their respective American and European rosters for this year's showdown at Hazeltine National.

While much talk this time around has centred on Clarke's six rookies and Love's final pick of Ryan Moore, ESPN has taken a look back through the ages to put together the ultimate in fantasy lineups for the U.S. and Europe.

The 2016 edition is sure to produce fireworks as America attempt to wrestle the Cup back from Europe, but a competition between the following two teams would be one for the ages.

American dream team

By Tristan Barclay

PGA of America regulations call for eight automatic qualifiers and four captain's picks, so I'm sticking by the rules and going for the 8-4 split. Qualification for my team is based on total points scored by each player. I'm interested in amassing the highest number of points possible; team cohesion and assigning players with compatible partners comes second.

Billy Casper
W-L-H record: 20-10-7
Points: 23½

The USA's leading points scorer, second only to Phil Mickelson in number of matches played, and a winning captain in 1979 -- Billy Casper is perhaps the most complete Ryder Cup player the U.S. has produced. The three-time major champion might not have enjoyed the same fame as other American stars, but his stats alone put him at the top of the list.

Arnold Palmer
W-L-H record: 22-8-2
Points: 23

One of the greatest to have played the game of golf, Arnold Palmer died Sunday with the 2016 Ryder Cup just around the corner. The King's fearsome points record and star power book his place in the all-time lineup, and who would bet against him lifting the famous Cup for an eighth time if this fantasy matchup could ever be made reality?

Lanny Wadkins
W-L-H record: 20-11-3
Points: 21½

Lanny Wadkins is just another American with a stunning points total, right? Wrong. His record is more impressive when you consider he built it in the 1980s, during the age of European dominance. He was 4-2-2 in singles, 9-6-0 in foursomes and 7-3-1 in fourballs for a 63.2 percent win rate -- one of the few U.S. players of his era with a winning record.

Lee Trevino
W-L-H record: 17-7-6
Points: 20

If you're tying with Arnold Palmer in any category, you must have done something right. Lee Trevino matches The King for singles points won (6) in Ryder Cup history, with the same number of victories between 1969 and 1981. Sam Torrance is most likely still having sleepless nights over that '81 defeat at Walton Heath, where he was three times a Trevino victim as the American signed off his Cup career with a perfect 4-0-0 return.

Phil Mickelson
W-L-H: 16-19-6
Points: 19

The only man from the modern era to feature in the automatic picks for this dream team, Phil Mickelson will be at the forefront of America's charge to wrest the Ryder Cup back from European hands at Hazeltine this week. The 46-year-old has a slightly dubious win-loss ratio, but his 19 points in an era that has seen the USA win just once since the turn of the century is an impressive effort.

Jack Nicklaus
W-L-H: 17-8-3
Points: 18½

PGA of America regulations meant Jack Nicklaus had already snared seven major titles before making his Ryder Cup debut in 1969, but the Golden Bear was quick to make up for lost time. He's second on the all-time list for foursomes points scored, in the top seven for fourballs, and trails only Palmer in singles matches played. You just don't go leaving a man with 18 major titles out of any golfing dream team!

Gene Littler
W-L-H: 14-5-8
Points: 18

Another of the greats of the 1960s and '70s -- when he was on a winning America team six times between 1961-75 -- Gene Littler sits seventh overall for number of points won, and an impressive second for singles victories. He won five of the 10 he played, and halved another three, to book his place in the dream lineup.

Tom Kite
W-L-H: 15-9-4
Points: 17

An undefeated singles record and a reputation as one of the game's battlers ensure Tom Kite is the last automatic selection for the U.S. dream team. But it's not just the points that put him on the list -- it's the manner of his victories. Imagine the boost to American morale his 8 and 7 demolition of Howard Clark in 1989 must have made. He goes in as a true team player.

Wild-card picks

Jordan Spieth
W-L-H: 2-1-1
Points: 2½

While the automatic picks are stuffed full with the glittering names of Ryder Cups gone by, the wild-card department gives us a chance to add some youth. Jordan Spieth might lack Cup experience, but his gritty performances in 2014's doomed team effort earn him the right to play alongside the greats.

Patrick Reed
W-L-H: 3-0-1
Points: 3½

For the reasons behind Patrick Reed's selection, see above. The 26-year-old is undefeated in Ryder Cup matches during his fledgling career and teamed up with Spieth to defeat Europe's mighty Ian Poulter and Stephen Gallacher 5 and 4 in 2014's opening fourballs. Spieth and Reed made for the youngest American pairing in history, and who can forget the latter's iconic shushing gesture to the Gleneagles faithful?

Sam Snead
W-L-H: 10-2-1
Points: 10½

Time to balance out that youth with a dash more experience. Sam Snead posted a mammoth 81 percent win rate in seven Ryder Cups between 1937 and 1959, and ties with Palmer, Casper and Trevino with six singles victories. He also captained the American side three times -- leadership that would be invaluable alongside the youthfulness of Spieth and Reed.

Boo Weekley
W-L-H: 2-0-1
Points: 2½

Unashamedly, Boo Weekley is picked on the strength of one moment. After pounding his drive off the first tee in 2008's Sunday singles, Boo produced one of the scenes of recent Ryder Cup history, riding his driver down the fairway like a bull at a rodeo. It might not have been to everyone's taste, but it revealed the energy of the American team eight years ago. That produced the Americans' only Ryder Cup success since 1999 -- how U.S. golf fans would love to see a return to those glory days.

Who misses out?

There's no shying away from it -- perhaps the biggest name in golf history is on the scrapheap when it comes to this Ryder Cup dream team. Although Tiger Woods has a strong points total (14½) and a decent singles record (5 points from seven matches), he has never managed to replicate his sensational individual form in the team environment.

European dream team

By Alex Perry

While Tristan has based his American dream team on most points won, I've decided to get a bit deeper into the mathematics and pick my nine qualifiers based on the percentage of points won over matches played -- though players must have played in at least three Ryder Cups.

Ian Poulter
W-L-H record: 12-4-2
Points: 13 (72.2%)

They don't call him "Mr. Ryder Cup" for nothing. Match play is Ian Poulter's arena, and no one will ever forget how he single-handedly dragged Europe from the brink of defeat to a stunning victory at Medinah in 2012. He'll be part of Team Europe at Hazeltine in a non-playing role after injury ended his 2016 season early -- but no one will hit more shots that weekend.

Justin Rose
W-L-H record: 9-3-2
Points: 10 (71.4%)

Whatever Justin Rose does between now and the end of his Ryder Cup career, he'll be long remembered for a long, slinking putt at 17 in his 2012 singles match against Mickelson that effectively sealed a vital point. It even got the thumbs-up from the American.

Luke Donald
W-L-H record: 10-4-1
Points: 10.5 (70%)

A consistent performer over the years in both the Ryder Cup and his individual career. A formidable foursomes player, Luke Donald's precise short game makes him one of the most difficult to play against. Can count himself unlucky that he didn't get a wild-card pick in 2014 or 2016.

Jose Maria Olazabal
W-L-H record: 18-8-5
Points: 20.5 (66.1%)

Along with the late Seve Ballesteros, Jose Maria Olazabal was one half of the most formidable Ryder Cup partnership of all time. Over four Ryder Cups, the Spaniards played 15 matches together and won 12 points. Olazabal then went on to lead Europe to victory in that famous weekend at Medinah.

Colin Montgomerie
W-L-H record: 20-9-7
Points: 23.5 (65%)

Colin Montgomerie never lost a Ryder Cup singles match in eight appearances, winning six and halving two. Only Sir Nick Faldo and Bernhard Langer have won more points for Europe, and Monty also led his side to victory at The Celtic Manor in 2010.

Sergio Garcia
W-L-H record: 18-9-5
Points: 20.5 (64%)

The fiery Spaniard will be making his eighth Ryder Cup appearance at Hazeltine, 17 years after he made his debut to become the youngest-ever player in the competition at age 19.

Graeme McDowell
W-L-H record: 8-5-2
Points: 9 (60%)

Who can forget that putt to clinch the trophy in 2010? And four years later when he took debutant Victor Dubuisson under his wing at Gleneagles to contribute two points from two in the foursomes and 1½ points between them in the singles?

Seve Ballesteros
W-L-H record: 20-12-5
Points: 22.5 (60%)

Seve Ballesteros and Antonio Garrido were the first players from the continent to play in the Ryder Cup after it switched from Britain and Ireland to Europe for the 1979 matches. Ballesteros played an integral role in turning the competition into the fierce rivalry it is today.

Darren Clarke
W-L-H record: 10-7-3
Points: 11.5 (58%)

This year's captain, Clarke formed a formidable partnership with good friend Lee Westwood, returning six points from a possible eight -- bettered only by Ballesteros and Olazabal. There wasn't a dry eye in the house when he went 3-0-0 at The K Club in 2006, despite playing just six weeks after the death of wife Heather.

Wild-card picks

Bernhard Langer
W-L-H record: 21-15-6
Points: 24 (57.1%)

Just missing out on an automatic spot, but an easy wild-card pick. Only Nick Faldo has won more points for Europe over the years, and with 11.5, Bernhard Langer has won more foursomes points than any other player in Ryder Cup history. He also led Europe to glory at Oakland Hills in 2004.

Lee Westwood
W-L-H record: 20-15-6
Points: 23 (56%)

Fourth on the most points won list with 23, Lee Westwood will be outright No. 1 if he goes 3-0-0 when he makes his 10th Ryder Cup appearance at Hazeltine. At Valhalla in 2008, the Englishman equalled Arnold Palmer's record of 12 matches without defeat.

Rory McIlroy
W-L-H record: 6-4-4
Points: 8 (57%)

While his Ryder Cup career didn't get off to a great start -- controversially calling it an "exhibition" ahead of 2010 -- he has since embraced the competition. Some of the best players in the world have terrible Ryder Cup records (see Mr T. Woods), but McIlroy's return of eight points from 14 -- including an unbeaten singles record -- sees him nick the final captain's pick.

Who misses out?

I know what you're thinking: Where's Nick Faldo? Well, despite being Europe's leading points scorer of all time (25), the Englishman is also tied for third on the most matches lost list (19). Faldo also never struck me as a team player, while he was also arguably Europe's worst ever captain in 2008.

Ian Woosnam has won more fourball matches than anyone else in the history of the Ryder Cup, but he never won a singles match in eight attempts, and, with a record of 14-12-5, has lost almost as many matches as he has won.

And Spaniard Jose Maria Canizares can count himself unlucky to be missing out. The Spaniard beat Fuzzy Zoeller in 1985 to seal the victory that brought the Ryder Cup back to Europe for the first time in 28 years, and he held his nerve in 1989 to hole a putt on 18 at The Belfry to beat Ken Green and help Europe sneak an unlikely tie.