Dustin Johnson and Jim Furyk, two of Davis’ wildcard picks
Love's classy wildcards make this the strongest Ryder Cup ever, says Paul Krishnamurty
The last piece of the Ryder Cup jigsaw was completed yesterday, as US captain Davis Love named his four wildcard picks, with Steve Stricker, Jim Furyk, Dustin Johnson and Brandt Snedeker joining the eight automatic qualifiers. The last two surprised many pundits, who had expected Love to opt for the next best placed quartet in the qualifying race. Whatever the merits of that unenviable decision though, it is hard to remember a Ryder Cup with such strength in depth amongst the 24 combatants.
There is always at least one big name that misses out, but thanks to a deeper pool of American talent than we've seen for many a year, this time around there were at least half a dozen perfectly plausible alternatives. Most notably Hunter Mahan, the reigning WGC Matchplay champion and a star of previous Ryder and President Cups, must be cursing the US qualification rules, having finished just one place outside the initial qualification places. If Mahan were European, ninth place would have been good enough. Rickie Fowler, hailed just a few months ago as America's next big thing and Rory McIlroy's new rival, is another extreme talent to miss out.
In both cases, poor recent results proved costly and it is hard to argue with Love's decision to blend recent excellence with experience amongst his four picks. Johnson and Snedeker met the first criteria having found their best form over the past fortnight with consecutive good results. Stricker and Furyk add invaluable experience to a side that includes four rookies. After Phil Mickelson found his form in Boston last week, it is hard to identify a single weak link in this American side. Especially with home advantage, they have the perfect credentials to regain the cup.
That shouldn't, however, worry the Europeans, who have not been short of good recent news themselves. Rory McIlroy re-affirmed his status as world number one and the man to beat by winning in Boston, while Sergio Garcia's sudden, surprising resurgence is the equivalent of finding an extra player who also happens to be a tournament legend. Along with Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter and Luke Donald, Team Europe will boast the four leading Ryder Cup performers this century. Their only worry is the poor form of Martin Kaymer, who will bid to his redeem a battered reputation this week at the KLM Open.
Not surprisingly given the pedigree amongst all of Love's possible picks, the betting was unmoved by his decision. USA remain 1.8910/11 favourites, with Europe available at 2.526/4 and the tie a 13.012/1 chance. After endless consideration, I still can't separate these two classy line-ups and can only reiterate earlier advice to back the tie. Check out the full line-ups below.
Team Europe: Rory McIlroy, Lee Westwood, Luke Donald, Sergio Garcia, Graeme McDowell, Justin Rose, Paul Lawrie, Francesco Molinari, Peter Hanson, Martin Kaymer, Ian Poulter, Nicolas Colsaerts
Team USA: Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Matt Kuchar, Bubba Watson, Webb Simpson, Keegan Bradley, Jason Dufner, Zach Johnson, Steve Stricker, Jim Furyk, Dustin Johnson, Brandt Snedeker
Love's classy wildcards make this the strongest Ryder Cup ever, says Paul Krishnamurty
The last piece of the Ryder Cup jigsaw was completed yesterday, as US captain Davis Love named his four wildcard picks, with Steve Stricker, Jim Furyk, Dustin Johnson and Brandt Snedeker joining the eight automatic qualifiers. The last two surprised many pundits, who had expected Love to opt for the next best placed quartet in the qualifying race. Whatever the merits of that unenviable decision though, it is hard to remember a Ryder Cup with such strength in depth amongst the 24 combatants.
There is always at least one big name that misses out, but thanks to a deeper pool of American talent than we've seen for many a year, this time around there were at least half a dozen perfectly plausible alternatives. Most notably Hunter Mahan, the reigning WGC Matchplay champion and a star of previous Ryder and President Cups, must be cursing the US qualification rules, having finished just one place outside the initial qualification places. If Mahan were European, ninth place would have been good enough. Rickie Fowler, hailed just a few months ago as America's next big thing and Rory McIlroy's new rival, is another extreme talent to miss out.
In both cases, poor recent results proved costly and it is hard to argue with Love's decision to blend recent excellence with experience amongst his four picks. Johnson and Snedeker met the first criteria having found their best form over the past fortnight with consecutive good results. Stricker and Furyk add invaluable experience to a side that includes four rookies. After Phil Mickelson found his form in Boston last week, it is hard to identify a single weak link in this American side. Especially with home advantage, they have the perfect credentials to regain the cup.
That shouldn't, however, worry the Europeans, who have not been short of good recent news themselves. Rory McIlroy re-affirmed his status as world number one and the man to beat by winning in Boston, while Sergio Garcia's sudden, surprising resurgence is the equivalent of finding an extra player who also happens to be a tournament legend. Along with Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter and Luke Donald, Team Europe will boast the four leading Ryder Cup performers this century. Their only worry is the poor form of Martin Kaymer, who will bid to his redeem a battered reputation this week at the KLM Open.
Not surprisingly given the pedigree amongst all of Love's possible picks, the betting was unmoved by his decision. USA remain 1.8910/11 favourites, with Europe available at 2.526/4 and the tie a 13.012/1 chance. After endless consideration, I still can't separate these two classy line-ups and can only reiterate earlier advice to back the tie. Check out the full line-ups below.
Team Europe: Rory McIlroy, Lee Westwood, Luke Donald, Sergio Garcia, Graeme McDowell, Justin Rose, Paul Lawrie, Francesco Molinari, Peter Hanson, Martin Kaymer, Ian Poulter, Nicolas Colsaerts
Team USA: Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Matt Kuchar, Bubba Watson, Webb Simpson, Keegan Bradley, Jason Dufner, Zach Johnson, Steve Stricker, Jim Furyk, Dustin Johnson, Brandt Snedeker
Комментариев нет:
Отправить комментарий