Ryder Cup Captain's Picks

[Evil ... Thy name is Orville Redenbacher!!]

Why not? With Kisner the US can win it all by Saturday?

He can play. I love the guy, but he can NOT close it out.

He's been at or near thew top of final round, major leaderboards a lot lately. He's got game.
He reminds me a lot of Fowler. Only better.

Not a huge Finau fan... He's not as solid as Kisner or even Schauffle.

 

[Deskgrunt50]

I'll obviously watch a lot of FedEx Cup "playoffs." Great fields, I love golf.

But the Ryder Cup can't get here soon enough.

Woods officially adding BMW to his events. If he makes the final leg of FedEx and plays the Ryder Cup (he will), that'll make seven tournaments in nine weeks. Good stuff.

And TV execs might be sorta pleased.

Tiger Woods Adds BMW Championship to Playoff Schedule | Golf Channel

 

[Michael_ Gee]

Watching the Golf Channel rerun of the 2010 Ryder Cup. Amazing thing is even though it's eight years ago, there are so many familiar names. Woods, Mickelson, DJ,Fowler Furyk, McIlroy, Molinari (both of them were on the tesm, Kaymer. Two exceptions. For the Euros Peter Hansen. For the US, Jeff Overton. I am sure both were fine golfers and I don't want to make hondo mad, but for the life of me I can't remember either one. At all.

 

[DanOregon]

It's going to be interesting to see if Furyk lets Brooks and DJ play together, or split them up and hope they carry whoever their with to a win. And who do you pair with Reed and/or Bubba. Stick them together?

 

[Fly]

Watching the Golf Channel rerun of the 2010 Ryder Cup. Amazing thing is even though it's eight years ago, there are so many familiar names. Woods, Mickelson, DJ,Fowler Furyk, McIlroy, Molinari (both of them were on the tesm, Kaymer. Two exceptions. For the Euros Peter Hansen. For the US, Jeff Overton. I am sure both were fine golfers and I don't want to make hondo mad, but for the life of me I can't remember either one. At all.

I recall in one year of the SJ golf pool someone's team name was "Jeff Overton's Bucket Hat" - that's all I got.

 

[qtlaw]

It's going to be interesting to see if Furyk lets Brooks and DJ play together, or split them up and hope they carry whoever their with to a win. And who do you pair with Reed and/or Bubba. Stick them together?

Reed and Spieth had the magic in 2016; Bubba? What goes well with a dickhead? Maybe Bryson? Maybe pray for someone to volunteer? Finicky is not someone I'd want to play with.

 

[Chef2]

No way does Bryson make it.

 

[Double Down]

Reed and Spieth had the magic in 2016; Bubba? What goes well with a dickhead? Maybe Bryson? Maybe pray for someone to volunteer? Finicky is not someone I'd want to play with.

Reed and Spieth have been great in both of the last two Ryder Cups. Part of the reason Tom Watson got stabbed like Julius Ceaser is he sat Spieth and Reed in Gleneagles for no discernible reason in an afternoon session right after they'd just destroyed Poulter and Gallacher. Keegan and Mickelson got destroyed in their place, which is Example A of why Tom Watson was a garbage captain.

I'd say the US pairings will most likely be:

Spieth/Reed
Thomas/Fowler
Koepka/DJ
Webb/Bubba

My prediction on the four captains picks would be...
Woods (obviously)
Mickelson (almost certainly a lock unless he somehow withdrew himself from consideration, which he won't do)
Kuchar (don't love it, but you need someone to pair with Tiger or Phil and he can pair with either)
Kisner (I'd rather take Finau; I think Tiger would rather take Bryson; I think Furyk will ultimately pick Kisner)

I think Bryson might be a great RC player, in part because he'd infuriate the Euros, but he seems lost in the sauce a bit these days, and needed a better summer to grab what seemed like a lock earlier this season. Part of the reason I don't like taking Kuchar and Phil is you need to build for the future. This is why it was so dumb to take Ryan Moore last time around instead of Justin Thomas. It was equally stupid when JB Holmes and Bill Haas got picked for the President's Cup over Koepka.

As for the Euros, Bjorn actually has a really difficult decision to make with Sergio, who has been absolutely garbage of late. (He's missed 8 cuts in his last 9 starts, and seems to be in full IDGAF mode now that he has a major.) If Bjorn takes Sergio over Thomas Pieters, who was a monster at the RC last time around, he's playing with fire. If Sergio plays like ****, it could get real ugly in Paris.

I think I'd still take him, ultimately. He's one of the best Euro RCers of all time. Maybe he feels revived. This event always seems to do that for him.

So his picks would likely be:
Sergio
Stenson
Casey
Knox

 

[playthrough]

Bryson's gonna have to make a team on points first. Furyk could take Schauffele as a first-timer and if the guy's not great, so be it, bad rookie. Pick DeHat and you'll catch a lot more heat if he plays bad, because he's just so different.

 

[Double Down]

Bryson's gonna have to make a team on points first. Furyk could take Schauffele as a first-timer and if the guy's not great, so be it, bad rookie. Pick DeHat and you'll catch a lot more heat if he plays bad, because he's just so different.

The problem with that theory: Furyk is not the real captain. The real captain is a triumvirate of Tiger/Phil/Furyk.

Tiger wants Bryson on the team. I think Finau and Xander are going to be the men left out, because they don't have the buddy relationship with Phil and Tiger that Kisner, Bryson and Kuchar do.

 

[trifectarich]

I keep hearing how Phil is so good in the team room, but I don't give a **** how much fun they have playing table tennis early in the week.

 

[qtlaw]

I get Kisner, I don't like what I see of him, seems standoffish but that's from me on the couch. Its just a shame that with a chance for young dudes like Finau and Schauffle, who have big talent, they're going to be left off in favor of Phil and Kuchar (who's slipped big time this year).

 

[Michael_ Gee]

I get Kisner, I don't like what I see of him, seems standoffish but that's from me on the couch. Its just a shame that with a chance for young dudes like Finau and Schauffle, who have big talent, they're going to be left off in favor of Phil and Kuchar (who's slipped big time this year).

Phil is 10th on the RyderCup points list. He didn't have a very good summer, but he's had a strong year. PS: Woods is now 11th. A strong major will do that.

 

[playthrough]

The problem with that theory: Furyk is not the real captain. The real captain is a triumvirate of Tiger/Phil/Furyk.

Tiger wants Bryson on the team. I think Finau and Xander are going to be the men left out, because they don't have the buddy relationship with Phil and Tiger that Kisner, Bryson and Kuchar do.

If Bryson doesn't show up in the playoffs (Playoffs!), he won't make it. I'll bet you a sleeve of Pro V1s on it.

 

[Double Down]

If Bryson doesn't show up in the playoffs (Playoffs!), he won't make it. I'll bet you a sleeve of Pro V1s on it.

Define showing up, though. Like he has to place in the Top 10 of an event? Win one?

 

[playthrough]

Define showing up, though. Like he has to place in the Top 10 of an event? Win one?

Hmm. I'd say top 20 or so. If he's a non-factor I just don't see how he gets picked.

 

[Double Down]

Hmm. I'd say top 20 or so. If he's a non-factor I just don't see how he gets picked.

I would probably agree, HOWEVER...

This idea that the captain's picks aren't true captain's picks and are something closer to "You have to pick a guy who is close in points and also kind of riding a heater of late" has always struck me as a bad way to build a team. This is why I don't care if Mickelson gets picked. Mickelson is a good guy in terms of building a team, whether he's posted good results in team stroke play (a totally different animal) of late or not. If Furyk (and by Furyk I mean Tiger, the real captain) really thinks Bryson is a good fit for this team, then by all means pick him. Everything I've heard privately is Tiger wants Bryson on the team. Finau and Xander and Kisner and whomever are not MORE DESERVING because... none of them are deserving. They didn't make the team. The rest of the picks should be at the discretion of the captain. Picking Kuchar or Kisner is essentially picking Ryan Moore or Bill Haas again. None of those guys is a future star. Bryson might be. Let's pick guys who might also help the team win in 2020 in Wisconsin.

 

[playthrough]

I would probably agree, HOWEVER...

This idea that the captain's picks aren't true captain's picks and are something closer to "You have to pick a guy who is close in points and also kind of riding a heater of late" has always struck me as a bad way to build a team. This is why I don't care if Mickelson gets picked. Mickelson is a good guy in terms of building a team, whether he's posted good results in team stroke play (a totally different animal) of late or not. If Furyk (and by Furyk I mean Tiger, the real captain) really thinks Bryson is a good fit for this team, then by all means pick him. Everything I've heard privately is Tiger wants Bryson on the team. Finau and Xander and Kisner and whomever are not MORE DESERVING because... none of them are deserving. They didn't make the team. The rest of the picks should be at the discretion of the captain. Picking Kuchar or Kisner is essentially picking Ryan Moore or Bill Haas again. None of those guys is a future star. Bryson might be. Let's pick guys who might also help the team win in 2020 in Wisconsin.

It's definitely a bad way to build a team, which is part of the reason why the U.S. got its ass kicked for so many years. The easy way out is to take the guys who just miss the automatic spots and follow the way the winds are blowing at the moment.

Heck, Billy Horschel and Scott Piercy won the Zurich Classic. The TEAM EVENT. Take them.

 

[Chef2]

It's definitely a bad way to build a team, which is part of the reason why the U.S. got its ass kicked for so many years. The easy way out is to take the guys who just miss the automatic spots and follow the way the winds are blowing at the moment.

Heck, Billy Horschel and Scott Piercy won the Zurich Classic. The TEAM EVENT. Take them.

You could......but then you realize Horschel is a headcase.