When Davis Love III unveiled his big reveal Monday – announcing three of his four captain’s picks for the U.S. Ryder Cup team that he hopes will put an end to the embarrassing European domination in less than three weeks at Hazeltine – there was a glaring omission.
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Love is unlikely to learn anything in Atlanta that he doesn’t already know about Watson, suggesting the enigmatic Floridian will not be part of his thinking ahead of his fourth and final wildcard selection.
“I heard even, possibly, this is hearsay, but I’ve heard maybe even Tiger Woods could potentially be a pick”, Kuchar said via Skype.
Only one spot remains on the 12-man squad and Love, who played in six Ryder Cups, will make his decision after the season-ending Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club. Watson was seen as autocratic and blinkered to his player’s wishes and Mickelson, left out for the whole of Saturday at Gleneagles, made sure we all knew.
“It stinks for me to be on the outside needing a pick”. Not just what matches they’re going to play, but where on the list. “It was a very, very tough decision but we kept coming back to these three”.
The other players here who will also be on duty in Minneapolis in just over a fortnight are fellow Englishmen Danny Willett, Chris Wood, Matt Fitzpatrick and Andy Sullivan, plus Martin Kaymer from Germany and Spaniard Rafa Cabrera-Bello.
Regardless, if the 12 were already decided and Watson didn’t make that cut, then it only mattered if the nine-time PGA Tour victor managed to play his way onto the team on points.
The “Brains Trust” to plot the wresting back of the famous trophy had been brought together early and provided tangible evidence of a new, fresh and more urgent approach.
If Love were weighing up between Fowler and Watson, he might find it even more hard to pick Fowler after a tournament in which he won’t even have the opportunity to impress. He has four career tour victories and 34 all-time top-10 finishes. In the majors, Watson’s best finish was a T-37 effort at Augusta National, perhaps his favorite course on the planet. One can make a case for Justin Thomas, Kevin Kisner or Kevin Na.
The final member of the USA team will be named September 25 after the conclusion of the Fed Ex Cup playoffs.
“The Ryder Cup’s a whole different animal and I’m looking forward to that opportunity”.
Holmes, 34, has only played in one Ryder Cup previously, helping the USA to victory in 2008.
“We went through a lot of scenarios and talked about a lot of great players”, he said.
None of the three has won on the PGA Tour this season. Could we have handled that a little bit better? The duo teamed up for a third day during the fourseomes play and halved its round with Adam Scott and Marc Leishman.
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Love: There’s been a lot more work this time around.
