Kuchar was named a United States captain’s pick for the 2016 Ryder Cup by captain Davis Love III and then joined Love, Rickie Fowler and J.B. Holmes on a conference call to discuss the event. The Ryder Cup is slated for September 30-Oct. He is 0-3-5 in his two previous Ryder Cup appearances, and his PGA Tour season ended abruptly Sunday when he narrowly missed out on the 30th and final spot in the FedEx Cup standings and a spot in the Tour Championship.
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He has played in just one Ryder Cup, going 2-0-1 in 2008 in Kentucky, the last time the Americans won the event.
Fowler was a logical selection having been part of the Ryder Cup task force put together by the Americans to look into how they might win the trophy back after Europe’s third successive win at Gleneagles two years ago.
However, on Monday the world No. 9 was given one of three wildcards by US Ryder Cup captain Davis Love for the clash with Europe at Hazeltine.
You know when Davis Love III is making his final pick for the Ryder Cup? This is a tough decision; there were many great choices. Love said he will consult statistical analytics the PGA of America has hired – just as the Europeans have done – but ultimately he will listen to players’ preferences as well as the opinions of vice captains Tiger Woods, Tom Lehman, Steve Stricker and Jim Furyk. “This is my first team I’ve required a pick and it’s not a pleasant position to be in”.
A good argument can be made for each of those three picks being a part of the US team, which has lost eight of the last 10 Ryder Cups, including the last three.
Love said he would talk to “these 11 guys” who are already on the team before committing to his final player, adding: “We have got a game plan, a strategy to work on. and announce (the final pick) based on what fits best for our team, not really who shoots the lowest scores in the last tournament”.
Love is as conservative a thinker as his North Carolina background suggests, so there were no real surprises – Bryson DeChambeau, anybody? – though he did leave out Bubba Watson, who is the seventh-ranked player in the world.
Other candidates include second-year pros Daniel Berger and Justin Thomas.
Casey, who at World No 16 is ranked above eight of the European team, was not considered for a place because he chose to play exclusively in America this season rather than compete on the European Tour.
“If my team needed a quarterback and I drafted a running back, I would be in big trouble”, Love explained.
“It’s going to be pretty unbelievable getting to play in front of a home crowd, it will be a completely different feeling for sure”, he said.
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“I am not trying to peak for the Ryder Cup”, he said.
