Over the Green

Since the U.S. Open speculation has ramped up concerning Ryder Cup team rosters and of course the outcome of the matches at Celtic Manor in Wales beginning Oct. 1. However with the British Open on the books (has there ever been one with less excitement?) and Louis Oosthuizen having had his photo taken innumerable times kissing the trophy, the season of guessing, speculation and opinion can officially begin.

As an exercise to confirm what most fans already felt, the two teams are closely matched. The average World Golf Rankings position of the top nine Euro players on the Ryder Cup points list is twelfth and the top eight American in Ryder Cup points have an average world ranking of thirteenth. A difference with no distinction surely.

European captain Colin Montgomery has three picks to round out his 12 player squad and US leader Corey Paving has four selections.

A reasonable assumption is the Ryder Cup likely will hinge on who the captains choose to fill out the teams and the home field advantage for the Euros. Both those factors could be minimized of course if Woods and Mickelson come to play and dominate, not something that has ever happen before.

The next three players on the European Ryder Cup points and all potential picks are Francesco Molinari (23 in world rankings), Miguel Angel Jimenez (37) and Paul Casey (8). For Pavin his next four on the points list are Jeff Overton (56), Ricky Barnes (60), Hunter Mahan (29) and Ben Crane (42).

Pavin though has another worry in that Anthony Kim (4th in points and number 13 in the world) is still not back after hand surgery. He did not play in the British Open and was aiming to return at this week’s Canadian Open but decided he would not.

The armchair speculation will continue of course all the way until Aug. 15, the end of the PGA Championship, when the teams are named.

Jack Nicklaus, the best player ever, golf icon, etc. was quoted this week with the comment Ryder Cup captain Corey Pavin needs a “brain scan” should Tiger Woods not be one of the top eight in the points qualifying list for the US team and Pavin does not make him a captain’s choice. Could be, since Woods has the second best all time major record but as golf cognoscenti know he hasn’t performed very well in Ryder Cup competition with a 10-13-2 overall record for five Ryder Cups.

Of course the current leader of the points list, Phil Mickelson, also has a losing record at 10-14-6.

If the Ryder Cup team were chosen as of the May 24 point standings here are the Ryder Cup records of the next nine players, seven of whom would all automatically qualify with Pavin being allowed four picks.

Anthony Kim 2-1-1
Jim Furyk 8-13-3
Lucas Glover-Ryder Cup rookie
Hunter Mahan 2-0-3
Steve Stricker 0-2-1
Dustin Johnson- Ryder Cup rookie
Stewart Cink 4-7-4
Ben Crane- Ryder Cup rookie
Matt Kuchar- Ryder Cup rookie

Woods is number 11 and Nick Watney (Ryder Cup rookie) rounds out the top 12.

Some of my fellow media members are screaming for Pavin to consult with 2008 winning captain Paul Azinger to gain insight how the 2008 winning captain created the team that took the Euros at Valhalla. To date Pavin has not had that conversation, which on the face of it seems to be poor judgment but maybe he read Zinger’s book and doesn’t need a meeting.

That could rate as the worst thinking since…well it would be right along side not making Woods one of his four picks.

And in the for-what-its-worth department Nicklaus’ Ryder Cup record was 17-8-3, Palmer’s 22-8-2 and Watson’s 10-4-1.