If the Ryder Cup started today
 

The teams would be:

US
Woods, Mickleson, Furyk, Chad Campbell, David Toms, DiMarco, JJ Henry, Zach Johnson, Brett Wetterich and John Rollins. Possible captain's picks: Love, Couples, Cink, Verplank and Lucas Glover.

Euros
Monty, David Howell, Olazabal, Henrik Stenson, Luke Donald, Paul Casey, Robert Karlesson, Sergio Garcia, Padrig Harrington and Paul McGinley. Possible captain's picks: Thomas Bjorn, Darren Clake, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Lee Westwood.

WTF US? If these are the teams we will get completely spanked this year. Where is all of our young talent? John Rollins, Brett Wetterich and JJ Henry? OMFG. Great job by the PGA of America on their new selection criteria. What a joke. There is no way we should be the favorites this year.

Re: If the Ryder Cup started today
 

How has being the favorites helped in the past again?

Re: If the Ryder Cup started today
 

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How has being the favorites helped in the past again?

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It doesn't make the bottom half of our team any less crappy. If we can't even compete when we are the favorites i see little hope for us this year.

Re: If the Ryder Cup started today
 

sean,

I get a weekly golf mag and believe me I am STUNNED by some of the auto entries. I mean, Wetterich? WTF - he had a good run what, a year ago? Then when you look just outside the cutoff there are some VERY good players, including some RC veterans.

Schwartzy is right though - the match play format totally throws out the window any sort of perceived advantage.

On another note, I wish when it comes to the states it would be a remotely interesting track. Oakland Hills = boo. Snooze. Let's see one at Whistling Straits, or Pebble, or best yet Bandon Dunes. Although if the point is a home field advantage I'm not sure if any of those work. Fine - Troon North then. Let's see Monty and his C-cups lug around a desert track.

Re: If the Ryder Cup started today
 

I bet several relative unknowns would be as good or better picks than Love. A guy like Sean O'Hair maybe. Maybe others. I have not given too much thought to the Ryder Cup really. And as said in the first response, how has being a paper favorite helped the US?

Any selection system is going to have flaws. Last time people complained that it was a 2 year thing so recent form didn't count enough. Now that it is more current performance, household names aren't doing well enough. If the system is changed again there will be a new set of complaints.

I think the problems for the US team have less to do with the selection and more to do with what happens once the team gets there. Like maybe not changing equipment the day before, not asking not to play, not having the captain badmouthing the team or being a lunatic, etc...

Re: If the Ryder Cup started today
 

tuq,

I agree on the courses. Saw Bandon on tv the other night and would love to go some day.

HDPM,

All very good points. I hope i never have to see Love in another international competition. You list O'Hair but who else really? That was one of my points we really don't have the talent pool that we are used to choosing from. As far as the selection criteria goes i like it the old way better but i certainly don't see anyone being left off the team that i think is worthy of being on it. Having a non retarded captain would help. We are 0 for the last 5 in that department.

Re: If the Ryder Cup started today
 

Sad day when Oakland Hills is boring. But this year it is at a course that might be in Orlando and in 2008 it will be at the vaunted Valhalla. I guess Ballybunnion or Bandon don't measure up. [img]/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]

Re: If the Ryder Cup started today
 

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Sad day when Oakland Hills is boring. But this year it is at a course that might be in Orlando and in 2008 it will be at the vaunted Valhalla. I guess Ballybunnion or Bandon don't measure up. [img]/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]

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I was hoping to be less pissed when this thread was over but the course selection is just brutal. They grill the players for wanting some say in the profits and then make us watch one of golf's greatest events on their own personal goat ranches so they can make 2 billion instead of 1 billion. What a [censored] joke.

Re: If the Ryder Cup started today
 

HDPM,

I get extremely bored by flat tree-lined courses such as Oakland Hills, Oakmont, or Firestone.

As much as it's been maligned for being the PGA's bitch, I really like Valhalla. Interesting mix of holes that stand out (I was a huge online golf player back in the day and Valhalla was one of my favorite tracks in Links LS).

Also as it pertains to pairing, I really do think that last year's Presidents Cup was a breakthrough for multiple reasons. Particularly the gelling of the Woods/Furyk and Mickelson/DiMarco teams. In retrospect those make total sense but now at least they're time-tested.

Re: If the Ryder Cup started today
 

Can someone tell me why you even expected America to be favourites? Europe have won four out of last five Ryder Cups (inc. last 2). It's on European soil giving us home support/advantage. Can't see much in favour of the USA.