My 12 to be Euro heroes at 2020 Ryder Cup
IBLAME Colin Montgomerie. It’s a decade since the Scot marked the start of Ryder Cup qualifying by writing down the 12 players who he thought would make his team for the match at Celtic Manor the following year.
He put the names in an envelope and placed it in a locked draw. If memory serves, when he opened the envelope at the end of qualifying, we discovered he’d got 11 of the names right. Useless.
Naturally, those of us he’d invited to follow his example fared less well. I fared even worse when Darren Clarke instigated the same parlour game during his tenure, and was somewhat relieved when Thomas Bjorn didn’t bother last time.
Now the sports editor has stepped in. ‘I’d love to know who you think will be in the Ryder Cup team next year,’ said the email. ‘I think it would be a good column.’ Who says no to the boss?
Here goes then. Of the 12 heroes in Paris last time, there are surely five certainties for the defence in Wisconsin: Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Tommy Fleetwood, Francesco Molinari and Justin Rose.
Two more, recent winners Paul Casey and Sergio Garcia, have to be as near as damn it, even if the latter and skipper Padraig Harrington aren’t the best of pals.
Open champion Shane Lowry and BMW PGA champion Danny Willett are like peas in a pod. You won’t hear from them for weeks on end but when they’re on, they’re nerveless down the stretch, brilliant putters, and that’s what you need at a Ryder Cup.
Even if they just miss out on qualifying, they’d be in line for a pick, although Lowry will be hoping to spare his close friend Harrington that particular dilemma.
Three to find. The tricky bit. If you want to know how strong European golf is right now, consider the players not even mentioned to this point: Ian Poulter, Henrik Stenson, Matt Wallace, Matt Fitzpatrick, Tyrrell Hatton, Alex Noren, Bernd Wiesberger, Thomas Pieters and the man who once won a major at the Whistling Straits venue, Martin Kaymer. That’s before we get to the most exciting newcomers — Norway’s Viktor Hovland and Scotland’s Bob MacIntyre.
Deep breath now. I can see Poulter getting a wildcard because he isn’t about to fall off the graph — and, let’s face it, if he’s playing at least half-decently, who else would you pick?
Everything we’ve seen so far suggests Hovland is going straight to the top and straight into Europe’s team. One left.
This might be a Ryder Cup too soon for McIntyre, although it wouldn’t surprise me if he became the first left-hander to represent Europe in America next year rather than Rome in 2022.
Let’s go instead for a man at the other end of his career in Stenson, while offering sincere apologies to Fitzpatrick, Wallace and Wiesberger in particular.
Quite honestly, it’s amazing to me that I haven’t found room for any of them.
So, how many selected have I put the mockers on? How many left out will have a banner year?
Thanks, Monty. Thanks, boss.