US in danger of over-thinking

Andrew Coltart believes desperation for a victory may actually harm Davis Love’s cause. Nick Rodger reports

IN the search for Ryder Cup success – and it’s been a pretty fruitless rummage for Team USA in recent years – the Americans have left no stone unturned. Task forces have been set up, pearls of wisdom sought; it’s been an exhaustive process by Davis Love III and his assistants.

“They are in incredible danger of over-thinking things,” Scottish golfer Andrew Coltart said of the USA’s effort to find a kind of E=Mc2 formula for Ryder Cup success.

That process will end tonight when Love names his final wild card, a decision that was delayed to ensure there was no repeat of the Billy Horschel Affair in 2014 when he won two of the last three FedExCup events but didn’t make the Ryder Cup team because his rousing run arrived after Tom Watson had already named his picks.

“They came up with this idea on the basis that Billy Horschel played well in the Tour Championship in 2014 and how they could have had him in the team and what a difference that would have made,” Coltart said. “Here they are waiting to make a final pick after this weekend, but you have Phil Mickelson telling everybody what the partnerships are even though they don’t know who the 12th man is.

“Then you have Bubba Watson, whose character is a bit fragile at the best of times, and he’s waiting to see if he’ll get picked. But he is left to wonder whether his team-mates actually want him there in the first place. There is a bit of confusion which may seep into the team.”

Coltart made his one and only Ryder Cup appearance at Brookline in 1999 but played just once over the course of three days when he was pitched into singles action against Tiger Woods. There will be six rookies in Darren Clarke’s team for this week’s tussle, but Coltart acknowledges the newcomers are far from raw recruits.

“I don’t listen to this rookie garbage at all,” Coltart said. “You have a guy there in Danny Willett who is the Masters champion. Rookies were never Major champions. Now, you have rookies who are winning events and playing against top-50 players all the time. It wasn’t that long ago that some of these guys were playing in team events in the amateur game. OK, it’s a monumental step up from that but they’ll relish being part of the team.

“They all look like they can handle it. The Ryder Cup is a different animal but they have good, levelheaded, experienced players in the team and in the backroom staff.

“They have people who can handle the pressure and allow these new players to go out and do what they do best. I’m not fussed about that rookie thing. Two of the best players in 2014 were Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed and they were debutants. We’re past this rubbish about talking down the rookies.”

Those of a Scottish persuasion were hoping this raft of rookies would include Inverness exile Russell Knox. There was plenty of reason for optimism, after two wins on the PGA Tour, but the purposeful late surge of Thomas Pieters convinced Clarke to go with the in-form Belgian.

“In my opinion, if my captain had asked me to do this or that I would have shown willing,” said Coltart, on Knox’s decision not to play in The Wyndham Championship when Clarke had made it clear he would like him to.

Experiencing the cut and thrust of the Ryder Cup is something Coltart still savours, even if it ended in defeat. Europe led 10-6 going into the singles at the Battle of Brookline but the US loaded the top order with heavy artillery for an early offensive and Coltart, as well as Jarmo Sandelin and Jean van de Velde, found themselves playing their first matches against some of the USA’s best players. Coltart would lose 3&2 to Woods as the hosts roared to a narrow and controversial victory while Europe captain’s Mark James’s tactics were much maligned.

“You don’t bleed someone because you’re worried about upsetting their ego,” Coltart said. “The fact I stayed out until the Sunday didn’t have an impact on my game. By the time Sunday came I was desperate to get out there. I’d experienced what it was like to be inside the ropes, even though I hadn’t hit any shots. I actually played well. I just got beaten by a guy who played better.” Automatic qualifiers DUSTIN JOHNSON Age: 32 Caps: 2 (2010, 2012) Record: Won 4 Lost 3 Halved 0 Majors: 1 (US Open 2016) JORDAN SPIETH Age: 23 Caps: 1 (2014) Record: W2 L1 H1 Majors: 2 (Masters 2015, US Open 2015) PHIL MICKELSON Age: 46 Caps: 10 (1995, 1997, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014) Record: W16 L19 H6 Majors: 5 (Masters 2004, 2006, 2010, US PGA 2005, Open 2013) PATRICK REED Age: 26 Caps: 1 (2014) Record: W3 L0 H1 Majors: 0 JIMMY WALKER Age: 37 Caps: 1 (2014) Record: W1 L1 H3 Majors: 1 (US PGA 2016) BROOKS KOEPKA Age: 26 Caps: 0 Majors: 0 BRANDT SNEDEKER Age: 35 Caps: 1 (2012) Record: W1 L2 H0 Majors: 0 ZACH JOHNSON Age: 40 Caps: 4 (2006, 2010, 2012, 2014) Record: W6 L6 H2 Majors: 2 (Masters 2007, Open 2015) Wild cards RICKIE FOWLER Age: 27 Caps: 2 (2010, 2014) Record: W0 L3 H5 Majors: 0 JB HOLMES Age: 34 Caps: 1 (2008) Record: W2 L0 H1 Majors: 0 MATT KUCHAR Age: 38 Caps: 3 (2010, 2012, 2014) Record: W4 L5 H2 Majors: 0 ? Final pick to be announced tonight by captain Davis Love III