Tom Watson sizes up Ryder Cup prospects

LOS ANGELES — This is what Tom Watson knows about the American with a big lead in the Ryder Cup standings.

Jimmy Walker is 35. He has three PGA Tour wins this year. And his hobby is creating photographs of the galaxy.

“The first book I read was All About Astronomy,” Watson said. “If he makes the Ryder Cup team, maybe we’ll have some common things to talk about.”

Watson was at Riviera on Tuesday, even though he is playing this week on the other side of the country in a Champions Tour event. It’s typical for Ryder Cup captains to make appearances on the PGA Tour throughout the year to meet with the media and keep their eye on potential players.

At 64, he is the oldest Ryder Cup captain in history. Some might be concerned he is out of touch with today’s best players. Ten of the top 15 players in the U.S. standings have never played in a Ryder Cup. That includes Jordan Spieth, who was born just two months before Watson was captain of the last American team that won in Europe.

“It was good to sit down at breakfast and see some of the old faces, like Davis Love and David Toms, but see some of the young faces, as well … And it’s good to be back on tour and to kind of get a little bit more knowledge of some of the players who might be on the Ryder Cup team,” Watson said.

Watson knows a lot more than he lets on. He realizes there’s still six months to go before nine players earn a spot on the team, and three weeks after that before he has to announce his three captain’s picks.

“We’ve got a lot of golf between here and there,” Walker said.

One reason for such an early focus on the Ryder Cup is the stark reminder that this team might include some new faces. Is that such a bad thing? Experience hasn’t exactly helped the Americans over the last 20 years.

“You’re always going to have new players,” Watson said. “They earn their way.”