Will Stricker be riding to rescue of Ryder Cup?
It will be the man with all the answers versus the man with all the questions at the 2020 Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits.
Steve Stricker was named captain of Team U.S.A. on Wednesday. The 51-year-old (52 on Saturday) is tasked with trying to lead America to victory for just the third time since the turn of the century. It will be a home game for Stricker, as golf ’s most intense competition heads to his native Wisconsin.
Stricker has long been a putting master on tour who players have turned to, including Tiger Woods, for answers on the greens. His strong relationship with Woods will raise American hopes that Stricker somehow can get the most out of the 14-time major winner.
“With his leadership and the way the guys follow Strick, we thought that he would be the best captain for 2020,” Woods said Wednesday from the WGC Mexico Championship. “The players were unanimous, they wanted him as their team leader.”
Woods is usually good for a point in his Sunday singles match, but only once in eight Ryder Cups has he gone home with a winning record in team play, where he is 9-19-1.
Leading the other side is a man unlikely to be asked for swing advice from players. It was announced in early January that three-time major champion Padraig Harrington will captain Team Europe. Harrington is a joy to listen to when he’s talking about golf, and can frequently be seen on the driving range with whatever new swing aid has caught his eye.
Whether it’s elastic bands, towels, a child’s foam ball, or even golf ’s version of a straitjacket, Harrington has tried everything. On the driving range before the 2015 Honda Classic, I witnessed him charging at the ball like Happy Gilmore.
Days later, he won his first tournament on the PGA Tour in seven years.
GOLFERS HIGH IN MEXICO
Expect to see some surprising shot distances at the WGC Mexico Championship this week.
Instead of fine-tuning their games, most of the world’s best players have spent the past couple of days staring at TrackMan numbers trying to figure out how far they hit each club at Club de Golf Chapultepec, where elevation is 2,400 metres above sea level.
It’s Tiger’s first tournament in Mexico, although he’s a seven-time winner of this championship at previous venues.
“I need to figure out how far this ball’s going,” Woods said Wednesday. “It’s a challenge. I hit a couple shots today with a wedge on the course that flew 180.”
CANADIANS TO WATCH
While the world’s top-ranked players are in Mexico, there is an opposite-field PGA Tour event being played in Puerto Rico, featuring six Canadians. This week is a great opportunity for David Hearn, Corey Conners, Adam Svensson, Ben Silverman, Roger Sloan and Taylor Pendrith.
Meanwhile, Brooke Henderson is back in action this week in the Honda LPGA Thailand.