Final US pick brings drama before Ryder Cup tees off
IF YOU are looking for drama and intrigue on the eve of the Ryder Cup, the Tour Championship in Atlanta this week will fit the bill.
As if it was not enough that one player might end up heading to Hazeltine with a cheque for $11.88million (£9.04m) tucked into his back pocket, America’s captain Davis Love will name his final wildcard at half-time of NBC’s American Football coverage next Sunday evening.
A good idea or a good gimmick? It was well intentioned, arising out of the fact Billy Horschel won the mammoth prize on offer two years ago but did not make the plane to Gleneagles as the team had been selected already. How daft was that?
So the change was duly made but is it any improvement? Imagine how Bubba Watson must be feeling after being snubbed for the first three wildcards named last week despite being ranked seventh in the world?
The inference is he will have to play out of his boots in Atlanta to still make the trip but is he going to be in the right frame of mind to do so following that insult, with the US media desperate to talk to him and following his every shot? And what if he does make the team — isn’t there a danger he will feel like an afterthought and not on the same level as his team-mates?
Given why the change was made, Love must be under considerable pressure to pick the tournament winner on Sunday if he is not already in the team. But how many players win one week and are then on sparkling form the next as well? Or say the winner is someone who has never played in the Ryder Cup, like Daniel Berger, Ryan Moore or Gary Woodland. Are you going to be in the right frame of mind to take on Europe just five days after first learning you have the chance?
I spoke to a couple of European rookies in Italy last week and both said they would feel uneasy if the opportunity came along with no time to prepare.
Then there is two of the three Europeans in the select field of 30 in Atlanta — Paul Casey from England and Scotland’s Russell Knox — who both have a good chance of claiming the $11.88m on offer for winning the Tour Championship and the FedEx Cup but who will not be at the Ryder Cup.
How would Europe feel if either of those two won and would it, in a lop-sided way, be a psychological fillip to the Americans?
All that, and still we have not mentioned the likes of Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Patrick Reed and Dustin Johnson.
As I say, a fascinating week in prospect before the main event.