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Ryder Cup captain's picks


Cunning Runt
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Jim Furyk, Steve Stricker, Dustin Johnson, Brandt Snedeker

 

For my money, I'm not sold on Furyk, regardless of experience. "Experience" has won the U.S. what? Only One of like the past 8 Ryder Cups? Something like that. Would have rather seen Mahan, Fowler, or Watney.

 

Mahan won a world match play earlier this year beating McIlroy to do so in the final, so dude's got match play skills. Fowler brought a big time spark of youthful exuberance at the last Ryder Cup, and Watney is playing some really good golf right now. A captain's pick is to get the guys who are hot.

 

Like the Snedeker pick a lot. Level headed and a great putter. Should be good in alternate shot.

 

Discuss......

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A captain's pick is to get the guys who are hot.

 

I think you answered your own question right there...

 

Mahan has only had one top 10 finish since his victory in April. Fowler hasn't had any top 10 finishes in the last 4 months. I think an arguement could be made for Watney, he has had some good tournaments of late. But at the same time Furyk has had a resurgence this year and been in contention in most of the majors and big tournaments. I think playing well when on the big stage this year had a lot to do with him being picked.

Edited by BillyBalata
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Not a big Furyk fan but I think he's a good choice here. Take this CHIPS AHOY!e seriously and has been playing some pretty good golf.

 

Wouldn't have minded Mahan but I have no idea how he's been playing. Fowler, meh, youth is good, spark is good, but we need someone golfers also. Hopefully he can sharpen his game for future events.

 

Just hope Mick shows up this time.

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I love match play - playing it and watching it. I don't like the alternate shot format, but that's more because I hate playing it.

 

Not sold on Furyk either. Yes, he has experience in that he's played in 7 Ryder Cups. He also has a losing record in those Ryder Cups (8-15-4 overall). Not sure that's the experience you really want. He had a shot to win two big tournaments this year and choked down the stretch.

 

The problem is that I don't know if I would have picked any of those other guys over Furyk. Hunter Mahan led the Ryder Cup points standing after the Masters and doesn't make the top 8? That's a huge drop and it shows. His short game has been horrible lately. Winning a match play event when your game is on is easy. Winning matches when you can't putt or chip - no chance. I definitely don't think he offered much to the team right now.

 

Ricky hasn't done anything the 2nd half of the season.

 

Given the length of Medina, I may have taken a flyer on Garrigus. Put him up against some of the shorter European hitters (mcdowell, donald) and let him hit his wedges for 2nd shots while his competition hits 3 irons. Frustrating as hell in match play.

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No one posted in the 11 hours in the eveining when a lot of people sleep?

 

Color me shocked . . . .;)

 

I am surprised that Mahan wasnt picked. Medinah's course lends itself well to his game.

 

 

I was surprised no one posted, yes. Keeping in mind that a) 9:30 is not exactly what I'd consider to be late, B) that's only 6:30 on he west coast, and moreso c) the Ryder Cup is a pretty big deal. I thought more folks would be interested in discussing it.

 

LawDawg hit it on the head where Furyk is concerned. Guy's got experience, but it's losing experience - both individually in Ryder Cup play, and USA as a team.

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I think you answered your own question right there...

 

Mahan has only had one top 10 finish since his victory in April. Fowler hasn't had any top 10 finishes in the last 4 months. I think an arguement could be made for Watney, he has had some good tournaments of late. But at the same time Furyk has had a resurgence this year and been in contention in most of the majors and big tournaments. I think playing well when on the big stage this year had a lot to do with him being picked.

 

Pretty much this. I'm as big of a Ryder Cup fan as you'll find... Not sure exactly what draws me to it, but I typically tape the entire event, and watch it start to finish. Maybe it's the team thing, maybe it's the fact that the U.S. has been an underdog recently, maybe it's how unified the Euro's become (making it even more exciting to cheer against them)... I don't know. Furyk may not have the best record on paper, but he's one of the top five U.S. match play guys over the past 10-15 years... Other than Tiger, I'm not sure you'll find a guy who has been more valuable to the U.S. teams during that time-span. More importantly, none of the other options (except maybe Watney) have done anything recently. Fowler hasn't contended recently. Mahan usually wins a tournament, then disappears for 3-4 months. Furyk is consistent, if nothing else. And, maybe most importantly, he's a guy with experience on a U.S. team that may be younger than any we've seen in the past half-dozen Ryder Cups. I can't say from experience (having never gone "behind the scenes" at one of these events), but I've heard that veteran leadership plays a pretty big role in getting the team on the same page, much like it would in many other sports.

 

To me, Furyk was the no-brainer of this group. I was more interested in whether the last of the four picks was going to be Fowler, Sneds, or somebody else.

 

Sidenote... I've had the 2016 Ryder Cup marked on my calender for a couple of years now. It's in the Twin Cities, and I've already decided that it will be my 40th B-day present to myself. I plan to take a week off, attend the entire event (including practice rounds), and enjoy. Having been to a President's Cup and a U.S. Open, I have to say that the team events are far more fun to watch in person, at least in my limited experience.

 

Back to this year's team... I really like the mix of younger guys (Watson, Simpson, Bradley) and "older" guys (Phil, Tiger, Furyk, Stricker), in the sense that the younger guys are all proven winners on big stages (the three that I named have all recently won majors). Snedeker has at least contended in majors, and most importantly, he's an awesome putter. Johnson practically made the top eight, even though he missed half the season. Dufner has contended in practically every major lately. Of course, none of that matters a whole lot, in match play. Should be fun to watch.

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Yep, Dufner is already in. Speaking of which... How is this, for a crazy month? He wins in New Orleans, gets married six days later, plays in The Players Championship (Sawgrass) the following weekend, wins again the following weekend (Byron Nelson), then finishes 2nd at Colonial the weekend after that. In less than a month, two wins, a runner-up, gets married, and plays at The Players. Unreal.

 

Dufner has quietly been one of the most consistent players, over the past two years, particularly in majors. In his last five majors, his worst finish is T31 at this year's British. Not bad.

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