Fans of the Ryder cup now know the 24 players that will represent Europe and the United States in this year’s Ryder cup which comes up in Paris in less than 3 weeks from now. The United states which won the trophy two years ago will be hoping to defend their title.
This year’s event takes place from the 28-30 September.Europe have picked four of their 12-man squad from the first four players on European points list. The second four were picked from the leading four players on the world points list. Francesco Molinari, Justin Rose, Tyrrell Hatton, Tommy Fleetwood, Thorbjørn Olesen, Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy and Alex Noren formed this list.
While the last four were wild cards picked by captain Bjorn. The wild cards picked by are Paul Casey, Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter and Henrik Stenson.
Thomas Bjorn and Jim Furyk are favorites to win this year’s Ryder cup based purely on current form and not their reputation in the history of the competition. As of of the time of writing this article, Europe are favourite to win the trophy just ahead of the Americans at 13/10 via Betway – similar prices with other bookies.However, considering the history of the Ryder cup, both Thomas Bjorn and Jim Furyk might have made a mistake in picking their wild cards.
Europe is known to always rely on very experienced hands in picking their wild cards. In each of their best ever finish in the history of the championship – 1987, 2004, 2006 and 2010, they have gone for veterans of the competition. At no time has Europe picked any played who hasn’t appeared in at least four previous Ryder cups and they almost always go for players who have scored at least 5.5 points and at least one player over the age of 37 years and one who has won at least seven matches prior to the start of each of the Ryder cups.
A look at Bjorn’s picks
The duo of Ian Poulter and Sergio Garcia have been around for sometime now and have been a key part of Europe’s success in the Ryder cup since the turn of the millennium and it is easy to see why Bjorn has chosen to go for experienced hands. Bjorn could have gone for rookies who are doing well in the points list so far this year, but the fact that five rookies already have their places automatically secured, one can see why Bjorn chose not to take another rookie to the Ryder cup. However, if Bjorn looks back to the 2016 Ryder cup he will see it is not always good to drop a player on fine form due to inexperience.
A look at the four players which formed Bjorn’s wild cards shows all of them have made 20 Ryder cup appearances ( combined ). Garcia who will be playing in his 9th Ryder Cup is a major champion. He is also just three points away from becoming Europe’s leading all time scorer. Garcia certainly has the experience but considering Stenson is also a major champion but he hasn’t been at his best recently due to problems with a long term injury. Bjorn definitely have picked him as a result of his two major finishes of 6th or better so far this season.
Here is what Bjorn had to say about each of the four players he has picked Bjorn on Paul Casey: “He’s really shown he’s missed this part of his life. It was a no-brainer to bring him back. He brings world-class golf back to the team.”
Bjorn on Sergio Garcia: “You have to look at Sergio in certain ways, he is the heartbeat of the team. It’s like a football team going without their captain. He makes everybody around him better. He is everything that the European Ryder Cup team is about.”
Bjorn on Ian Poulter: “When he gets confident, he hits that European badge hard. He is a man for the occasion and he is a special person. Sometimes you think him and Sergio should have been footballers because they like the team aspect so much. Winning tournaments is important but the frame of mind is equally important.”
Bjorn on Henrik Stenson: “We had long conversations about his elbow injury but he’s focused from his personal achievement to being ready for the Ryder Cup. As soon as I knew that, it wasn’t a problem to pick him. He is great at looking after some of the youngsters. He’s a strong player.”
Team USA
Jim Furyk has always gone for veterans and old guards in picking his four wild cards. He went for both Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson both of who have played a combined 78 Rdyer cup matches. They have earned over 36 games but curiously, both of them have lost more Ryder cup matches than they have won. But one can understand Furyk’s decision to pick both Woods and Mickelson. Their statures means they are a must pick even if Furyk wasn’t the captain. However, judging by previous Ryder cup games, it has always been better to pick players based on form and youthfulness and not on experience. A flash back to the 2008 Ryder cup which took place at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, United States shows form and youthness can do wonders for a team. The team USA of 2008 remains the best ever, they took at least 8.5 points for each winning side and the team included three Ryder cup newbies – debutants.
It is also important to point out that in the history of the cup, only five Americans who were selected as wild cards scored less than a month. America have had four players going pass the 40 points mark so far and only five Americans who were wild card picks have gone on to score more than three points of which four of them were under 40.
When America won the trophy two years ago, their captain then Davis Love III had his wild cards consisting of players who were between the ages of 27 and 38. JB Holmes, Rickie Fowler and Matt Kuchar were the experience hands Davis Love III chose while rookie Ryan Moore was the form man and ended up being a key player for the Americans.