Rickie Fowler
The 21 year old Fowler was perhaps the biggest surprise amongst Pavin's picks. The tour rookie is winless in his 24 starts this year, making 16 cuts and having 5 top-10 finishes. I can see the appeal to Fowler, a young kid looking to go out and prove himself on one of golf's biggest stages (he also finished top 20 over in Europe in the Open Championship, another good thought). But let's be serious - the kid looks like golf's equivalent of Justin Bieber, and hasn't won on either the PGA tour or Nationwide tour. He was in contention in numerous tournaments this year but always seemed to fade when it counted, a disparaging sign in a Ryder Cup pick. You can be sure that if Fowler throws up a goose egg when he gets his chances, Pavin will take some serious heat.
Tiger Woods
Woods was, to many, an obvious choice for a Captain's pick, due to his vast experience and ability to go low almost any time he steps on the course. Many people felt Woods compounded this with 3 sub-70 rounds at the Deutsche Bank Championship this past weekend. Here are my problems with all this:
1.) TPC Boston has proven to be the PGA tour's equivalent to "pitch and putt" (many total winning scores have been around -20 under). Of course he posted sub 70 rounds. In fact, it's probably a little embarrassing that he didn't post 4 of them.
2.) HE'S GOING THROUGH SWING CHANGES. Yeah let's throw a guy out there who is unsure of how his swing should feel.
3.) By his own admittance, he has been focusing more on his family life than his golf game. I'm not criticizing that (although I wonder where his concern for his family was when he was trolling for waitresses, but I digress), I'm just saying maybe the guy needs to clear his head before he will be able to compete at 100%.
4.) He isn't having a whole ton of sex anymore. You may be wondering why this is a bad thing, but consider this: Sex actually helps an athletes perfomance. Maybe what made Woods so great, besides his ridiculous amount of skill and willingness to practice, was screwing a different girl in every city.
Anyways, I feel that choosing Tiger was something that Pavin had to do from a PR standpoint, but I definitely think there were better choices for his spot.
Zach Johnson and Stewart Cink
I don't really have a problem with either of these picks. Johnson won an event this year and tied for third at the PGA. He has proven he has the ability to close when it matters and to perform under pressure - mainly due to his accurate driving and excellent putting. Plus, Johnson is probably the only guy on tour who could literally swing a club in a room with 6 foot ceilings (his swing is crazy flat). There has to be something to be sad for that. Cink had perhaps an off year this year, with only 3 top 10's and no victories. However, Cink won a British Open in 2009, proving that he is more than capable of playing on courses over there. He also has played in 4 Ryder Cups, making him a valuable asset to the younger players. Of the 4 picks, Johnson and Cink are perhaps my favorite - they both have won majors, proven that pressure doesn't get to them when it counts, and have participated in previous Ryder Cups. I definitely think Pavin got these ones right.
With these 4 players, the US team looks like this:
1.) Phil Mickelson
2.) Hunter Mahan
3.) Bubba Watson
4.) Jim Furyk
5.) Steve Stricker
6.) Dustin Johnson
7.) Jeff Overton
8.) Matt Kuchar
9.) Rickie Fowler
10.) Tiger Woods
11.) Zach Johnson
12.) Stewart Cink
P.S. As this post is being finished (4 pm on Friday), all 4 Captains picks are participating in the BMW Championship. All 4 are over par for the tournament - Cink and Johnson at 1 over, Fowler at 2 over, and Woods at 3 over. Nice.
Woods is the best player in the world jackass and a much better option than Charlie Hoffman or Lucas Glover
ReplyDeleteMaybe not a tournament but he can go 4-1 or something in the Ryder Cup and help the team more than Fowler. I am not against Hoffman,Glover or Holmes on the team. I just think it is the Fowler pick that is questionable not putting the best player in the world on your team.
ReplyDeleteWell he is going to this year and he has top 15 or better in each of the past three events. Hoffman and Holmes are playing well too but Hoffman did not play in a major this year and was not even considered until he won last week. Holmes only played in two majors this year and in his last three starts has a 60, t11, and a MC. Not exactly stellar golf. Glover did not finish higher than 34 in a major this year while not even playing at Cog Hill this week. Last four starts: 65, MC, 7th(Wyndam isn't a real tournament),MC(PGA). Also Tiger has the best track record of the four on links courses. Boom roasted
ReplyDeleteJ.B. Holmes shot 78 Sunday. If he does that with anyone he is just going to hold them down. Tiger is the best option here because he has the experience especially in Links golf. Tiger thrives on links while Phil struggles. The fact that Glover won a major last year on a course with half links style is irrelevant. Tiger is better than him on links courses/all the time straight up. Glover didn't make the BMW playing in ten more events than Tiger this year. He also only earned 200,000 more or 20k a tournament. I think Tiger would have covered that difference.
ReplyDeleteWell Tiger isn't shooting 90 more like 68 and a t15 or better. Stop being a homo because Tiger nailed more girls in one night than you ever will. J.B. Holmes would have been a solid choice for the Fowler spot not Tiger's. Tiger earns his way in a normal year. You going to try to kick him off then too? If anything Tiger has more to prove this year since the critics such as yourself are haters. Guy wants to win the most out of anyone on tour. The one thing you could never question is his desire to win.
ReplyDeleteI am not saying he is going to win it by himself. I don't think he should play in every session but he does deserve a spot on the team because despite the swing changes he is bringing in top 15s in the FedEx cup playoffs which are the best players on tour. He can contribute to the team and the divorce is finalized so hopefully he begins to move on. I think the Ryder Cup being in Europe helps him get away from it all to a degree too. The guys who made the team should be the foundation here with the captains' picks to fill in where needed. Except I want Cink or Johnson in there over Jeff Overton if it comes down to that.
ReplyDelete