Now we can concentrate on the golf

Simon Lewis

So the die has been cast and with just three weeks until the Ryder Cup gets under way at Medinah near Chicago, the teams are finally settled.

Or, to put it another way, “WOOOOO!! Ryder Cup baby!”

That was Dustin Johnson’s reaction via his Twitter account on Tuesday after being named as one of US captain Davis Love III’s four wild cards alongside Jim Furyk, Steve Stricker and Brandt Snedeker.

“I’m relieved,” Love said after announcing his picks. “I’m glad we can start focusing on playing golf as opposed to talking about golf.”

Who is he kidding? The talking is only just beginning for an event which has the longest build-up in golf and Love’s choices have helped start the great debate, not that there will be much surrounding Johnson..

Beefy Medinah’s 7,658 yards and wide fairways will suit the long-hitter down to the Illinois ground, just as Nicolas Colsaert’s length off the tee made him a must-pick for European captain Jose Maria Olazabal. Yet if Johnson’s choice was predictable, there were plenty of hard luck cases in Love’s selection process.

The US will attempt to regain the trophy lost by Corey Pavin’s team in Wales with 10 players from the world’s top 20 and only stalwarts Phil Mickelson (No.22) and Furyk (30) outside it. Europe, by comparison, have just six of their team in the top 20 but just one rookie, Colsaerts, compared to four Americans, including Snedeker.
Love could have picked an even stronger team had he chosen Hunter Mahan (No. 19) and Nick Watney (20) but the US captain went for experience in Furyk and Stricker and recent good form in Johnson and Snedeker and said he was thinking of his pairings in making his final decisions.

Watney would have been yet another American rookie, although he has President’s Cup experience, yet he eclipsed both Snedeker and Johnson to win the The Barclays, the first FedEx Cup event last month at Bethpage Black.

That alone would kick Furyk to the curb in many people’s estimations, given the veteran’s nervy displays in the closing rounds of big tournaments this season and his less than stellar Ryder Cup record with partners (Won four Lost 10 Halved two).

That said, Furyk is seen as a big asset in the team room, while Stricker’s candidacy comes from his excellent, controlled play and his proven suitability as a partner for Tiger Woods.

It is an impressive American team, no doubt about it, which will enjoy raucous backing on home soil in Chicago akin to that seen during two US Opens at New York’s Bethpage. But you have to feel more than a little sorry for Watney, Rickie Fowler and in particular Hunter Mahan, who missed out on an automatic place by just one spot.

After his chip yip on the 17th at Celtic Manor in 2010, hasn’t the Ryder Cup punched Mahan in the guts enough already?

Source: http://feeds.examiner.ie/~r/iesportsblog/~3/iVkNTgHU37o/post.aspx

Consumer spending Allen Stanford Consumer affairs Roy Hodgson Mergers and acquisitions Banking