Ryder Cup 2016

vienne86 · 12-09-2016 06:10PM

Martin567 wrote: »

Correct. Even if Casey was now No 1 in the world rankings, he wouldn't be playing in the Ryder Cup.

We've known this for the last year. He made this decision for himself back in 2015.

I'm not a fan of Casey, but I wish he hadn't made that decision.

Keano · 12-09-2016 07:15PM

daithi7 wrote: »

Have I got this right??

Clarke picks his team~ last week, confirming his wildcards

Love announces his team this week, with only 3 out of 4 wildcards confirmed.

Then the class act and seasoned successful Ryder Cup player who is Paul Casey, plays brilliantly in 2 consecutive huge tournaments in the fedex cup in the US . But Clarke has already picked and named all his wild cards!?!

How fupping stupid is that!?

Why do Europe since their team in its entirety so early..... in a form game like golf this is clearly a serious competitive disadvantage!?

Casey was never eligible for the European team nor will be ever as he has no intention of joining European Tour

Quintis · 12-09-2016 07:54PM

Keano wrote: »

Casey was never eligible for the European team nor will be ever as he has no intention of joining European Tour

Still bitter that Monty didn't pick him in 2010

vienne86 · 12-09-2016 08:05PM

Quintis wrote: »

Still bitter that Monty didn't pick him in 2010

If that is true, I think it is childish on his part - the gripe there is with Monty, not Europe.

First Up · 12-09-2016 08:09PM

vienne86 wrote:

If that is true, I think it is childish on his part - the gripe there is with Monty, not Europe.

I think its more that he decided playing two tours was too hard and he opted for life in the US. His first marriage broke up because he was travelling so much. He went to college in the US and has lived in Chicago for years and has an American wife.

LuckyGent88 · 12-09-2016 08:35PM

First Up wrote: »

I think its more that he decided playing two tours was too hard and he opted for life in the US. His first marriage broke up because he was travelling so much. He went to college in the US and has lived in Chicago for years and has an American wife.

His current fiancé is English. His ex wife is American. Agree that he possibly felt that playing both tours affects his personal life so have up the European tour still though.

Have heard he has an issue both with Monty and Darren Clarke. Think Clarke was a vice captain in 2010 as well.

Nowadays it's hardly that difficult to play both tours if your high up in rankings as you play all majors and wgc events. That's 8 tournaments already and would only need to play 5 more I think.

First Up · 12-09-2016 08:42PM

LuckyGent88 wrote:

His current fiancÃ© is English. His ex wife is American. Agree that he possibly felt that playing both tours affects his personal life so have up the European tour still though.

Correct - my mistake.

daithi7 · 12-09-2016 08:57PM

First Up wrote: »

Casey is not a member of the European Tour.

Fair enough, but my point still holds for the other European tour players who are eligible.

I.e. why pick your wild cards earlier than necessary?? when one or two of the marginal calls might play themselves into killer form in the weeks right before the Ryder cup, as Casey has done. (Or equally some of your other potential picks might show poorer form than required for a Ryder Cup team place).

To prove this pointt further, Davis Love & the Yanks are still waiting right till the end to pick& announce their final wildcard selection, but Clarke has named all of his already, a full 2 weeks earlier....wtf!?

What if Russell Knox and/or Soren Kjeldsen ( &/or others) were afforded the opportunity to shoot the lights out this weekend to pay their way into the team, as a form wildcard pick? Instead we have guys ranked well below them, picked and announced way earlier than required, and put into the European team ahead of them and ahead of time. This looks premature, and frankly, it smacks of poorly thought out selection strategy and preparation versus the U S.

The U.S. will win hands down this time, and Clarke will go down as Europe's worst Ryder cup captain since Faldo, who was equally thick, and poorly prepared imho. They're both crap captains.

vienne86 · 12-09-2016 08:57PM

LuckyGent88 wrote: »

His current fiancé is English. His ex wife is American. Agree that he possibly felt that playing both tours affects his personal life so have up the European tour still though.

Have heard he has an issue both with Monty and Darren Clarke. Think Clarke was a vice captain in 2010 as well.

Nowadays it's hardly that difficult to play both tours if your high up in rankings as you play all majors and wgc events. That's 8 tournaments already and would only need to play 5 more I think.

I think he is now married to Polyanna Woodward.

Anyway, I think he must have some sort of personal grudge - as you say, it is not that difficult to play the two tours.

flogthebog · 12-09-2016 09:03PM

so hard to see how europe can come the right side out of this. and i don't mind. i would like the US to win. if there is no competition whats the point.
all that aside I am so less enamoured with the game. cant explain why. As a kid I watched soccer all the time. as i got older i followed golf as i played my own shocking version of it. so as i lost my fascination with my man utd team as a kid i have lost my fascination with my golf players.

now the obvious answer is that i have got old but i refuse to accept that :-) so can anybody help me with a better answer that doesnt offend my dignity :-)

Seve OB · 12-09-2016 09:23PM

Apparently Casey wouldn't be the most liked player on tour. Not that it makes a difference this time around but I'm sure if you are a captain and have to make a pick, it is going to be difficult to choose someone who might not gel with the team no matter how good they are

LuckyGent88 wrote: »

Nowadays it's hardly that difficult to play both tours if your high up in rankings as you play all majors and wgc events. That's 8 tournaments already and would only need to play 5 more I think.

vienne86 wrote: »

Anyway, I think he must have some sort of personal grudge - as you say, it is not that difficult to play the two tours.

It might not be that difficult, but it is not easy. There are sacrifices to be made. Tournament selection headaches, travel fatigue. This is an easier decision for the better golfers who can whiz around on their private jets and only choose to play the top tournaments. But Casey played 21 times this year on PGA tour and has gotten to 5th. If he was on the Euro tour also, I've no doubt about it, he would have played less in the US resulting in a natural lower points to date and when he did play extra in Europe, then he would have been more fatigued in the events he did play and may not have gotten the required results. His decision to play only US tour has paid off for him.

Minderbinder · 13-09-2016 04:43AM

callaway92 wrote: »

callaway92 wrote: »

Fowler is an absolute cert to be picked.

I was in no doubt about this. His name alone would be pressure to include him.

It's a great pick for Europe in my opinion. He is the most overhyped player in golf. He's a bit like an American Sergio except he hasn't won a match in the Ryder cup in two appearances and Sergio had twice his number of victories at a similar age.

First Up · 13-09-2016 06:29AM

vienne86 wrote:

Anyway, I think he must have some sort of personal grudge - as you say, it is not that difficult to play the two tours.

Casey has previously gone into considerable detail about it. He found it impossible to do himself justice - and it cost him his marriage.

First Up · 13-09-2016 06:37AM

daithi7 wrote:

I.e. why pick your wild cards earlier than necessary??

There is more to it than one or two week's form. Should he drop anyone who misses next week's cut? All these guys can play.

A huge amount of thought goes into it - how players play certain types of courses and holes; how they gel with each other; temprament and attitude. Listen to McGinley talk about it.

The team also needs time to prepare and bond. The timing is fine.

DiegoWorst · 13-09-2016 07:50AM

daithi7 wrote: »

Fair enough, but my point still holds for the other European tour players who are eligible.

I.e. why pick your wild cards earlier than necessary?? when one or two of the marginal calls might play themselves into killer form in the weeks right before the Ryder cup, as Casey has done. (Or equally some of your other potential picks might show poorer form than required for a Ryder Cup team place).

To prove this pointt further, Davis Love & the Yanks are still waiting right till the end to pick& announce their final wildcard selection, but Clarke has named all of his already, a full 2 weeks earlier....wtf!?

What if Russell Knox and/or Soren Kjeldsen ( &/or others) were afforded the opportunity to shoot the lights out this weekend to pay their way into the team, as a form wildcard pick? Instead we have guys ranked well below them, picked and announced way earlier than required, and put into the European team ahead of them and ahead of time. This looks premature, and frankly, it smacks of poorly thought out selection strategy and preparation versus the U S.

The U.S. will win hands down this time, and Clarke will go down as Europe's worst Ryder cup captain since Faldo, who was equally thick, and poorly prepared imho. They're both crap captains.

- these guys, captain and vice captains, have played Ryder Cups for years, I expect their knowledge and experience is far greater than anybody on this forum. They know what they're doing, and have been working towards this match for two years, give them some credit.
- In terms of team selections, its better to get the selections in early so guys know where they stand. Gives the captains time to work out tactics, 4ball / 4somes pairings etc
- I don't think its fair to say the Americans have a better selection system at present, to me it looks like they're still searching for a process. Could be they have it nailed this time. We'll see in a couple of weeks.
- Faldo was a poor captain, but to put Clarke in the same boat before the match has begun???? Clarke's performance at the Eurasia Cup, for example, would suggest to me he's doing more of the right things than Faldo did.

The beauty of the Ryder Cup is nobody knows which side is going to win, could be one sided, it might come down to the last match on Sunday, who knows. The US have a better team on paper, but that hasn't worked for them before.

vienne86 · 13-09-2016 08:30AM

daithi7 wrote: »

Fair enough, but my point still holds for the other European tour players who are eligible.

I.e. why pick your wild cards earlier than necessary?? when one or two of the marginal calls might play themselves into killer form in the weeks right before the Ryder cup, as Casey has done. (Or equally some of your other potential picks might show poorer form than required for a Ryder Cup team place).

To prove this pointt further, Davis Love & the Yanks are still waiting right till the end to pick& announce their final wildcard selection, but Clarke has named all of his already, a full 2 weeks earlier....wtf!?

What if Russell Knox and/or Soren Kjeldsen ( &/or others) were afforded the opportunity to shoot the lights out this weekend to pay their way into the team, as a form wildcard pick? Instead we have guys ranked well below them, picked and announced way earlier than required, and put into the European team ahead of them and ahead of time. This looks premature, and frankly, it smacks of poorly thought out selection strategy and preparation versus the U S.

The U.S. will win hands down this time, and Clarke will go down as Europe's worst Ryder cup captain since Faldo, who was equally thick, and poorly prepared imho. They're both crap captains.

I think there is much much more to picking the team than this.....McGinley, who was a great captain IMO, has spoken about this.

I am not a huge fan of Clarke, but to write him off and categorise him with Faldo as a captain is, I think, totally unfair.

I am not optimistic about our chances his time round, but I'm still looking foward to the event.

AGC · 13-09-2016 09:14AM

LuckyGent88 wrote: »

Westwood, Willet, kaymer, Fitzpatrick, Sullivan and wood all playing in Italy this week.

My main worry is Sullivan. Hadn't done a whole lot this year at all. A lot of the points that got him on team were collected before March.
Chris wood didn't play much after winning PGA as he got injured and then got married. Just getting back playing so just needs the rounds and his form should pick up.
Struggling to find when Rafa played last though and doesn't look like he is playing in Europe next two weeks.

Willet has done nothing since the Masters, Wood has done nothing and is in because he won the PGA with a weakened field, Westwood is in because of his relationship with Clarke and experience but has done very little, Fitzpatrick I fear will just be overpowered by the whole occasion. Sullivan has very little form at present.

Arguably Europe's best player is Stenson who has openly admitted to being shattered and carrying an injury.

Can't see Rose, Rory and Sergio winning it alone.

It really is baffling that Knox was not picked - There is likely to be American players who have not even encountered a number of the European Team, they will hardly be worried but not selecting a player in the top 10 of the Fed Ex and top 20 in the world is a bad call.

Stricker and Furyk as American vice captains would be shoe in's to play if European!!

AGC · 13-09-2016 09:15AM

vienne86 wrote: »

I think there is much much more to picking the team than this.....McGinley, who was a great captain IMO, has spoken about this.

I am not a huge fan of Clarke, but to write him off and categorise him with Faldo as a captain is, I think, totally unfair.

I am not optimistic about our chances his time round, but I'm still looking foward to the event.

In fairness to Clarke he can do nothing about the automatics

Mantis Toboggan · 13-09-2016 09:28AM

Captains picks are not just about playing ability if that was the case the first 12 players would be picked and there would be no need for captains picks. It's a team game. Players who got the pick automatically are there on merit, it's not Clarkes fault they're on the team.

Seve OB · 13-09-2016 09:29AM

AGC wrote: »

There is likely to be European players who have not even encountered a number of the American Team, they will hardly be worried

FYP

Johnny_Fontane · 13-09-2016 09:36AM

Whats the story with Stenson? What happens if he is deemed unfit to play?

Keano · 13-09-2016 09:56AM

AGC wrote: »

Willet has done nothing since the Masters, Wood has done nothing and is in because he won the PGA with a weakened field, Westwood is in because of his relationship with Clarke and experience but has done very little, Fitzpatrick I fear will just be overpowered by the whole occasion. Sullivan has very little form at present.

Arguably Europe's best player is Stenson who has openly admitted to being shattered and carrying an injury.

Can't see Rose, Rory and Sergio winning it alone.

It really is baffling that Knox was not picked - There is likely to be American players who have not even encountered a number of the European Team, they will hardly be worried but not selecting a player in the top 10 of the Fed Ex and top 20 in the world is a bad call.

Stricker and Furyk as American vice captains would be shoe in's to play if European!!

Being very critical of the European Team.

DUSTIN JOHNSON - man on form
JORDAN SPIETH - what's he done this year? Masters meltdown still fresh in his mind
PHIL MICKELSON - no win this year..
PATRICK REED - 1 win this year?
JIMMY WALKER - won the PGA and gone off the boil since
BROOKS KOEPKA - has bags of potential, will be nervous
BRANDT SNEDEKER - steady but none of the Europeans should fear playing him
ZACH JOHNSON - Same as Sned
J.B. HOLMES - make him putt everything!
Rickie FOWLER - his Ryder Cup record is appalling
Matt KUCHAR - see Sned!

AGC · 13-09-2016 10:04AM

Keano wrote: »

Being very critical of the European Team.

DUSTIN JOHNSON - man on form
JORDAN SPIETH - what's he done this year? Masters meltdown still fresh in his mind
PHIL MICKELSON - no win this year..
PATRICK REED - 1 win this year?
JIMMY WALKER - won the PGA and gone off the boil since
BROOKS KOEPKA - has bags of potential, will be nervous
BRANDT SNEDEKER - steady but none of the Europeans should fear playing him
ZACH JOHNSON - Same as Sned
J.B. HOLMES - make him putt everything!
Rickie FOWLER - his Ryder Cup record is appalling
Matt KUCHAR - see Sned!

Agreed I am being critical but surely no denying that the above American team is in a far stronger place than the European.

Give me Snedeker, Johnson and Kuchar over Wood, Fitzpatrick and Sullivan any day.

Hope I am wrong, Europe generally have the weaker team on paper and make the step up but I can't see it this year.

Mantis Toboggan · 13-09-2016 10:07AM

AGC wrote: »

Agreed I am being critical but surely no denying that the above American team is in a far stronger place than the European.

Give me Snedeker, Johnson and Kuchar over Wood, Fitzpatrick and Sullivan any day.

Hope I am wrong, Europe generally have the weaker team on paper and make the step up but I can't see it this year.

Don't think anyone is saying the European team are stronger, but blaming Clarke for this is a bit silly. US will be huge favourites but then again they usually are.

Keano · 13-09-2016 10:08AM

America have to win, all the pressure will be on them. European's have nothing to lose

AGC · 13-09-2016 10:10AM

Tyson Fury wrote: »

Don't think anyone is saying the European team are stronger, but blaming Clarke for this is a bit silly. US will be huge favourites but then again they usually are.

I am not blaming Clarke at all - Only 1 pick I would have changed, as I have said nothing he can do about automatics.

Ormus · 13-09-2016 10:10AM

Keano wrote: »

Being very critical of the European Team.

DUSTIN JOHNSON - man on form
JORDAN SPIETH - what's he done this year? Masters meltdown still fresh in his mind
PHIL MICKELSON - no win this year..
PATRICK REED - 1 win this year?
JIMMY WALKER - won the PGA and gone off the boil since
BROOKS KOEPKA - has bags of potential, will be nervous
BRANDT SNEDEKER - steady but none of the Europeans should fear playing him
ZACH JOHNSON - Same as Sned
J.B. HOLMES - make him putt everything!
Rickie FOWLER - his Ryder Cup record is appalling
Matt KUCHAR - see Sned!

I think DJ and Reed will be great, and Sneds has the makings of a good Ryder Cup player. After that there isn't much to fear. Obviously Phil and Spieth are capable of great things, but they've been tamed before. Holmes is flaky on greens, and I saw Koepka completely lose the head under pressure when leading a tournament a few months ago, might've been the Byron Nelson?

I'd fancy the US to win, but if Europe could get off to a good start in the foursomes, the pressure will build on the opposition.

daithi7 · 13-09-2016 10:27AM

AGC wrote: »

I am not blaming Clarke at all - Only 1 pick I would have changed, as I have said nothing he can do about automatics.

to be clear I an blaming Clarke. To leave out Knox is baffling tbh. Westwood & Kaymer are 2 experienced players but neither has been great this year at all.

To pick them 2 weeks before the Yanks pick their final wild card is piss poor selecting IMHO.

let's see how Clarke's wildcards get on versus Love's, in the number of matches played, no of points won, etc. i know Love picks 4 v Clarke's 3, but let's just pro rata it to be even allowing for 1 extra yank wild card playing last day. I'm betting Love's wildcards will kick the Europeans wildcards hands down in terms of Ryder cup performances & points.

Clarke has been in the media waffling o. about captains whatsapp groups, etc. Big bloody deal.....he may as well be planning the piss up for after the way he's going about it, that would be his forte anyway, let's be honest.

He was a poor choice as captain imho, and the performance of the respective wildcards is likely to indicate this also.

Johnny_Fontane · 13-09-2016 10:27AM

Keano wrote: »

Being very critical of the European Team.

DUSTIN JOHNSON - man on form
JORDAN SPIETH - what's he done this year? Masters meltdown still fresh in his mind
PHIL MICKELSON - no win this year..
PATRICK REED - 1 win this year?
JIMMY WALKER - won the PGA and gone off the boil since
BROOKS KOEPKA - has bags of potential, will be nervous
BRANDT SNEDEKER - steady but none of the Europeans should fear playing him
ZACH JOHNSON - Same as Sned
J.B. HOLMES - make him putt everything!
Rickie FOWLER - his Ryder Cup record is appalling
Matt KUCHAR - see Sned!

This is brilliant.

Eric the Eagle · 13-09-2016 10:30AM

AGC wrote: »

Willet has done nothing since the Masters, Wood has done nothing and is in because he won the PGA with a weakened field, Westwood is in because of his relationship with Clarke and experience but has done very little, Fitzpatrick I fear will just be overpowered by the whole occasion. Sullivan has very little form at present.

Arguably Europe's best player is Stenson who has openly admitted to being shattered and carrying an injury.

Can't see Rose, Rory and Sergio winning it alone.

It really is baffling that Knox was not picked - There is likely to be American players who have not even encountered a number of the European Team, they will hardly be worried but not selecting a player in the top 10 of the Fed Ex and top 20 in the world is a bad call.

Stricker and Furyk as American vice captains would be shoe in's to play if European!!

I think that is a bit harsh on Westwood, granted he hasn't played a lot this year but he still finished runner up in the Masters and played great for the first three rounds of the US Open, I know he had a nightmare final round but still a good showing.

Along with his experience, he also played well in Switzerland recently and would be a great fourball partner for one of the rookies, maybe Pieters?

Ryder Cup 2016

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