Mike Charles posted on June 22, 2012 11:22
The biennial competition called the Ryder Cup will take place in suburban Chicago at Medinah Country Club over the days of September 28-30, 2012. That’s 98 days away. For golf fans, it is often the three best days of the golf season. This year’s competition is greatly anticipated as the United States looks to recapture the Cup after losing by one point two years ago in Wales. This year’s team looks to be a combination of youth and experience, and I like the way it looks right now.
For 2012 the top eight point earners will automatically while Ryder Cup Captain Davis Love III will round out the team by making four captain’s selections. The top eight golfers on the list right now are Jason Dufner, Webb Simpson, Bubba Watson, Matt Kuchar, Phil Mickelson, Hunter Mahan, Tiger Woods, and Zach Johnson. Of these, only Dufner and Simpson would be playing in their first Ryder Cub, and Simpson played in the President’s Cup in 2011. The rest have all played in at least one Ryder Cub and one President’s Cup each. Veterans like Mickelson and Woods have played in eight and six Ryder’s, respectively.
The European team is very strong, obviously, with the top three players in the world being European. The top ten European golfers on their list are Rory McIlroy, Luke Donald, Lee Westwood, Justin Rose, Graeme McDowell, Paul Lauwrie, Martin Kaymer, Peter Hanson, Sergio Garcia, and Nicolas Colsaerts. Team Captain Jose Marie Olazabal will round the team out with two captain’s selections. I don’t really care who he picks, because usually the last two Europeans are players I have never heard of and who don’t make much of a difference in the outcome of the match.
Love having four selections is more than most American captains have had over the past several competitions. Most of them had only two. I hope he picks Jim Furyk and Keegan Bradley. Furyk and Woods have been outstanding teammates in the past, compiling an outstanding record. He is one of the few people who has successfully been able to play with Tiger on these team competitions. Bradley is an outstanding player who should have been selected for last year’s President’s Cup team. I hope he gets picked and look forward to his play this year at Medinah. For the other two I hope Captain Love picks Ben Crane and Kevin Na. Crane can pound them into submission by creating a first ever six hour round in Cup history while Na can get in their heads with that goofy hiccup he has about every third shot he hits. Those bastards will be muttering to themselves in no time trying to take on these two.
Europe has won four of the last six competitions and six of the last ten. That’s pretty good dominance. Playing the Cup in good old Illinois will help our boys, I am sure. But what they really need is for Tiger and Phil to grab this damn thing by the balls and wipe their ass with whoever they are playing. All teams need leadership and Woods needs to get his monumental ego put away and care about the team for once in his life. That’s the key to victory for this year’s edition of the Ryder Cup.
However it turns out, it should be an outstanding weekend for golf fans. I love this event and look forward to watching every shot that’s broadcast.