Without question, the most difficult choice for a Ryder Cup Captain is making his two wild card selections for the 12-man roster. All of the best players want to be on the team but there is limited room. Somebody who was close to qualifying for one of the 10 automatic berths will be crushed when he’s passed over for someone else. Of course, the two who are selected will be positively ecstatic. US Captain Tom Lehman agonized over his 2 choices for several days but had the advantage of knowing that he should select experience due to four of his automatic ... full post »

Hallelujah! Tiger Woods has finally gotten comfortable enough to take charge of the US Ryder Cup team. By now, everybody knows that he and Phil Mickelson totally rearranged their schedules to join the entire team on a 3-day recon mission to K Club in Ireland where the matches will be held starting September 22nd. My hat goes off to both of them for that is no small feat. The difference it will make in team-building could be monstrous. But Woods did another remarkable thing prior to that. When it was determined that four young rookies would be on the team, he ... full post »

Are you looking for a good bet? Oddsmakers currently have the European Team as approximately a 2.5 to 1 favorite over the Americans in the upcoming Ryder Cup. Odds are set with an eye towards finding where the middle is on public perception. And the strong feeling is that since the Euros have dominated this event in the last 20 years, that will continue to be the case on Irish soil. I say that the home field advantage only evens up the match. Way too little attention is being paid to current form heading into these matches. Since the European side ... full post »

Tiger Woods is amazing. It seems as if there is nothing outside of his reach if he sets his sights on it. Barring any health issues, he will possibly own every significant record in the game when he is done. The only one in question would be the 11 tournament win streak of Byron Nelson. But let me remind you he’s now on a mini-streak of 3 in a row and playing better than ever. Having said that, there are 2 curious holes in Tiger’s resume. First, he’s never won a Major Championship when not in the lead or tied for ... full post »

At Monday’s press conference to announce his Ryder Cup wild card picks Stewart Cink and Scott Verplank, US Captain Tom Lehman revisited his secondary measure to help select those picks. When asked by the press if the selection process needs changes, he replied that now is not the time for those questions. But he did reveal that he’s been keeping his own alternate points system that awards points to the top ten American finishers in PGA Tour events during this season only. By creating a separate system, Lehman is tacitly admitting that the one currently in use is not adequate. ... full post »

Most of the golfing world will be watching the 2006 PGA Championship to see if anyone can stop the Tiger Train, particularly one Phil Mickelson. If he can, Mickelson would likely win Player of the Year for the first time ever. It’s kind of stunning, really, that a player who has won 29 tournaments (and counting) by age 36 has never been POY. Such is Phil’s lot in life, to be playing during the Tiger era. Not that we feel sorry for him. Billy Casper suffered a similar fate at the hands of Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer. But in many ... full post »

PGA President Roger Warren recently confirmed that he was involved in the idiotic thinking that developed the US Ryder Cup selection system in an article by SI’s Bob Casper. And Bob, God bless him, showed why his Dad – the great and underrated Billy Casper - must be exasperated with him. Warren said “The reason we reward points in the top 10 is it becomes difficult to look at a player who finishes 24th and 25th. If there are a lot of European players in the field, those are the players they’re going to compete against at the Ryder Cup. “Play ... full post »

The strategy players are using to get one of the automatic bids on the US Ryder Cup team is very intriguing. Almost everyone who is close to the final spot is playing this week in hopes of a top finish to garner those rare Ryder Cup points. (As you recall from my previous post, the point system that the US team uses for qualification is dreadful. The only way to get any points is to finish in the top ten of a PGA Tour event, half of which typically goes to non-Americans such as Vijay Singh, Adam Scott, Sergio Garcia, ... full post »