I like Kisner over Bryson. Great putters do well in the Ryder.
If Tiger....
I'd take Tiger,Finau,Kisner and Kucher or Zach Johnson to round out the final 4.
Disco Phil is just not trending in the right direction lately.
Let him be a co-captain,and get him ready for when he'll be the next Ryder Cup captain.
darpar I'd take Tiger,Finau,Kisner and Kucher or Zach Johnson
Kisner seems shaky when it counts the most. Just a Spuzzervation.
Golly Gee Kuchar can play with anybody but he isn't lighting it up lately.
I can't see him and Phil on the same team. They need fresh faces at some point.
So as I just mentioned, that puts Finau in and Johnson out.
If Tiger is in, Bryson may be in and his playing partner as well. Just a hunch.
Id could see Furyk going pedestrian and taking TW, FIGJAM, Kuchar, Johnson (or Kuchar).....and pairing TW and FIGJAM together!
Re: Woods and Mickelson pairing - there are two people on the planet today who would love to see that come to fruition: Thomas Bjorn, the Euro Captain this year, and Hal Sutton (2004). Sutton would love to see it happen simply because there's a good chance that it would take some heat off of him being the only captain to make such a disastrous decision.
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Considering that Bubba Watson (3 RC appearances) and Webb Simpson (2 RC appearances) have never won a Sunday singles match between them in their RC careers, this got me to thinking about another hypothetical.
If you could replace 1 or 2 players who've solidified their spots on the team with 1 or 2 players who haven't, would you? If so, which player(s) would be replaced?
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I think Furyk has an allegiance to Woods/Mickelson, and more so Mickelson (at this current point) than Woods. I think Tiger has more than earned his pick. Mickelson - we'll see. I still think he'll get picked, but if he bottoms out over the next 3 weeks - who knows. That suddenly isn't a sure thing if he continues to struggle like he has.
But Furyk isn't an idiot. Putting Woods and Mickelson together, the two alpha males, the best two players in the past two decades of playing, while enticing as it might seem... as much as it might generate buzz and interest for the Ryder Cup - I think Jim understands that he'd be trying to mix water with oil with that pairing. Why put either of them in that situation, if you're wanting to win and get the most out of what they have to offer the team from a RC veteran point of view?
It's been tried before. And failed miserably, despite the fact that both of these guys were 14 years younger, much more competitive, and much more finely tuned with their games when it was last attempted.
Ain't happening. Why on earth would you put two guys together who can't find a fairway? It would be a recipe for failure.
As much as he would hate losing, he doesn't want to face the Monday Morning Quarterbacking from the reporters asking why he chose to do that, and continue to be asked that for the next 2 years.
Furyk's smarter than that. Or so I hope anyway.
Which is why Bjorn and Sutton both hope that he has such an epic brainfart and decides to give it another try.
PA-PLAYA - I don't think Furyk would pair them due to their impending mono mono match coming up in November. Why upstage that made for television event that I predict will be wildly successful, especially among the casual fans?
Furyk needs combinations that can bring the cup home from the Euro's soil. It hasn't been done now since '93!
Use Phil and Tiger to mentor the younger players - Tiger will be stepping out of his vice-captain role anyway and now can be an on course coach. Unless Phil shows some improvement before the last selection is made, I can see keeping him off the team and making him vice captain in Tiger's slot. Now THAT would piss off Phil and get the juices flowing for their match....jack up those ratings!
ode Who knows? They might even make a special request to be paired together just to try and show the world that they can play and win together. Or (if they don’t win) pretend to blame each other and build up tension for their Thanksgiving showdown grudge match.
johnnydoom guaranteed it will be discussed if they both get picked. I think Phil stands a reasonable chance to get picked, especially looking at the other options......tiger is likely the only for sure pick.....other than Bryson, bubba, or Finau....the rest are blah.
Sutton was stupid, that's the end of that story and is irrelevant to what goes on today. Tiger and Phil are older, wiser, and although they may be rivals, the rivalry is pretty much non existent today. They have a much deeper respect for one another. Tiger has grown quite a bit personally. He's more humble and can actualy appreciate Phil now. Using the past example as a reason not to pair them is just not a good enough reason. I mean sh1t everyone was saying Tiger and Phil were locks, and now hardly anyone is saying Phil is a lock. What's changed? Alt shot=
, but 4 ball=give me some! I think they have some serious potential in 4ball. If they are both on the team, I see them play one other match (other than being paired together in 4ball
) before singles, unless one or more of the guys are sh1tting the bed, then maybe a 4th match. And, you could see them anchor or be the last two out with some of the Young guns going out for some front loading in singles!
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Neither of them currently can find a fairway with a map, compass, flashlight, and a beagle. Why would you pair two guys together who struggle so badly off the tee when it seems fairly obvious that they share the same glaring weakness and one might not be able to rely on the other?
"Tiger needed it, Phil needed, the world needed it."
Famous last words. But if you asked Hal today, he'd say, "hell yeah - put 'em together! Let Furyk take some of the heat off my ass for one of the worst RC decisions ever."
Chemistry kinda loses the argument when it comes to the physics required to put a ball in play.
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PA-PLAYA you've got conventional wisdom on your side. I'm simply pointing out that there are some good reasons to pair them together. Tiger and Phil are a bit streaky off the tee, to me that's more a reason not to pick them for the team or pair them with anyone....their strong points could potentially steamroll a euro pairing.
Truth is I'd just like to see it....and it's 1 point. Hell JT and Jordan can hit it all over the yard too and get steamrolled. It's no big deal, go have fun and win the next point!
There are two primary functions for a US Ryder Cup captain. (1) pick the 4 players who didn't otherwise qualify for the team, who are playing reasonably well and he feels can make a positive difference. (2) develop the pairings each day, trying to find those who have chemistry and play well together, giving his team the best opportunity of winning a point.
Despite the respect and greatly improved relationship between Tiger and Phil in recent years, their playing-together chemistry has historically been bad. And not just in the lone Ryder Cup instance that Sutton tried to force back in 2004... but too in those rare instances when they've been paired together since in regular tour events over the years and still struggled individually.
It's just not a good pairing. You still have one guy subconsciously trying to outdo the other, two alpha males, wanting to be 'the guy.'
It's a team event, and the goal is beating the other two guys on the opposite team, not a subconscious ego match where one feels like he needs to play better than the teammate he's paired with.