2016 US Ryder Cup team doomed
By Dan Daly
VegasInsider.com
With the “Bear Trap” delayed (and not all that exciting) let’s turn our attention to the big story from the golf world this week.
When news broke that the PGA of America had named Davis Love III the Ryder Cup Captain for the 2016 US squad my immediate thought was, “why is the PGA of America purposely trying to lose the Ryder Cup again?” It seems rather counter intuitive to me that the group responsible for the US Ryder Cup team would openly try and lose the Ryder Cup before it even started?
Tom Watson got crucified after the 2014 Ryder Cup for being a horrible captain, and while that may have been the case, Tom Watson didn’t lose the Ryder Cup for the US side. Watson never even stood a chance with the roster he had. Nick Saban, Urban Meyer, Bill Belichick, The Ghost of Bear Bryant and Gregg Popovich all being named Co-Captains of the 2014 US Ryder Cup team wouldn’t have helped that team. Watson was simply the fall guy for a team that was so overmatched talent wise it wasn’t a fair fight to start with. DL III on the other hand was the entire reason the US lost the 2012 Ryder Cup.
So the PGA of America thought it would be a good idea to bring him back as the captain again next year?
Really?
How did Davis Love III lose the Ryder Cup for the US you ask? Let’s reminisce shall we?
Mistake number one. DL III picked Jim Furyk as a controversial Captain’s pick. Furyk was 8-15-4 going into the Ryder Cup that year and not only was he selected as a Captain’s pick but DL III sent him out to hit the opening tee shot for US Friday morning…seriously? I don’t know much about much, but I know that momentum in sports, especially an event like the Ryder Cup, plays a huge factor. (More on that in a minute) So with that in mind Love decided to send out arguably his worst option in the first match of the first day? Brilliant. Throw in the fact that Furyk’s 2012 season was like watching a Jean Van De Velde movie on repeat and his selection onto the team and out first Friday was an even bigger mystery.
Mistake number two. Love refused to break up the pairing of Tiger and Stricker even though Stricker had no business being out there. (Stricker was also a Captain’s pick) Tiger got thrown under the bus for not winning any points for the US in team play that week but if you actually watched the matches Tiger was the only reason their matches even went to the 18th hole. They played a guy Friday afternoon that made 8 birdies and an eagle and still had to go to the 18th to win to win the match. Saturday wasn’t much different. Tiger was 10 under on the back nine Friday and Saturday afternoon; Steve Stricker made 2 birdies the ENTIRE tournament. Sitting on my couch I could have told you that pairing needed to be blown up after Saturday morning, or even Friday afternoon for that matter. Yet, DL III allowed them to play together again on Saturday afternoon and once again Stricker wasted a great round by Tiger to get zero points for the US.
Mistake number three. Love decided to sit Mickelson and Keegan on Saturday afternoon. I mean, all they had done to that point was win every match they had played together and basically turned the home crowd into a drunk student section at a college football game chanting USA…USA…USA. But hey, that was the “plan” all along. I know this is going to sound crazy but it’s called adjusting your game plan on the fly…You may want to look into that this next go-around Davis.
Mistake number four, and by far the biggest of them all. DL III implemented the single dumbest strategy in the history of the Ryder Cup for the singles matches on Sunday. He basically had a 1% of losing heading into Sunday with a 10-6 lead and some really talented golfers on his side. The only possible way to lose at that point was to give Europe any sort of momentum; so what did he do? He sent out his rookies early against the best players the European team had and saved his best/most experienced players “in case it comes down to the last matches”. Seriously, what kind of dumbass strategy is that? In the history of sports the worst thing any team/coach/manager/captain can do is play not lose instead of playing to win. It fails EVERY TIME, just ask the Green Bay Packers. Love basically went into prevent defense at the beginning of the fourth quarter. It’s real simple, you send out your best players early, step on their throats, and end it before it even begins. Otherwise you end up in the 1% category with a final score of USA 13.5….Europe 14.5.
Love was asked by Jimmy Roberts after the matches that Sunday if he could do anything differently, including his captain’s picks, would he? “No”, said Love. Well, then you’re an idiot because I can name four things you should have done differently just off the top of my head a year and a half later.
I said last fall the 2014 US Ryder Cup team had no chance of winning based on the talent and experience discrepancy between the two teams. And sure enough it wasn’t even close. Barring injury (or drugs), that won’t be the case in 2016. The 2016 US Ryder Cup team will actually have all the talent needed to compete and win with guys like Spieth, Reed, Fowler, DJ, Bubba, Jimmy Walker, Snedeker, Bradley and Kuchar. Not to mention the potential of guys like Horschel, Koepka, Henley and English. Throw in a healthy Dufner and/or Tiger and the 2016 US Ryder Cup team will have every chance in the world to not only compete, but win in 2016.
Well, except for the fact that they hired the Captain of the Titanic to lead them.