Tiger for Ryder

[mcfc_nick]

I think the current player rankings create a false impression of a players recent playing level. Going back 2 years is way too far in my opinion. A player can go from hero to zero in 3-4 months for whatever reason. Tiger had built up such a nice cushion that just recently the other players are finally closing the gap.

yeah but youve also got to remember that his lead would have been a hell of a lot bigger had he not missed so much time due to his knee and his third leg

[DavidFehertysBike]

To those who don't think he should be named, go ahead and try to name four players better suited to play ahead of him.

Thats what im saying... Tiger ranks 12 in the standings right now, which means Pavin would have to conceivably pick a player ranked lower than that to fill the team. So how is a player who has a had a lesser season supposed to be a better player than Tiger?

[Harmonious]

Did anyone else take note that Tiger said he thought he could help out in the singles match? He didn't mention anything about helping out in four-ball matches. I thought that was interesting. Would Pavin pick him to only play singles? Probably would be a good move, as Tiger is not consistent enough right now, and could put his playing partner deep in a hole in alternate shot format.

[DavidFehertysBike]

I think the current player rankings create a false impression of a players recent playing level. Going back 2 years is way too far in my opinion. A player can go from hero to zero in 3-4 months for whatever reason. Tiger had built up such a nice cushion that just recently the other players are finally closing the gap.

I think Pavin is using the system that Paul Azinger implemented. Only points from this season are counted.If the system went back two years, Tiger would probably be 4th or 5th in the standings. Tiger has won twice as many tourneys as anyone in that period.

[JWL1957]

Did anyone else take note that Tiger said he thought he could help out in the singles match? He didn't mention anything about helping out in four-ball matches. I thought that was interesting. Would Pavin pick him to only play singles? Probably would be a good move, as Tiger is not consistent enough right now, and could put his playing partner deep in a hole in alternate shot format.

Tiger and Phil both would scare the hell outta me for alternate shot partners. It would be pretty amazing to see Cory put them together in that format. It would be like a MJ & Bird commercial ..... Off the tree... off the porta john.... off the lady in the red shirt.. etc. etc.

[DavidFehertysBike]

Tiger and Phil both would scare the hell outta me for alternate shot partners. It would be pretty amazing to see Cory put them together in that format. It would be like a MJ & Bird commercial ..... Off the tree... off the porta john.... off the lady in the red shirt.. etc. etc.

hahahahahahaha!

oh man please.... i mean, they're going to get smacked by the euros anyway. Might as well have some fun!

[sean_miller]

Tiger and Phil both would scare the hell outta me for alternate shot partners. It would be pretty amazing to see Cory put them together in that format. It would be like a MJ & Bird commercial ..... Off the tree... off the porta john.... off the lady in the red shirt.. etc. etc.

That would be the marquee pairing - not gonna happen - unless Phil does something to make Cory really mad.

To those who don't think he should be named, go ahead and try to name four players better suited to play ahead of him.

@ iacas - I did that yesterday - a couple names stood out as possibly moving into the top 12 based on picks, but it wouldn't be Tiger who they'd bump out. RE: Tiger and Steve Stricker. I think the last time they played there was sort of a hero worship going on with Steve looking to Tiger for approval and a fist pump every time he sank a long one. Don't see that happening this time around.

[Zeph]

Did anyone else take note that Tiger said he thought he could help out in the singles match? He didn't mention anything about helping out in four-ball matches. I thought that was interesting. Would Pavin pick him to only play singles? Probably would be a good move, as Tiger is not consistent enough right now, and could put his playing partner deep in a hole in alternate shot format.

Which he said with a smile and laugh. His singles record is better than his foursomes record. Cory might leave him out of the foursomes, but considering his performance with Steve last year, I doubt it.

[deronsizemore]

No idea how people think Tiger shouldn't be on this team? No, he's not out winning tournaments by 12 shots but he did finish what, 12th at the PGA? Not too bad considering the long layoff he took, things going on in his personal life and testing out some swing changes. People act like he's fallen to 300th in the world or something.

[Tiger Spuds]

If I was Pavin, I'd take Rickie Fowler, J.B. Holmes and Anthony Kim ahead of Tiger at the moment.I know Kim is just back from injury, but he'll be much improved by then and he's proven himself in the RC before.All 3 of those guys have that little edginess about them, something you need in the RC.Fowler and Holmes have had decent seasons too.I sometimes wonder how a guy like Jeff Overton finished so high in the rankings when Rickie wasn't anywhere near.Did Overton really do that much better than Rickie?He had 6 top 10's this year, but Rickie had 5.

I think the pressure of having to perform for something/someone other than himself is not something Tiger's game is going to hold up well under.He'll have the expectations of an entire nation on his shoulders and I just can't see him doing well under those circumstances at the moment.Everyone says 'how can you leave out the world number 1?'.Well, you can when he's not currently playing like the world number 1.I think he'd be a massive risk on the course and would provide unwelcome distractions off it, with the British media perhaps seeing him as an excuse/opportunity to unsettle the American team etc.

[iacas]

I think the current player rankings create a false impression of a players recent playing level. Going back 2 years is way too far in my opinion. A player can go from hero to zero in 3-4 months for whatever reason. Tiger had built up such a nice cushion that just recently the other players are finally closing the gap.

Two problems with that...

1) points are reduced over the older they get. A win 1.9 years ago is not worth nearly as many points as a win 1.9 weeks ago. 2) Tiger's minimum divisor is 40. He'd actually have a MUCH LARGER lead than he has if you divided his OWGR points earned by the number of events in which he's played.

yeah but youve also got to remember that his lead would have been a hell of a lot bigger had he not missed so much time due to his knee and his third leg

And his driving. Oh, wait, that's actually golf-related.

[Stretch]

Tiger plays. Probably plays well, too. Hell, Monty has far bigger selection problems than Corey.

[Chilli Dipper]

Two problems with that...

Regardless of the graduated ranking system and minimum appearance divisors, Tiger's still only earned 69.75 points in 2010. Phil has tallied 226.59 points this year; his season beyond the Masters has been mediocre by his standards, but his 2010 point total without his Masters win is still nearly double Tiger's. The trend right now indicates that Tiger losing the number one ranking is inevitable; either Phil or Steve Stricker will pass him with a win in one of the first three FedEx Cup playoff events, and Lee Westwood and possibly Martin Keymer will have their own chances to supplant Tiger at the HSBC Champions in China (Phil and Steve will be there, too) and the Dubai World Championship.

[Kieran123]

Tiger should be in the team. Period.

It's match play for a start so he can regain if he falls back, likelihood he'll be playing better by then and he has great experience and has the Tiger factor, he intimidates people and the team looks up to him.

If not for his skill, at least for the team spirit.

[sean_miller]

Two problems with that...

Like "his driving" into that tree?

[Joeyvee]

Once again, match play is a different animal and the team atmosphere may be the exact thing Tiger needs right now to get turned around. He showed in the PGA that he is on the uphill portion of his comeback.

Ding ding ding. My thoughts exactly. Sometimes playing for something other than yourself will spark what needs to be sparked. Do it for america Tiger! hahaha

[Ryanmal]

Ding ding ding. My thoughts exactly. Sometimes playing for something other than yourself will spark what needs to be sparked. Do it for america Tiger! hahaha

When has Tiger demonstrated an ability to do anything for anyone other than himself?

[Tiger Spuds]

When has Tiger demonstrated an ability to do anything for anyone other than himself?

Ding ding ding! x2. Tiger's never been overly impressive in the Ryder Cup, and that's simply because he doesn't care about it half as much as he cares about winning Majors and other individual titles.He's always been about #1.Of course he did and said the right things about what a great honour it was to play for his country and I'm sure he gave it plenty of effort, yet you get the impression he never quite went at it with the same intensity or determination he had in his Majors appearances.At the end of the day, if he's picked and plays with Stricker they'll probably do ok, but if I was Pavin I wouldn't be relying on him for a good performance or expect him to win any singles games etc.