2012 Ryder Cup- Who are your Captain`s Picks?

[joekelly]

Censorship not my doing. Talk to Erik.

[Harmonious]

  joekelly said:

Originally Posted by joekelly

Censorship not my doing. Talk to Erik.

Censored or not, your post made no sense. Your golden crucifix was a Ryder Cup lapel pin. Your crescent moon over the Medinah clubhouse is not all that strange when you consider that it was founded by the Shriners. But maybe you were joking.

[bplewis24]

  jamo said:

Originally Posted by jamo

Fowler, DJ, Mahan, Watney. The only thing I'd consider changing would be Stricker instead of Watney.

I'd leave Fowler off.

[newtogolf]

I'm not sure I get the Furyk pick.  I know he's been in a number of Ryder Cups but imo he's not deserving of the spot.  This was a great opportunity to get Watney, Fowler or Mahan some experience with a mature team.

[k-troop]

  newtogolf said:

Originally Posted by newtogolf

I'm not sure I get the Furyk pick.  I know he's been in a number of Ryder Cups but imo he's not deserving of the spot.  This was a great opportunity to get Watney, Fowler or Mahan some experience with a mature team.

Furyk was 11th in the point standings, which makes him more "deserving" than either Fowler (12th) or Watney (30th).  Mahan was higher (9th) in the points but was left out; he already has Ryder and Prez Cup experience (some would say not good experience).

[newtogolf]

Furyk's Ryder Cup record is 8-15-4, not exactly a guy that performs well in this format.  He's also not well suited for Medinah given he's tied at 160 in "Birdies or better" and 150th in "Driving distance".  Medinah has 5 holes over 500 yards, 2 of which are over 600 yards and Furyk is ranked at 168 in driving pct over 300 yards far behind the other guys mentioned.

  k-troop said:

Originally Posted by k-troop

Furyk was 11th in the point standings, which makes him more "deserving" than either Fowler (12th) or Watney (30th).  Mahan was higher (9th) in the points but was left out; he already has Ryder and Prez Cup experience (some would say not good experience).

[k-troop]

  newtogolf said:

Originally Posted by newtogolf

Furyk's Ryder Cup record is 8-15-4, not exactly a guy that performs well in this format.  He's also not well suited for Medinah given he's tied at 160 in "Birdies or better" and 150th in "Driving distance".  Medinah has 5 holes over 500 yards, 2 of which are over 600 yards and Furyk is ranked at 168 in driving pct over 300 yards far behind the other guys mentioned.

Well, in his last 4 Prez Cup appearances (didn't feel like counting any further back), Furyk has won 14.5 points and only lost 4.5.  Is there a smiley for tounge-sticking-out?

Nevermind, found it!

Bottom line (for me), it's tough to argue against him when he's 11th in the point standings.  I didn't realize his Ryder Cup record was that bad, but I'm guessing that most of the players whose RC experience was in the last 20 years have a negative points balance.  We've kinda sucked at the RC for a while.

[newtogolf]

I didn't take his Prez Cup records into account, so valid point.

I don't see any upside in selecting Furyk, other than his personality (he seems to be well liked by everyone) and maturity.

  k-troop said:

Originally Posted by k-troop

Well, in his last 4 Prez Cup appearances (didn't feel like counting any further back), Furyk has won 14.5 points and only lost 4.5.  Is there a smiley for tounge-sticking-out?

Nevermind, found it!

Bottom line (for me), it's tough to argue against him when he's 11th in the point standings.  I didn't realize his Ryder Cup record was that bad, but I'm guessing that most of the players whose RC experience was in the last 20 years have a negative points balance.  We've kinda sucked at the RC for a while.

[Texian]

I'm not sure about this, but I think I would have picked Rory McIlroy, and maybe Luke Donald.

[newtogolf]

Not sure if you're joking or if you're not aware they are on the other team already.

  Texian said:

Originally Posted by Texian

I'm not sure about this, but I think I would have picked Rory McIlroy, and maybe Luke Donald.

[k-troop]

  newtogolf said:

Originally Posted by newtogolf

I didn't take his Prez Cup records into account, so valid point.

I don't see any upside in selecting Furyk, other than his personality (he seems to be well liked by everyone) and maturity.

FWIW, my instinct was correct.  Look at the avg points-per-match for guys who have defined the US Ryder cup team over the last 8 cups or so, and none of them are averaging above .5.  Quick scan shows DiMarco, Zinger, Faxon, Janzen, all at .4 or below.  Even Mickelson is barely above .4.  Furyk is .37; not good, but in line with his peers of the last 2 decades who have been trounced more often than not.

Pretty interesting data, I think.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_American_Ryder_Cup_golfers

Fowler is .33 and D.Johnson is .25.  Surprisingly, a brief scan of the numbers in the linked chart shows that Hunter Mahan is one of the only Americans with above a .5 avg in multiple Ryder Cup appearances over the last 20 years.

[Chilli Dipper]

  newtogolf said:

Originally Posted by newtogolf

I didn't take his Prez Cup records into account, so valid point.

I don't see any upside in selecting Furyk, other than his personality (he seems to be well liked by everyone) and maturity.

The way I see it, Furyk doesn't bring anything to the table that the team already gets from Webb Simpson or Jason Dufner, and they have had much better years.

  k-troop said:

Originally Posted by k-troop

FWIW, my instinct was correct.  Look at the avg points-per-match for guys who have defined the US Ryder cup team over the last 8 cups or so, and none of them are averaging above .5.  Quick scan shows DiMarco, Zinger, Faxon, Janzen, all at .4 or below.  Even Mickelson is barely above .4.  Furyk is .37; not good, but in line with his peers of the last 2 decades who have been trounced more often than not.

Pretty interesting data, I think.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_American_Ryder_Cup_golfers

Fowler is .33 and D.Johnson is .25.  Surprisingly, a brief scan of the numbers in the linked chart shows that Hunter Mahan is one of the only Americans with above a .5 avg in multiple Ryder Cup appearances over the last 20 years.

Which is why selecting Furyk over Mahan is a questionable selection, at best. The fact that Furyk has lost three tournaments this year in the final three holes makes me even less optimistic about that statistic.

[bplewis24]

I'm rooting against a Furyk selection just so I don't have to see that ridiculous logo on his hat.

Edit: I may be late to the party because I just noticed on ESPN that Love picked Furyk.  Boy does that frreakin suck.

[turtleback]

  phan52 said:

Originally Posted by phan52

I might have considered Bo VanPelt instead of Furyk, but I guess Love III got it right.

+1

I don't get all the love for Mahan.  I like the guy but he has been pretty lousy since the Masters.

[Texian]

Not sure if you're joking or if you're not aware they are on the other team already.

  Texian said:

Originally Posted by Texian

I'm not sure about this, but I think I would have picked Rory McIlroy, and maybe Luke Donald.

It was a joke. Guess I should have used a smiley.

My compliments to you on having a great Texan as your avatar.