2018 Ryder Cup at Le Golf National - Paris, France

[Vinsk]

42 minutes ago, ChrisP said:

Everyone high on Finau, but has he won this year? He posts great finishes, but never wins.

Well, neither does Ricky. I don’t think having won is a deal breaker as long as they’ve played well. It’s a different animal at the RC. Finau is a big guy, big hitter and a great attitude. Finau, DJ and Koepka are an imposing force to take to Paris. They may have to put one of them with Bubba. Gonna be a hostile crowd around him and pairing Bubba with Reed could be brutal. Webb will flop disastrously if he makes it. 

[ChrisP]

4 minutes ago, Vinsk said:

Well, neither does Ricky. I don’t think having won is a deal breaker as long as they’ve played well. It’s a different animal at the RC. Finau is a big guy, big hitter and a great attitude. Finau, DJ and Koepka are an imposing force to take to Paris. They may have to put one of them with Bubba. Gonna be a hostile crowd around him and pairing Bubba with Reed could be brutal. Webb will flop disastrously if he makes it. 

Haha good point on Rickie. Just tough to go Finau with so many other quality goes up there.  And I believe Webb's already made it. FInal 8 is set in stone. Simpson's had a hell of a year. He deserves to be in it and he's moved into top-20 in world.

 

 

[DeadMan]

2 hours ago, ChrisP said:

Tiger is definitely a lock. Not sure on the other 3. Phil has not played well at all of late and if his form continues to be this bad, I don't think he'll be a pick. I like the idea of replacing Tiger with Phil as Asst. Captain.

Also like the way Zach Johnson has been playing of late and given his experience, he has a good shot of being a pick. Also, I think Schaffele will defintely be a pick. Everyone high on Finau, but has he won this year? He posts great finishes, but never wins.

You're forgetting the politics of all this. Phil was the force behind the whole task force thing. If he's in any sort of form, he's going to be on the team. And he's 11th on the points list, so he's not that far off. He'll be on the team. He and Tiger are locks.

[Moxley]

On 8/12/2018 at 2:33 AM, Vinsk said:

I get that Tiger likes BDC’s competitive attitude..but I think it’s more bark than bite. BDC has his moments but more often than not he just can’t finish or has a blow up. I’d much rather see Xander than BDC. And no, it’s not just because I don’t care for BDC...I put all that aside when it comes to making a solid RC team. Webb is a pansy and doesn’t have the fierce edge we need. Kuchar also too much of a ‘awww golly shucks you sure hit a better shot than me..yuk yuk’ but he’s also always up there and is great with his wedges. 

You do realise that they're going to be hitting golf balls with their clubs, not each other , right? 

[Vinsk]

2 hours ago, Moxley said:

You do realise that they're going to be hitting golf balls with their clubs, not each other , right? 

Lol. Well everyone knows having a fierce competitive nature often puts an athlete in the winner’s circle. Fowler and Kuchar lack that. They’re great guys but as soon as the heat gets thick (which it will in Paris) they turn up the nice guy and are just happy to be there. 

[Moxley]

@Vinsk I think that everybody thinks that, but I'm just not sure how it true it is in Golf. I think it's probably a slight advantage in match play , but not something enough to override even a small difference in ability. I think it's one of those cases of a compelling narrative being fit around a result. 

Take Montgomery, known to be a classic choker in major championships (and whose 'best player without a major' title Fowler currently holds) and yet he has one of the best ryder cup records of all time. Conversely , depending on how you measure it, Koooch has a better record than the fiercely competitive Woods, and a far better record than Furick. 

The exception to this rule I think was '99, where the European team couldn't handle the boisterous US crowd, but I don't think it'll like that in Paris.



 

[saevel25]

13 minutes ago, Moxley said:

Take Montgomery, known to be a classic choker in major championships (and whose 'best player without a major' title Fowler currently holds) and yet he has one of the best ryder cup records of all time. Conversely , depending on how you measure it, Koooch has a better record than the fiercely competitive Woods, and a far better record than Furick. 

Look at Ian Poulter, the guy has played in 18 matches, and has a 72% winning percentage. I don't care what his ranking is, If I was a European captain, he's my captains pick.

[Vinsk]

50 minutes ago, Moxley said:

@Vinsk I think that everybody thinks that, but I'm just not sure how it true it is in Golf. I think it's probably a slight advantage in match play , but not something enough to override even a small difference in ability. I think it's one of those cases of a compelling narrative being fit around a result. 

Take Montgomery, known to be a classic choker in major championships (and whose 'best player without a major' title Fowler currently holds) and yet he has one of the best ryder cup records of all time. Conversely , depending on how you measure it, Koooch has a better record than the fiercely competitive Woods, and a far better record than Furick. 

The exception to this rule I think was '99, where the European team couldn't handle the boisterous US crowd, but I don't think it'll like that in Paris.



 

Well this may be true. Kuchar has 9 years more on tour than Ricky but he’s got 7 wins to Ricky’s 4 on the PGA Tour. Neither have won a major. It’s pure speculation on my behalf I just didn’t think either of them have that fierceness that separates the Major winners from the others (saving the occurrences of flukes...Danny Willet). But the USA whipped the Euros pretty good last time and now we’re going over there to defend. I just think the Reed attitude is more advantageous than the ‘golly shucks’ way of Fowler and Kuchar. I think this is true in golf and any other sport but I will concede that the Ryder Cup is a different animal and anything can happen. 

[DeadMan]

On ‎8‎/‎14‎/‎2018 at 5:48 AM, Vinsk said:

Lol. Well everyone knows having a fierce competitive nature often puts an athlete in the winner’s circle. Fowler and Kuchar lack that. They’re great guys but as soon as the heat gets thick (which it will in Paris) they turn up the nice guy and are just happy to be there. 

Oh please. Dustin Johnson is the opposite of having a fierce competitive nature and he's won 19 times on the PGA Tour. Patrick Reed is a fierce competitor and he's finished in the top 10 in majors 3 times (he's played in 16 of them). A player's actual golfing ability is at least 95% of the reason they win on tour.

The good thing about Kuchar and Rickie is their consistency. They don't miss many cuts, and they normally finish fairly high. Look at how many golfers Rickie beats on a weekly basis. It's a lot. You don't necessarily know what you're getting out of a streaky guy like Bubba or Webb, but you can count on Rickie and Kuchar to be right there every week. They are rocks and they'll contribute to the team even if they don't get red hot. If Bubba or Webb isn't red hot, they're going to be an anchor on the team.

[nevets88]

RC points for US team if only 2018.

[Dry Tortuga]

I think Tiger and Phil will be picked for many reasons. I hope the other 2 are Finau and Kisner. No wins but lots of great golf. I don't see a reason BDC has to be picked... it's not based on rankings alone.

[Vinsk]

4 hours ago, DeadMan said:

Oh please. Dustin Johnson is the opposite of having a fierce competitive nature and he's won 19 times on the PGA Tour. Patrick Reed is a fierce competitor and he's finished in the top 10 in majors 3 times (he's played in 16 of them). A player's actual golfing ability is at least 95% of the reason they win on tour.

The good thing about Kuchar and Rickie is their consistency. They don't miss many cuts, and they normally finish fairly high. Look at how many golfers Rickie beats on a weekly basis. It's a lot. You don't necessarily know what you're getting out of a streaky guy like Bubba or Webb, but you can count on Rickie and Kuchar to be right there every week. They are rocks and they'll contribute to the team even if they don't get red hot. If Bubba or Webb isn't red hot, they're going to be an anchor on the team.

Well as you see Rickie would be out based on 2018 stats. And DJ? Please..he’s not the norm. He and Brooks. Come on. When you can bomb it 350 in the fairway it doesn’t matter what your attitude is. But maybe Ricky will be an asset in that it’s his  type of environment: friends, great city to be in...and maybe play some golf.

Edited August 15, 2018 by Vinsk

[DeadMan]

27 minutes ago, Vinsk said:

Well as you see Rickie would be out based on 2018 stats. And DJ? Please..he’s not the norm. He and Brooks. Come on. When you can bomb it 350 in the fairway it doesn’t matter what your attitude is. But maybe Ricky will be an asset in that it’s his  type of environment: friends, great city to be in...and maybe play some golf. 

Thank you for proving my point. Actual golfing ability is what matters.

And Rickie has a ton of it. He plays the toughest events, beats a ton of golfers, but rarely wins. The Sagarin ratings, which are based on how many players you beat in each tournament has him 7th: http://rankings.golfweek.com/rankings/default.asp?T=world. His win % against the top 10 in the world is better than Tiger's. He's really freaking good at golf.

[lastings]

Some more movement over in Europe.   

Thorbjorn Olesen has a 3rd place in Europe and Rafa Cabrera Bello has a nice finish on this side of the pond.  Both players leap Casey and Poulter.    Olesen has now taken control of the 8th and final qualifier, with Rafa at #9.   

Europe top 8 (automatic qualifiers) after the The Wyndham

1. Francesco Molinari
2. Justin Rose
3. jon Rahm
4. Rory Mcilroy
5. Tommy Fleetwood
6. Alex Noren
7. Tyrell Hatton
8. Thorbjorn Olesen

____________________________

 

9. Rafa Cabrera Bello
10. Ian Poulter
11. Paul Casey

[DeadMan]

What are the odds that Bjorn leaves one of Stenson or Garcia at home? Garcia has been really bad this year, and Stenson is actually behind him on points. I would still expect him to pick Casey, Poulter, Garcia, and Stenson, but you never know.

[lastings]

16 hours ago, DeadMan said:

What are the odds that Bjorn leaves one of Stenson or Garcia at home? Garcia has been really bad this year, and Stenson is actually behind him on points. I would still expect him to pick Casey, Poulter, Garcia, and Stenson, but you never know.

I wish I knew a bit more about the course..   If it's a bombers course with forgiving fairways, I think anything could happen.   But, If it's a tight ball-strikers course, I'm not sure it's possible to leave Stenson off.     Unfortunately, I've never seen this course in play and really know nothing about it.  

[DeadMan]

1 hour ago, lastings said:

I wish I knew a bit more about the course..   If it's a bombers course with forgiving fairways, I think anything could happen.   But, If it's a tight ball-strikers course, I'm not sure it's possible to leave Stenson off.     Unfortunately, I've never seen this course in play and really know nothing about it.  

From what I've heard, it's more of a tight course than it is a bombers' paradise. The French Open played pretty tough. There's lots of water in play, and it gets real tough if the wind blows. So yeah, your point is well taken. Hard to leave Stenson off with that type of course.

[MacDutch]

Olesen is in at the moment. Think Poulter and Cabrera Bello are two certain picks. I would leave Garcia home and pick Stenson and Casey to complete the team.