Clarke and Casey: top 10 boost
It's tough to get into these automatic places and the line between success and failure is akin to a human hair. If Clarke had had three single putts during his last eight holes on Sunday, he would be in the team.
Ewen Murray
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As far as the Ryder Cup team news goes, there was little change after a superb Bridgestone Invitational.
Sergio Garcia and Ian Poulter did not really get going and they remain outside the automatic picks. It was a bad week for our talisman, Colin Montgomerie who shot 76, 76 on the weekend to finish down the field, but for Ireland's Darren Clarke and England's Paul Casey, they go to the final major of 2008 with renewed hope.
Casey's last round charge was thrilling. It was the Casey we know. He started the week with a triple-bogey seven. Darren was three-over after 10 holes on Thursday, so their top 10 finishes will help their confidence no end.
Clarke's 65 on Saturday was followed by a bogey-free 67 on Sunday, when 16 out of 18 greens in regulation was a fine effort round a tight and tricky course.
It's tough to get into these automatic places and the line between success and failure is akin to a human hair.
If Clarke had had three single putts during his last eight holes on Sunday, he would be in the team.
He didn't and his task is still an enormous one. Only another top six in this weeks USPGA Championship will do, and even then, he will have to perform well in Holland and Scotland. He has these three chances left.
For Colin, it looks like he will have to rely on a wild card from Nick Faldo. As I see it, there are five players for these two picks.
Ian Poulter, Sergio Garcia, Monty, Clarke and Casey - if the top 10 remain the same. The way the season has gone, it probably won't.
Garcia is a must team member. The other players mentioned know that there is only one wild card available, and I think Nick Faldo will give it to the player with the best form during this month.
With his performance at Birkdale, Poulter was in the driving seat. If Clarke and Casey continue where they left off last week, they can force themselves into the picture. It's a lot of pressure for them, but fun for us watching.
I have made the 200-mile trip from Akron to Detroit, about a three and-a-half hour drive and Oakland Hills is in fine shape for the PGA.
It's an old-style American course, but it has some English features as this part of the States has seasons. It will be around 85 degrees with some humidity, but the fact so many of our players got acclimatised last week, we should look forward to a good showing
For the record, seven of our European Ryder Cup side beat all but two of the American team last week at Firestone.
Aaron Baddeley to win is a decent long shot, but wouldn't it be nice if our chaps are there on Sunday afternoon?
Comments
Upendra Patel says...
Hi, The following is my suggested line-up. The so called automatic qualification is really silly. This should never come out of the committee. The autu players rarely play well after auto-select. HARRINGTON, GARCIA, WESTWOOD, JIMENEZ, KARLSSON, ROSS OLIVER, MCDOWELL, CLARKE, CASEY, KAYMER, ROSE, DOGHERTY. Notice stenson not included thogh auto. Saw him couple tournaments his driving and putting is not to the standard. His simple two footer putt could determine out come of the result in favour of USA.
Posted 18:34 26th August 2008
Hedley Wilson says...
Monty is over the hill! There is such a thing a s building for the future and there is no risk in picking the newer boys. What a pity Broady only got the call once .I know him and he personifies the determination which team players should have . back to the current team, Clarke and Casey or Oliver Wilson and Dougherty should be in the frame if not qualified but Garcia must qualify but if not is my numero uno for the pick.
Posted 15:05 8th August 2008
Brian O'sullivan says...
Garcia is a must if he doesnt make it by right. Monty wont get picked because Falso does'nt like him. Dougherty is not really up up to it yet - but will be soon. Casey is probably more likely than Poulter because he has more fire power. Having said this Casey needs to start performing as his talent would suggest he is capable. No doubt he works very hard but if he doesnt win big soon then we will have to think he is not as good we thought. Darren Clarke would be a good pick and he works well with Westwood but he will have to show Faldo some more form quick.
Posted 14:09 8th August 2008
Mike Jones says...
Hi Ewen - thanks for another good article. Why isit the Europeans can get so fired up about the Ryder cup but seem to lack that same passion when it comes to individual stroke play events? May be I'm wrong but the Americans seem to have their priorities right - worry about their own game first and Ryder Cup second & that¿s why Tiger & co win the majority of the big events. It was nice to see Harrington win again but outside of him who else will at a major event? I've heard so many times Westwood, Garcia, Rose or Casey will win a major but I don't think they will. It looks like Westwood could become the first man (that I know of) to win the order of merit without winning an event - that can't be right!! Don't get me wrong I admire Westwood for coming back from a big dip in form to were he is now but he just can't finish off a tournament. His putting under pressure seems so poor that I can't imagine him holing anything over 3ft on a Sunday afternoon. As for Rose & Casey - what happened!? It seems they¿re comfortable with their current bank accounts and don't have the drive and determination required to do it on the really big stage (repeatedly) unless its in the Ryder Cup. I hear commentators say time & time again 'he'll win a major' but what are they basing that on? People have started to say that about Ross Fisher but he's won one tournament of real note so far. It seems Europe is gifted with bags of talent but many are missing the X-factor to really step up to the big stage and dominate a tournament like Woods, Mickelson or Singh. Come boys prove me wrong and step up to the plate!!
Posted 17:33 7th August 2008
Lars Topholm says...
There was a huge discussion about captain's picks at the last Ryder Cup, as Westwood got the nod instead of my compatriot, Thomas Björn, despite Björn standing better in the rankings - which was a good choice, Westwood did a great job and Europe won. For captain's picks, I think it is slightly irrelevant to look at rankings - if rankings were to decide the wild cards, why not simply have 12 automatic qualifiers instead of 10? The point is, other factors than form matters in Ryder Cup. I think any player who have played in a Ryder Cup would testify to the immense pressure it is to play that event, and the captain will of course take this into account. Sergio is a given but hopefully he qualifies by his own merits, my other picks would be Darren and Monty. If the younger guys complain that they stand better in various rankings...well, at least five other players stood even better in each ranking, and nobody is entitled to be in the team unless they qualify on the golf course. Which only 10 does. That being said, I would like a qualification system more similar to the American system, with 8 players qualifying from the World Ranks and four captains picks. That would give automatic qualification (at present) to Westwood - Harrington - Stenson - Jiménez - Karlsson - Garcia - Poulter - Rose, and the Captain could pick McDowell, Monty, Darren - and then I'd add Kaymer. I think this would be a stronger team, although I am confident whichever team we send, Europe will win again, due to the team qualities rather than individual qualities. And Soren Hansen will do fine!
Posted 10:24 7th August 2008
Callam Ward says...
I do see all your guys points, but i really do not understand that all you guys are on about is just purely the Britished based players. this is not just the the Brithis and Ireland guys vs the USA, it is the whole of Euroupe. Why not also look at the likes of Daniel Chopra who won the 2008 Mercedes-Benz Championship and is 12th in the world race and then there is Søren KJELDSEN who is 14th just behind Dougherty in the European race, but none of you mention these guys. And both of them have had consistant years on their tours. But if you guys are looking for Ryder cup quality, then i can only see 3 guys with that and they are: Sergio Garcia, Monty, Clarke. i se all of you are going on form, but i am sure a few years ago, there was one guy called Darren Clarke that was not playing (yes cause of the passing of his wife) but he had to be in the side and i agreed with that as it was in Ireland and his ryder cup stats are great. and there was also 2 or 3 ryder cups ago, that Monty was no where to be seen in the standings, but he was a captains pick by Benard langer and i stand to be corrected, but i think he was the best player that year. So the ryder cup has nothing to do with form guiys, it is all about team spirit and wanting to win the cup for your team. And if it were me to pick the 2 wild cards, it would go on past preformances and who can stand and be counted when needed and in the ryder cup, Garcia and Monty have done that time and time again.
Posted 07:55 7th August 2008
Joe Mcguigan says...
I think that you are spot on in terms of the possible picks that Nick Faldo is faced with. The problem I think lies with the selection criteria which puts the 5 in on the world cup rankings and then the next non included 5 from the Euro rankings. How can the likes of Garcia and to some extent Poulter have to rely on wild cards when they are better players at this stage than Oliver Wilson & Soren Hansen (no disrespect). Hopefully one of these 2 will play their way in and give Faldo and easier decison - and lets win again (we probally will anyway although Woods isnt playing now!!!!!)
Posted 20:32 6th August 2008
Ryan Cullen says...
As a fellow Northern Irish man its fairly predictable that I would like to see Darren Clarke in the team. However I do believe he is worthy of a pick at the minute. I think Garcia will get in the team outright so I am not concerned about him taking a spot. As good as Monty has been in the past, nobody is good enough in this day and age to rely on their reputation to simply get in the team. So, unfortunately, I discount him too. Poults will be hoping to have a good week and get in automatically also, however that can't be guaranteed. If he does then I think Faldo's decision will be made easy, it will be Clarke and Casey; Faldo would love Dougherty to be in the team but he hasn't played well enough this year plain and simple. If Poults didnt get in automatically then I believe either he or Casey would be disappointed. Clarke firstly has a good record and has a good partnership with Westwood in the past. Secondly he has a proven matchplay pedigree with his WGC victory and a fairly good Ryder Cup record, and he also has a lot of experience which, with Monty missing will be important. Poults and Casey are excellent golfers, no doubt, however they have none of these three attributes in my opinion. Also I believe them to be too inconsistent currently. I think of the two Casey is probably the most talented however one good round on Sunday will have to be used as a basis for a 3 week surge otherwise I believe it will be Poults and Clarke.
Posted 13:37 6th August 2008
Steve Lewis says...
I personally think both Sergio and Poulter will play their way into the team, which will make Faldo's decision considerably easier. That will leave the wild-card between Monty, Clarke, Casey and, I would suggest, Fisher and Dougherty. I have a feeling Faldo will pick Dougherty because of his Faldo Series connection. Personally Id go for Casey as a definite and whichever one of Clarke and Monty is playing best at the time which, at the moment, is quite clearly Darren Clarke.
Posted 12:12 6th August 2008
Stewart Ibbotson says...
Nick must not let personality affect his judgment as it did Mark James who chose Coltart ahead of Nick at Brooklyne and promptly left him out of the side until the last days singles. We need a player as a pick who can be relied upon from day 1, so ime afraid Monty shouldn't make the team. He was struggling at the last Ryder cup to play every day and we need to maximise our choices at Valhalla where it will be hot and humid. I would like to see. Perm any 2 from 4, Darren Clarke, Ian Poulter, Sergio Garcia, Paul Casey. (If non of them makes it by right.) It is making for compulsive veiwing on Sky though. Can't wait for the USPGA this weekend.
Posted 11:20 6th August 2008
Anthony Hayes says...
I think with the last of the Majors starting tomorrow i can see 2 of either Poulter,Garcia & Casey still making the team with proberly Rose & Wilson dropping out .Rose is a brilliant talent but we all know that when his down his down and this year has been a very poor year for him.I cant see him making the squad and i doubt (even though his good in the us) Faldo picking him for his first Ryder Cup.Instead i can see Faldo picking the other name of the three i have already mentioned alongside his "prodigy" Nick Dougherty and watch Monty moan about favourtisim - Sorry Monty your just not good enough anymore - end of. I think the team will consist of ...... WESTWOOD , HARRINGTON , STENSON , KARLSSON , KAYMER , MA JIMENEZ , GARCIA , MCDOWELL , S HANSEN , POULTER. WILD CARDS - CASEY & DOUGHERTY
Posted 08:31 6th August 2008
Tony Parsonage says...
I think your suggested five for a Captains pick may be somewhat flawed. Both Nick Dougherty and Ross Fisher are standing in both lists higher than Monty and I am amazed that Monty has announced on his web site that he is returning from America this week for a holiday before the final 'few ' Ryder Cup qualifying events.Someone should tell him that there are only two, The KLM and Gleneagles which will hardly afford him the opportunity to gain ground for automatic selection even if he plays in both events.It strikes me that he really believes Nick Faldo will pick him and on his form this year that would be a travesty. It may be hard to suggest that maybe Monty's real motive for getting into the team is to gain exemptions for a couple of years to WGC and other lucrative events.On his current standing he will not get into any more WGC events and will certainly not warrant an invite to Augusta next spring and will probably have to qualify for the other majors including the Open Championship. Sorry for making this point but if I were Dougherty or Ross Fisher and others I am sure I would be pretty aggrieved to be overlooked in Monty's favour
Posted 15:45 5th August 2008
Paul Mccabe says...
As much as i would love to see Monty play in another Ryder Cup, i just dont think he's going to make it. Faldo would have to over look monty purely on form. Personally i think Garcia and Casey are the two players most likely to be picked for Valhalla and they would fully deserve it. Garcia's record in the ryder cup is phenomonal and his win at sawgrass proved his form this year is good enough. The final spot is between Casey and Poulter and hopefully one of them will make it automatically because i would love both of them in the team. Both players have the right attitude and the ability to win a major and they are both probably a couple of years away from hitting their peak.
Posted 14:09 5th August 2008
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