Final Ryder Cup place between Bubba Watson and Justin Thomas, says Colin Montgomerie
Friday 16 September 2016 09:50, UK
After Bubba Watson was not among the first three captain's picks announced by US Ryder Cup skipper Davis Love, Colin Montgomerie wonders if the two-time Masters champion will earn the final wildcard for Hazeltine.
The omission of Bubba Watson from the first three of Davis Love's wildcards was not surprising in many ways, although it is perhaps a surprise to see JB Holmes picked ahead of the No 7 player in the world.
I thought Davis would pick Watson along with Rickie Fowler and Matt Kuchar. Fowler is the world No 9, Kuchar is 17th, and Love has left out the world No 7. But he still has the one pick left to decide after next week's Tour Championship, so he might end up picking Bubba anyway.
I think Davis might be trying to send a message to Bubba Watson, that he's not certain of a pick for the Ryder Cup. I think it will come down to Watson and young Justin Thomas for the final place, and whoever puts in a good performance at East Lake will get it.
I also think Davis would prefer to have Bubba in his team as he's played in the last three, and that would leave Brooks Koepka as the only rookie in the US team, whereas Europe have six. So it's going to be a tough one for Europe, and Darren Clarke and his team are really up against it this year.
Scar tissue
But at the same time, a lot of the American players have scar tissue from previous losses. Love has picked Rickie Fowler, who has a losing record in the Ryder Cup, and that goes for Matt Kuchar as well. And if he picks Bubba Watson, he also has a losing record.
It's a difficult choice for Davis Love, but he already has a very strong team and whoever he picks is just going to add to that strength.
If it was my choice, I would go for someone without any issues from losing Ryder Cups in the past, so I'd go for Justin Thomas. He's a close friend of Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler, and they would fit in well with the "pod system" that Davis Love has been talking about.
I would go for friends, and somebody who has not experienced losing a Ryder Cup before. So let's hope Davis Love goes for Watson instead, because I want Europe to win!
Tough ask for rookies
The US team have introduced the "Billy Horschel" rule for picking wildcards as late as possible this year, and I think that's a big advantage. You want to pick people who are in form, and that's why Darren Clarke picked Thomas Pieters - he was right on form at the right time.
The later a team is picked, the better. It allows the captain to see how his team are performing there and then, because confidence in golf can ebb and flow so much.
It is a concern for Europe that they will have six rookies at Hazeltine, but I spoke to Darren on this recently and there's obviously nothing he can do about that. It's just a matter of how those rookies perform, and the Ryder Cup is often decided by the debutants.
This was very clear in Europe's win in 2002 at The Belfry, when none of Europe's four rookies lost their singles on Sunday. If Europe can get four singles wins out of the six at Hazeltine, I think we will win the Ryder Cup again.
When they are left to their own devices in the Sunday singles, it's a whole different ball game to the first couple of days when they have a partner, especially if it is an experienced partner. So it will be interesting to see how they perform.
So what will the result be at Hazeltine National? My gut feeling is it could be a tie. Fourteen points each, so Europe retain the Ryder Cup. How about that?
