The 2016 Ryder Cup itself might be a month away, but the teams will be largely finalised this weekend.
Europe's 9 automatic qualifiers are already settled - and Darren Clarke's only headache is that he already has five rookies out of nine, and two of his next best unqualified players would be rookies as well. In the European side are Rory McIlroy, Danny Willett, Henrik Stenson, Chris Woods, Sergio Garcia, Rafael Cabrera-Bello, Justin Rose, Andy Sullivan and Matthew Fitzpatrick. I fully expect Clarke will pick Lee Westwood, and I would go for Martin Kaymer, but none of the other veterans have had good seasons, and if I were Clarke I'd pick Soren Kjeldsen, even if it means six rookies.
The American team will only be finalised after the Barclays championship on Sunday, and at the moment any of the top 22 (down to Charley Hoffman) on their list can still make the team. At the moment, Davis Love must be pretty pleased with how the top eight, and indeed the next four, on his list are shaping up - the automatic places are filled by Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth, Phil Mickelson, Jimmy Walker, Brooks Koepka, Brandt Snedeker, Zach Johnson and Patrick Reed, and the next four are JB Holmes, Bubba Watson, Matt Kuchar and Rickie Fowler. It would be pretty obvious for Love to pick those four. The difficulty facing Love could be if Jim Furyk wins this week - he's been preselected as a vice captain on the basis he wasn't expected to qualify, but still could.
Talking of vice captains, this will be Tiger Woods' only appearance at a major golf tournament in 2016. I wonder how much camera time he'll get compared to the other VCs.
Europe's 9 automatic qualifiers are already settled - and Darren Clarke's only headache is that he already has five rookies out of nine, and two of his next best unqualified players would be rookies as well. In the European side are Rory McIlroy, Danny Willett, Henrik Stenson, Chris Woods, Sergio Garcia, Rafael Cabrera-Bello, Justin Rose, Andy Sullivan and Matthew Fitzpatrick. I fully expect Clarke will pick Lee Westwood, and I would go for Martin Kaymer, but none of the other veterans have had good seasons, and if I were Clarke I'd pick Soren Kjeldsen, even if it means six rookies.
The American team will only be finalised after the Barclays championship on Sunday, and at the moment any of the top 22 (down to Charley Hoffman) on their list can still make the team. At the moment, Davis Love must be pretty pleased with how the top eight, and indeed the next four, on his list are shaping up - the automatic places are filled by Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth, Phil Mickelson, Jimmy Walker, Brooks Koepka, Brandt Snedeker, Zach Johnson and Patrick Reed, and the next four are JB Holmes, Bubba Watson, Matt Kuchar and Rickie Fowler. It would be pretty obvious for Love to pick those four. The difficulty facing Love could be if Jim Furyk wins this week - he's been preselected as a vice captain on the basis he wasn't expected to qualify, but still could.
Talking of vice captains, this will be Tiger Woods' only appearance at a major golf tournament in 2016. I wonder how much camera time he'll get compared to the other VCs.
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