Captain's Courageous Final Pick Is Not Bubba

ESPN Senior Writer Jason Sobel is correct:  Why all the mystery and drama behind the final U.S. Ryder Cup pick, which is scheduled to take place on Sunday night, during halftime of the nationally televised Chicago Bears-Dallas Cowboys game,? In his article here.  Sobel forcefully makes the argument, and convincingly in my book, that the winner of the Tour Championship should automatically be selected as the last captain’s  pick by Davis Love III  for the 2016 United States, Ryder Cup team. Sobel writes that Love should adopt the mantra, win and you're in."   As Sobel writes,  “isn't that the whole reason why the so-called task force pushed back the final captain’s pick until the eve of the competition? Don't they want to capitalize on picking the hot hand?"  Sobel cites the example of Billy Horschel in 2014. In 2014 Horschel won two playoff tournaments on his way to winning the Tour Championship and the FedEx Cup. However, despite Horschel’s s hot hand, he was left off the Ryder Cup team because the final selections had already been made. 

Sobel  opines  in his article  that  Bubba Watson would appear to be the "prohibitive favorite" to be named by Captain Love as the final captain’s pick.

As the Beatles would say, Honey Don’t!   

Watson would be a disastrous pick, and the Americans, having riled the golf gods (see my next post), will need all the help they can get to bring the Cup home. 

Why would Watson be a disaster, you ask?  Let me count the ways:

1.  He is the anti-Horschel.

Watson is not close to hot; in fact he is stone cold.  Watson finished tied for eighth in the in this summer's Olympic Games in Rio, nine strokes behind the gold medal winner Justin Rose. Since March 3 of this year when he finished second in the WGC Cadillac,  Watson has failed to finish higher than a tie for 13^th  which he accomplished on August 25th in the Barclays.

2.  Watson's record in the Ryder Cup is atrocious.
-Watson’s overall record in the Ryder Cup (2010, 2012, 2014) is 3-8-1.  His record in singles matches is 0-3, losing three matches by a total margin of 10 holes.

-Watson was the only American golfer to fail to win a match in the 2014 Ryder Cup at Gleneagles in Scotland. Not only did he lose but his matches were even close and he lost four and two in his singles match to Martin Kaymer
-In the 2012 Ryder Cup, Watson lost  his singles match on Sunday to Luke Donald paving the way for the Euros to win the Miracle at Medina as the United States could only manage to win 3 1/2 of the 12 available points in the Sunday session.
-In the 2010 Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor and Wales Watson went what one and three and his matches again losing his singles match to Miguel Angel Jimenez.

If this Ryder Cup was being held at Augustine National I would select Watson in a north Georgia minute. (The term “horses for courses” comes to mind.) However , given Watson’s  dismal record in the past three Ryder Cup matches he most assuredly should not be the captain’s pick on Sunday night.

However as Sobel points out, the situation becomes complicated for love if someone already on the team wins the Tour Championship and the FedEx Cup, which has been the case since 2009.   If for example if Dustin Johnson distance himself from Kevin Chappell today and wins the Tour Championship, then there will be no Billy Horschel in 2016. Love,  who captained the team that fell apart in disastrous fashion in 2012 at the Miracle (or Meltdown, depending upon your point of view) at Medinah, should not facilitate a repeat by picking someone like Watson who is doomed to Ryder failure based on past experience.  Sobel  names a dozen players to choose from other than Watson. This pick may be a difficult decision but given the strength at least on paper of the 11 of the 11 existing team members, and the demonstrated weakness of Watson,  the selection should be a Jack Nicklaus 1969 Ryder Cup gimme for Love at this point in time, so long as it is not Bubba.