2023 Ryder Cup - Official Thread

[Duxman130]

JT and Burns over Glover, Bradley, Young, DJ? 

Thanks Zack Johnson for hosting a popularity contest versus the most deserving players. If you heard Keegan's comments, he was classy, but summed it up perfectly. "Had a great season, but I'm not overly friendly with those guys" - aka has a family and minds his business, but outplayed JT and others.

"Earning" a slot on the Ryder Cup has become a joke. Let's que the music from the show "Friends" and and show JT and Burns with their buddies.

Besides Bradley, Glover, Young, the real losers are the golf fans that won't see the best players. We'll see some of the best players and their friends. 

Why do most of us love golf? Because it's pure. Your score is your score. It's not a popularity contest. 

Let's make this simple.

NO MORE CAPTAINS PICKS - Qualify only.

 

 

[ballhawk]

Agree totally, but from my perspective - do we really need this us vs them. They (tour players) already make IMO way to much money and to me this competition(?) is nothing more than an exclusive more money grab for everyone involved.  

[StrokerAce]

A big reason Bryson wasn't picked too... not the best "locker room" guy but he gets the job done.

I like the way it's done right now. Gives the captain some control over his team but also rewards the players who've had a good season.
Couples needs to learn to shut his yap; spouting off about Young helped nobody.

Like it or not, camaraderie is a BIG part of success in team events and ZJ had to factor this in when making his picks. 
I thought he did a good job of justifying his selections and am looking forward to the event.

 

[Shrek74]

As long as there are subjective Captain's Picks, there will always be disagreements with the decisions. Although I'm not a fan of the all auto qualify standpoint, I do think the picks shouldn't be half the team. I'd say maybe 2-3 picks and that's it. Auto qualify 9-10, pick 2-3 and there will be less whining about those picks.

I'm not upset DJ and Bryson weren't picked. I'm happy Brooks was though. He's actually playing better than a lot of golfers right now, especially now that he's healthy. He's also a better teammate than the other two, in my opinion (which does play a part with team dynamics). This is also why JT was picked, most likely. He's a Ryder Cup player, brings that "it" factor to the team and has performed in those Ryder Cups.

Only time will tell if Zack's a hero or an exile.

[RwsGolf1]

Personally, I think all good but JT.  His second half was mediocre at best.  I further agree there are some good players left out.  I am happy for Koepka  and Fowler.  Maybe with the experience and his last minute attempt to make the playoffs, JT was a meaningful pick.  Just looking for some victorious effort against a tough worldly team.

[Hook DeLoft]

I would have picked Bradley and Glover over J.T. and Burns.  Glover is on fire and Bradley seems to ache to be on the team and has played well enough this year.  Of course, I have no idea how they are in the locker room. 

[RwsGolf1]

27 minutes ago, Hook DeLoft said:

I would have picked Bradley and Glover over J.T. and Burns.  Glover is on fire and Bradley seems to ache to be on the team and has played well enough this year.  Of course, I have no idea how they are in the locker room. 

I agree 100%.

[Negative Attack Angle]

I am more or less ok with the picks. However, the Spieth and JT pick really felt like it was a boys club pick.  I would have loved to see Glover get picked just based on the narrative. Older tour player comes out of nowhere to win back to back at the end of the season. It would have been a real cool Cinderella story. 

[Stuka44]

I haven't really followed the picks closely.  The only thing I will say, is that don't forget, we are talking  a match play event, not stroke play.  Playing where each hole is won or lost, is a lot different than your score over 4 rounds.

I just found some stats... Keegan Bradley is 1-12-6 in singles matches and 6-2-1 in team(that is a .250 win percentage) . His team record is from playing exclusively with  Phil Michelson who has a winning record in all formats.  And Lucas Glover has no match play record that I could find.

JT is 11-14-1 in singles, and 10-2-3 in team.(that is .512 win %)

Jordan Spieth is 15-15-4 in singles, and 16-6-3 in team. (.525 win %)

Edited August 30, 2023 by Stuka44

[GolfSpy_APH]

With all the videos coming out now for the Ryder Cup venue (Finch and NLU are the ones I have seen) I am getting a lot more excited. 

[funkyjudge]

2 hours ago, RwsGolf1 said:

I agree 100%.

+1 on that, even though I have never been a big Keegan Bradley fan.

[Duxman130]

4 hours ago, StrokerAce said:

A big reason Bryson wasn't picked too... not the best "locker room" guy but he gets the job done.

I like the way it's done right now. Gives the captain some control over his team but also rewards the players who've had a good season.
Couples needs to learn to shut his yap; spouting off about Young helped nobody.

Like it or not, camaraderie is a BIG part of success in team events and ZJ had to factor this in when making his picks. 
I thought he did a good job of justifying his selections and am looking forward to the event.

 

You know what makes a great locker room guy? A player that WINS on the course is a good locker room guy. 

[StrokerAce]

1 hour ago, Duxman130 said:

You know what makes a great locker room guy? A player that WINS on the course is a good locker room guy. 

...and you know what makes it easy for the Ryder Cup Captain?

You qualify for the team and don't leave it up to him for a wildcard pick. You want to GUARANTEE you make the team? Do it on the course; don't gripe about it in the media.

don't get me wrong; I'm not a JT stan but it's easy to monday morning qb when we're not in the position to have to make that choice and don't have all of the information.

[Big dog bridges]

Well, all I can say is I really love JT but you don’t need any more information then  how he played this year and it was bad. I’m not sure he deserved to be on the Ryder Cup team seem like a buddy buddy move to me. I hope he does well or it’s really really gonna look bad. First thing is how about picking somebody this actually won this year.

[GolfSpy_APH]

A lot of talk about JT, but anyone that surprised about Burns? He didn't really have a great season. 

Makes sense only in my mind that him and Scottie are close so they could be matched up together. 

[GolfSpy_KFT]

I get all the smoke that is being blown about JT being selected to the Ryder Cup team. The issue is every single time there are going to be guys like Keegan who absolutely played well enough for a spot. There just are only so many spots to fill. Historically, JT is deadly in Ryder cup formats. He brings a tenacity and intensity to the team, and paired with Jordan for match play (assumption but gotta almost be a guarantee) I do believe he will play well and they will feed off each other. 

I am excited about how ZJ put the team together and think they will perform very well. He's also in a tough spot because had the chosen to leave JT off and lose, and everyone wonders why the heck he left a guy home who has a 15-6-1 record in previous cups. 

My prediction is JT plays well and USA pulls out a very close victory against Europe. I do not think it will be a repeat of what we saw at Whistling Straights. 

[richk9holes]

7 hours ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

A lot of talk about JT, but anyone that surprised about Burns? He didn't really have a great season. 

Makes sense only in my mind that him and Scottie are close so they could be matched up together. 

This resonates with me. I wanted to see a youth infusion so I got 1/2 what I wanted but honestly I thought Young was more likely to make it than Burns.

Also I'll add I'm surprised Bryson isn't being talked about as a snub as often as many others including DJ. I saw one of them shoot a 58 recently and it wasn't Mr. Johnson-Gretzky.

[GolfSpy_APH]

18 minutes ago, richk9holes said:

This resonates with me. I wanted to see a youth infusion so I got 1/2 what I wanted but honestly I thought Young was more likely to make it than Burns.

Also I'll add I'm surprised Bryson isn't being talked about as a snub as often as many others including DJ. I saw one of them shoot a 58 recently and it wasn't Mr. Johnson-Gretzky.

DJ I just dont think has quite had the year. Amazing golfer and probably would be a "fine" pick, but hasnt stood out enough imo. 

For Bryson, yeah he has done a lot better. I think the way the LIV thing happened, how he was one of the names suing had a lot to do with it. RIght, wrong or otherwise. The other part is who do you pair him with? I think the play warranted more consideration, but the chemistry aspect made that a very difficult one to justify. 

Cam Young was said to be a lock earlier, so the flip to Burns was a surprise. 

[Preeway]

The only snub out there was Bradley. I totally get why JT was selected over Bradley and Young but it’s a big gamble that has to pay off or this will be talked about forever as a huge blunder. The European team is no joke this year and every decision, starting with the Captain’s picks have to be flawless. Hovland, Rahm and Rory are going to be near impossible to beat. 

[Jim Shaw]

Sam Burns is a surprise pick for me, I once asked a Canadian Golf Hall of Fame golfer "how do you get on all these great teams?" his answer was simple "play better golf". 

His answer was not "be best friends with the number one golfer in the world" 

That pick kindof muddied the waters a bit for me, not that I dont think Sam is an elite golfer because he is, however he should have earned his way on the team. 

[downwindduke]

17 hours ago, Big dog bridges said:

Well, all I can say is I really love JT but you don’t need any more information then  how he played this year and it was bad. I’m not sure he deserved to be on the Ryder Cup team seem like a buddy buddy move to me. I hope he does well or it’s really really gonna look bad. First thing is how about picking somebody this actually won this year.

The RC is totally a good old boy controlled event.  Just look at the captains, the assistant coaches and the players who get picked.  When one of the “ins” doesn’t automatically qualify he gets in because: “he has been hot the last week” or “he won one big event” or “he did well before and he is a leader.”  If JT really was so concerned about “respecting” the game, he would say thanks but LG, KB, etc. are more deserving.  But in the end pro golf is a “ME” sport, so GO USA, go  JT.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Preeway]

When picking golf’s version of an all star team you will always get a blend of those who earned it with those who have the history behind them. This is even true in baseball where the fans will pick someone based based on their name not because their stats are the best that season. I agree JT is a debatable pick but brushing him off because his season was up to snuff is short sighted. 

[JStapp]

23 hours ago, Negative Attack Angle said:

I am more or less ok with the picks. However, the Spieth and JT pick really felt like it was a boys club pick.  I would have loved to see Glover get picked just based on the narrative. Older tour player comes out of nowhere to win back to back at the end of the season. It would have been a real cool Cinderella story. 

Unfortunately for Glover, the points date back longer than a few weeks haha. 

[Negative Attack Angle]

1 hour ago, JStapp said:

Unfortunately for Glover, the points date back longer than a few weeks haha. 

You are not wrong. Like I said it would have made for a nice golf story, the points be damned. However then the same argument can be said for JT. Either way looking forward to some match play. 

[StrokerAce]

::: not sure this clears anything up, but Fred Couples had some things to say.

https://golf.com/news/fred-couples-defends-controversial-ryder-cup-picks/

[maccardi]

22 hours ago, Preeway said:

The only snub out there was Bradley. I totally get why JT was selected over Bradley and Young 

Could not agree more with this. Bradley was snubbed unfortunately, and Sam Burns was another boys club pick, because Scheffler definitely had something to say about it. However, this is a team event, and if the guys have their preferred playing partners we have to let it be and see what happens. We all knew JT was going to make the team, but the Sam Burns over Bradley was one I don’t think I agree with, but I’ll get on board with. 

What are everyone’s thoughts on going back to 4 captains picks instead of the 6? Definitely puts a lot of pressure on Zach Johnson with 6 instead of 4. Thoughts? 

[GolfSpy_APH]

Did anyone find or share any articles about the why for Burns. I am sure he can step up and play well. He has been amazing late in seasons prior so no doubt there, but would love to hear their insights and reasoning behind it. 

[Preeway]

I don’t know if fewer captains picks resolves the debate or not. In the end, none of the captains picks were bad picks. I also doubt there is much controversy over the picks within the USA team either. I’d rather see players get chosen because of their value as a team member than their individual value. The story line I’m more keen on following is how Koepka fits in and how many matches he gets put into compared to everyone else. 

[tdroma98]

2 hours ago, maccardi said:

What are everyone’s thoughts on going back to 4 captains picks instead of the 6? Definitely puts a lot of pressure on Zach Johnson with 6 instead of 4. Thoughts? 

I think the change to 6 Captains picks for U.S. was a response to European Team having 6 Captains picks. So, the Euro Captain could take the hottest golfers, which is not bad.  The 2001 Ryder Cup was interrupted & pushed to 2002. The U.S. Team remained the same for 2002, irrespective of some of the players not having a good 2002 & U.S. team got trounced. 

The U.S. should keep the Captains picks at 6 to mirror the European Team, although this year we may not have the hottest U.S. players on the team. We'll see if the chemistry lights a fire under the players who've had a mediocre year.  Otherwise, Zach Johnson will be questioned for leaving some of the hotter players off the team.

[RwsGolf1]

The scoop on why Justin Thomas was picked:

https://golfweek.usatoday.com/2023/08/29/justin-thomas-2023-ryder-cup-zach-johnson/[email protected]

Edited September 1, 2023 by RwsGolf1