No Na, No Reed, No Horschel, No Kokrak?
First off, enough with these Captain’s assignments. Steve Stricker may be a nice guy, but he barely plays on the PGA Tour to be in touch with the younger players on tour. As a matter of fact, Stricker hasn’t played a PGA Tour full schedule in close to a decade.
Which probably explains his decision to keep Kevin Na, Patrick Reed, Jason Kokrak, and even newly crowned European PGA Championship winner, Billy Horschel, off the United States Ryder Cup team.
On Na he claimed he was too short off the tee. Is he seriously using that lousy excuse to keep one of the most charismatic players on the PGA Tour off the team? Couldn’t have he paired him with a bomber?
I think the incident with Dustin Johnson at the Match Play influenced Stricker’s decision. In my opinion, a dumb decision.
Unfortunately for Na, this may be the last chance he’ll get to make a Ryder Cup team.
Na brings a lot of swag and fighting spirit to the table. That’s one of the things you need in a Ryder Cup locker room. With all due respect to Tony Finau and Scottie Scheffler, but they are as dull as a butter knife.
Billy Horschel didn’t even get a phone call. Horschel won the WGC-Dell Match Play this year. Sure, he wasn’t in his best form coming in, but anybody who has followed his career knows Horschel can deliver. At least he should have been considered.
Patrick Reed, Captain America himself was left out of this team. This man is the Ryder Cup! He played the Tour Championship after been sick. If that didn’t show Stricker grit and guts, then Stricker is out of touch. With a 4th in S.G. Putting stat Reed should have been on this team, period.
Jason Kokrak, two-time winner on the PGA Tour this year and he wasn’t a pick. To me this is probably one of the biggest boneheaded decisions made by Stricker. Kokrak has been playing great golf and has become one of the best putters on tour, reaching 6th in S.G. putting.
I don’t intend to pick on the Captain’s Picks, after all, that’s all on Stricker. But of all the picks, Finau and Scheffler are questionable. Finau just won the Northern Trust after God knows how long chocking after leading, that’s not a trend, that’s just a good week.
Scheffler hasn’t won a tournament on the PGA Tour despite that fact he has led a few times. So, he’s not a proven finisher.
Finau and Scheffler are very good players, but shooting stars are not what we need in the Ryder Cup. We need fire, we need grit, we need good putters. Scheffler (107th S.G. Putting) and Finau (91st S.G. Putting) are not good putters and have as much fire in them as an ice box.
Finally, Jordan Speith. Well, at least we will get good commentary from the lad, I don’t think he’s in good form either. 33rd on S.G. Putting with his best stat a 6th on S.G. around the green.
Ryder Cups are won on the greens, not on the fairways, that’s a fact.
Captain Stricker will have lots of explaining to do about these picks if they get their rear end beaten by a European Team that looks solid all around.
I think Stricker got it wrong, but I don’t expect anything less from a guy who has been removed from a full PGA Tour schedule for quite some time.
Ole, Ole, Ole, Ole, Ole!!!!!!!