2014 Ryder Cup

Its here! Its here! The 2014 Ryder Cup is scheduled to start tomorrow! The pundits have made their predictions, the experts inched out onto a limb and the fanatics have all chosen sides. The PGA® Centenary Course, at the Gleneagles Hotel, Perthshire, Scotland, is ready for the horde of sporting enthusiasts to descend on their peaceful community like a plague of locust! The only problem with this whole scenario is that many of us will have to experience the highs and lows of every play from afar! Going to a Ryder Cup is on my bucket list and someday I will be one of those amazed fans rooting for my favorite team.

Let the Games Begin at the 2014 Ryder Cup!

Each team has been dissected, probed and over-analyzed. The captains have been second-guessed to the nth degree, but they have stood fast by their decisions. Everyone is ready for the matches to begin and history to be made at the 2014 Ryder Cup!

theScore, written by Adam Sarson, has profiled the US Ryder Cup Team. Sarson says:

Team USA will be looking to win their first Ryder Cup since 2008 and their first on European soil since the last time Watson was the captain back in 1993. Key players like Tiger Woods and Dustin Johnson won’t be playing this week, but Watson still has a solid group of established PGA Tour players on his side.

BBC Sports, has highlighted the European Ryder Cup Team. They have not provided the same detail as theScore, but shows how each player qualified.

In all, nine nationalities and three debutantes are included in the team which will bid for Europe’s third successive Ryder Cup victory.

Each team has its strengths and weaknesses. Ultimately, which ever team is hot at the beginning of the event will likely ride the wave of adrenaline to victory. When the teams were first selected on 2 September, everyone was leaning towards the European team as hands down favorites. However, over the past couple of weeks, the attitudes of many experts seem to have shifted. The four sites selected (and there are thousands more) provide some very persuasive reasons for their picks. They are worth checking out if you are still on the fence.

The Ryder Cup is an exciting event. There are many head-to-head battles that capture the golfing world. It is very likely that all golfing enthusiasts will tune in to hear the shot by shot account of the action. In anticipation for the matches, here are a couple of things to watch for:

Tom Watson’s strategy of matching players. For the US team to win this will have to be perfect!
Phil Mickelson playing like the Phil of old. Again a must if the US is to have any chance.
Rickie Fowler playing head to head against Rory McIlroy and playing to a draw.
Rory McIlroy not losing a match.
Ian Poulter’s fiery eyes will be matched by Keegan Bradley’s.
Sergio Garcia sinking the winning putt on Sunday!

To make it clear, the European team will win. This selection is made with my head and not my heart. I am a huge Phil Mickelson fan and rarely cheer for the other team, but the European Team is just too strong. They are peaking at the right time and have demonstrated resilience all year. Playing in Scotland will only fuel their desire to win the 2014 Ryder Cup!

What do you think? Who are you cheering for? Why?

I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!

The second round of the PGA Championship is in the books. As expected, Rory McIlroy is leading the field by two. He played very well in the extremely wet conditions and is poised to win his second Major of the year.

Also as predicted, Tiger Woods struggled and missed the cut. Brian Penn at All About Golf talks about the end of an era and provides a great view of what most of us are thinking. It is unfortunate, but I am not entirely sure he will not make another come back.

A more interesting issue regarding the PGA Championship is its importance to USA Ryder Cup Captain, Tom Watson. Playing in this weekend’s Major, he has his eye on all the players who have made the team and those on the bubble. With three Captain’s picks left, players such as Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Keegan Bradley, Brendon Todd and Ryan Moore seem to be the leading candidates. Play at the PGA Championship will have a tremendous impact on his final decision.

Complicating Watson’s life is the turmoil faced by the 2014 USA Ryder Cup Team. Dustin Johnson cannot play due to his personal challenges. He was in 6th place before he announced that he was finished playing professional golf for the rest of 2014. Matt Kuchar and defending PGA Champion, Jason Dufner, have both withdrawn from the PGA Championship because of health issues. Considered leaders on the USA Ryder Cup team, their loss would further stress Tom Watson. If neither are healthy enough to play in the Ryder Cup in September, Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley would make the team….then what?

The players Watson would have to choose from are steady, focused, young and hungry to make their mark in Ryder Cup history. Unfortunately, players like Ryan Moore, Brendan Todd, Harris English, Webb Simpson and Chris Kirk are all considered young journeyman players who are just now starting to play well enough to win. With 12 wins between all 5 players, they are not considered seasoned professionals ready for the pressure of the Ryder Cup matches. Or are they?

Maybe, Captain Watson needs to throw convention out the window and go with some young blood. It is a risk, but considering the Europeans have won 7 out of the last 10 Ryder Cups, a change might be in order! They have played well enough to at least be in the running, it may be time to give them a chance! And Tom Watson, that wily veteran who has slayed the greatest names in golf, might just be crazy enough to lead these young players to victory!

After the PGA Championship, Watson will have some difficult decisions to make. I believe Mickelson is a shoe-in, but the rest….who can say? Regardless, come 23 September at the Gleneagles Resort in Perthshire, Scotland, the underdog USA Ryder Cup team will battle the European Team for golfing supremacy!

I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!