AMERICA’S Ryder Cup captain Paul Azinger has been forced to dig deep to find his four wild-card selections to complete his team to take on Europe at Valhalla in Kentucky in a fortnight.
He has had no choice, as the talent pool across the pond is becoming increasingly shallow.
Azinger tried his best on Tuesday, talking up the merits of his team – but his words had a hollow echo.
Much has been made of Nick Faldo’s decision to select Ian Poulter ahead of the likes of Darren Clarke and Colin Montgomerie.
But I think the European captain could have picked a second team of 12 players good enough to fly the flag for our tour.
Game on and, although I do not expect a repeat of the mauling handed out by Bernhard Langer’s team four years ago when last the competition was held in America, I sense that an unstoppable momentum is building in Faldo’s team. The Americans are the underdogs – and they don’t like it. My worry is that Azinger, who, to put it mildly, is not best pals with Faldo, will attempt to turn a golf match into a brawl.
He has Kentucky native Kenny Perry already in his team and went for JB Holmes – another native of the Bluegrass State – as one of his captain’s picks.
That will guarantee a passionate home support. Nothing wrong with that, but there is a fine line between support and boorish behaviour.
The Americans have crossed the line before and it would be a real letdown if they decided to do so again.
My European wild-card picks would have been Darren Clarke and Paul Casey and, although the captain has taken more than his share of criticism for not picking Clarke, I do not have a problem with his selection of Poulter. Some have tried to stir things up, but I think the time is now right for unity.
Poulter is no mug, as his performance in the Open championship in the summer showed.
The European Tour has swung into Switzerland this week and it is little wonder that Miguel Angel Jiminez is the only Ryder Cup player taking part.
Spectators enjoy it and the incredible views of the Alps but for the players it is a different story.
The course was redesigned by Seve Ballesteros. The players don’t like it and have voted with their feet. It’s a shame but the alterations to the greens have turned the tournament into something of a lottery.
MY SEASON turns towards the first stage of qualifying for the European Tour this month.
I have been working hard to give myself every chance and enjoyed a round at the new Castle Stewart Links course, near Inverness.
The course will not open to the public until next year but I was mightily impressed and reckon it will be an excellent addition to the number of great courses in the area.