Who would be in Paul McGinley or Tom Watson’s shoes?
With the deadline for their Ryder Cup Captain’s picks looming, the results of last weekend’s tournaments on both sides of The Pond left them with as many questions as answers.
First, Marc Warren reminded Europe skipper McGinley that his end-of-season form was not a flash in the pan with a gritty win in Denmark. Then Stateside it was Bill Haas finishing runner-up at the Wyndham Championship. and finally showing the stuff that made him the Tour Championship and FedEx Cup winner back in 2011. He posted rounds of 68-66-66-64 along the way.
And for some, Bernhard Langer who celebrates his 57th birthday on Wednesday continued to demand recognition with his fifth win on the Champions Tour last Sunday.
Langer, however, looks a non-starter. McGinley made that pretty clear during the US PGA Championship. And Rory McIlroy who was born four years after the German’s first Green Jacket dismissed Langer almost out of hand. Nick Faldo commented on the gulf between the main Tours and the comfort zone of the Champions Tour, which has no cuts in their tournaments.
But while McGinley appears to have it pretty much cut and dried with his picks, Watson continues to declare he is looking for a player who is ‘hot’. That’s not something Haas believes is a commodity readily available, no matter which side you are aspiring to.
“At this stage of the season, we are all tired because it is a long year,” he opines. “I think over the next two weeks, the key is to stay patient. It is an old cliche, but you never know what can happen.
“My first Tour victory in 2010, came after my dad (Jay Haas, nine-time winner on the US Tour) revamped my putting stroke.
“Then three years ago at this time, I was also on the outside looking in. All of a sudden I hit the form that guys are looking for right now, and ended up winning the Tour Championship and FedEx Cup. So my performance last week has made me believe again.”
Brandt Snedeker, Webb Simpson, and Keegan Bradley are the favourites to get the nod from Watson, with Harris English and Ryan Moore also in the frame.
Certainly, Watson appears to have a more difficult task with who he selects than McGinley. As it stands, Ian Poulter, Luke Donald and Lee Westwood are the names most bandied about, and it will be hard for the Irishman to see past them.
But Haas believes it is still all to play for right up to the last putt on the last day before the wildcard picks are announced.
“Any time you have a good week, you take positives and build on that,” Haas says. “To be in the hunt last Sunday on 16, 17 and 18 and hit quality shots under pressure was something I was very proud of.
“Take that into the next time I’m in that position, and maybe I can hit some good shots and capitalise. Just take the positives and keep going.”
Sound thinking but it may not be enough to convince Tom Watson.
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