Love chooses Fowler, Holmes, Kuchar for Ryder Cup

Love’s selections of Fowler, Kuchar and Holmes smacked of the safe, inside-the-box, good-old-boys-network play.

Captain Love still has one more pick to go, and I think he’s just waiting to see if any of the young guys can break out at the Tour Championship next week. He has one more pick to make, too.

Europe has won the past three Ryder Cups, and six of the past seven.

I thought two of Davis Love’s picks were fairly predictable.

Oddly enough, Fowler has yet to play at Ryder Cup in the USA, and believes he will feed off the galleries at Hazeltine.

It hosted the Tony Jacklin charity event, a venue where Jacklin twice captained the European Ryder Cup team. 2 for the Ryder Cup at Hazeltine National in Chaska, Minn. This year, the United States looks to avenge back to back Ryder Cup losses.

In an ESPN poll previous year, he came out on top when 103 players were asked which fellow professional they would be least likely to help if they saw the person in a parking-lot brawl. He was a member of the 2010 and 2014 teams.

That led to an 11-member U.S. Ryder Cup task force created to stop the bleeding.

The Americans have branded the motto “12 Strong” – an emphasis on team – on apparel and equipment they’ve ordered for next month’s Ryder Cup. “That was probably the only tournament that I regretting not playing because it’s one of my favourite events to play”, said the US Open champion.

Captain Davis Love III went with a trio of veterans with his first three picks, and that allows him a bit of leeway for his final selection.

Those three join Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth, Phil Mickelson, Patrick Reed, Jimmy Walker, Brooks Koepka, Brandt Snedeker and Zach Johnson, who qualified in the final standings for the Americans.

Two-time Masters victor Bubba Watson will be hoping to get the nod, having also played at the Olympics and three previous Ryder Cups.

Kuchar is ranked 17th in the world, he tied for fourth at the BMW Championship and won the bronze medal in the Olympics. Furyk was also passed over. Daniel Berger is an oft-mentioned candidate, as is Justin Thomas; but the player who has shown the best form lately is Ryan Moore.

Love said he and his eight chosen players have more options filling out their team. I’ve been on a lot of teams with Matt.

Kuchar said he had heard “rumors” of another candidate. Having had the two overseas, it’s going to be pretty unbelievable getting to play in front of a home crowd. “This is my first team I’ve required a pick and it’s not a pleasant position to be in”. So it’s a tough job. “That would be incredible”.

But I wonder if it didn’t help Love make up his mind.