Question for all you golf fans.?

Question

What did you make of Faldo's Ryder cup wildcard picks?

Do you think Monty & Darren Clarke were unlucky?

If not Poulter and Casey, who would you have chosen and why?

Answer 1

I think Darren Clark was unlucky but I also thought that he should of not chosen Ian Poulter.  I would of chosen Ross Fisher instead.

Answer 2

Anything Nick Faldo does is fine by me !

Answer 3

Monty - don't think he was at all unlucky. Hasn't been playing nearly well enough for a while. His record in the Majors since he capitulated on the final hole of the US Open a couple of years ago is horrendous. His record in the Ryder Cup is great - so what? Using that logic, Faldo should have picked himself because his record is as good as anybody's.

Clarke - Certainly Clarke has more of a right than Monty to feel aggrieved. Won recently on the European Tour (albeit against a weak field), came 6th at Akron and won at the beginning of the season. Could be argued that his recent form is better than Poulter's (and Casey's, come to that), but clearly Faldo has decided to place more emphasis on the form in the Majors, and Clarke has none this year.

Poulter & Casey - See above about Clarke/form in Majors. Additionally, both have been playing on the US PGA Tour and may be more accustomed to how Valhalla will be set up. Both have good records & experience in the Ryder Cup. Poulter will likely be paired with his good friend, Justin Rose. Casey is an ideal four-ball player.

There are points that can be made for and against Casey, Clarke & Poulter. The only thing that Monty had going for him was his record & experience. Well, on that basis, let's pick Faldo & Seve!

The likes of Carl Petterson, Martin Kaymer & Neil Dougherty have better claims to feel disappointed. On the whole, however, I don't think anybody could justly say that Faldo's picks are unfathomable, even if they disagree with them.

I'd have picked Clarke ahead of Poulter, if only for team bonding reasons and the fact that he and his good friend Lee Westwood would have been a formidable pairing. That said, I'll be delighted if Poulter holes the winning putt.

Answer 4

I'm thinking that even though he's been the man for Europe the last number of years, Colin hasn't shown any signs that his game is in any shape to compete in the Ryder Cup.

Other than the two victories, he didn't really make a splash this yr.  Now don't get me wrong, that's two more victories than most of the other guys.  But Poulter & Casey have been pretty steady this year althought they have no wins.  I may have gone w/ Poulter & Clarke, but it'd be pretty close.  

I definitely think that Faldo acted like his usual classy self in his rude comments about Monty.  Faldo's done some great things in golf, and he's a pretty d**n good analyst/announcer on tour, but he gets a little carried away sometimes w/ his comments.

More than anything, I'm feeling for Woody Austin right now.  The guy should've gotten the nod over Campbell & Mahan.  He's got one of the strongest competitive mentalities in golf history, and even though that has bitten him badly in the past, he should've been a captain's pick.  

If Rocco would've had a couple decent finishes since the US Open, he'd have been a shoe in.  

I'm just hoping that to watch an exciting event for a change.  

The 6 veterans on the US Team all have negative records in the Ryder Cup, so it should be interesting to see how the rooks hold up.