Woods shouldn't be on the U.S. Ryder Cup team
Since failing to qualify for the U.S. Ryder Cup team at the PGA Championship last weekend, Tiger Woods is hoping that Corey Pavin will grant him a spot on the team with one of his four captain’s pick. There are two more events left for players to impress Pavin before he finalizes his decision on September 7th, and the fact that Woods is a consideration let alone high on Pavin’s list is absolutely baffling.
Woods' performance at the PGA Championship did mark an improvement in his game; there is no denying that seeing his name atop the leaderboard – if only for a short while – was proof that he is making progress. Especially considering only one week ago at the WGC-Bridgestone invitational Woods had the worst outing of his entire career, amateur or professional, shooting 18 over 285 to finish second to last in an 82 man field.
Now that the excitement has worn off a bit, rationalization should be kicking in. Woods improved a little bit yes, but does that suddenly make him worthy of a captain’s pick? With the European team shaping up to be one of the strongest ever and gunning for revenge after the U.S. team’s victory in 2008 at Valhalla, Pavin can’t afford to give Woods a sympathy pick. So what if Woods is still number one in the world, he hasn’t been playing like a number one and consistency should trump good intentions.
Woods hasn’t been consistent this year, not in his short game or driving. He is ranked at 181st on the PGA Tour list for driving accuracy and claimed his driving was the downfall of his good starts at Whistling Straits. Woods has always been somewhat erratic off the tee; at Aronimink and St Andrews he looked like his old self again, but at Firestone and Whistling Straits he just couldn’t connect.
The most convincing argument that Pavin doesn’t need Woods is that Paul Azinger’s 2008 American team won without Woods. Led by Anthony Kim the U.S. team played suburb golf and cohered more like a team than ever before. They were relaxed, they meshed well together, and they enjoyed themselves.
Every time Woods steps up to take a shot, everyone’s heart is in the mouth. As temperamental a sport as golf can be, a team has to be able to rely on their players and right now, Woods isn’t a reliable player. The level of stress and tension that is bound to build up with Woods on the team would be detrimental to the U.S.’s chances.
Pavin says he’s not favouring Woods, and he better not be considering there are at least five names right of the bat of players who have played better than Woods this year. Stewart Cink, Zach Johnson, Lucas Glover, Kim, Bo Van Pelt. And the list goes on. Without his name-brand recognition, Woods would just be ‘that guy’ who struggled with his golf game all year. And generally, ‘that guy’ doesn’t get picked for the Ryder Cup.
Colin Montgomerie, captain of the European Team, has said that he hopes Woods makes the team. His motives, he claims, are not as malicious as wanting a poor player to be selected; Montgomerie thinks Woods will attract a good crowd at Celtic Manor in Wales, where the Ryder Cup will take place October 1st through 3rd.
“There's a huge aura regarding Tiger Woods, still, and it's the one name that all our team will be looking for if they are going to play against him in any form of the Ryder Cup," Montgomerie said
So that’s what has become of Woods: a crowd pleaser (or teaser) invited to events for the publicity. The integrity of American golf hinges on Pavin’s decision to include or exclude Woods from the 2010 team, let’s hope he makes the right one.
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