Midweek Musings - You Complete Me Edition

OK, I know I didn't expect to be with you this morning, but the Wednesday Game™ had been moved to midday to avoid that pesky morning rain...

We'll just spend a few minutes on Captain Zach's picks, then I'll leave you to get on with your day.

As you might have discerned from my header, the self-help language is quite the tell:

“A lot of time, a lot of energy has gone into this process,” Johnson said Tuesday at the announcement. “That’s probably no secret. I am very confident in these six, and my confidence comes from the mere fact that I am surrounding myself with great people.

“We came up with what we felt was six guys that made these other six [auto-qualifiers] whole.”

 

If our top six guys needed Brooks to be whole, that doesn't augur well for the event, does it?

You'll have heard the names already, but here are your six picks:

With his picks, Johnson added Brooks Koepka, Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler, Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas and Sam Burns to the squad on Tuesday.

I'll note that your humble blogger got five out of six, missing only Sam Burns.....The surprise there being a complete absence of buzz over Burns....

Golf Digest asks the obvious questions:

Biggest surprise among the captain’s picks?

Honestly, I can’t say there is a surprise here. The picks seemed obvious once the sun went down at the Tour Championship. Keegan Bradley and Lucas Glover really needed to show something at East Lake and didn’t. Cam Young, while a great ball-striker, didn’t advance to the playoff finale, and his glaring weakness is putting (145th in strokes gained). History shows us putting wins Ryder Cups. Also, tough to take two rookie captain’s picks to Europe, and Johnson already had zeroed in on one newcomer, Burns, who CAN putt. —Dave Shedloski

My own analysis had the final spot coming down to Burns and Young, with Bradley and Glover out of the loop. I'm not saying it was a coin flip, but when you compare résumés between Burns

and Young, along with the strength of their games (Burns a tremendous putter, Young better from tee to green), it was really, really close. In the end, Burns' relationships may have put him over the top, particularly his friendship with Scheffler, so we'll call him the most surprising pick. —Shane Ryan

Burns. I think it was the right call—both in terms of his fit to Marco Simone and within the U.S. clubhouse—but since his win at the WGC-Dell Match Play his play has been uninspired. —Joel Beall

To me, the surprise was the lack of razzle dazzle in the whole announcement. I realize this isn’t the most made-for-TV event in the world, but with Koepka, Thomas and Burns there were some interesting wrinkles to be resolved. Within 10 minutes, ZJ announced all the names—starting with Burns—and proceeded to questions. It was all business, and in many ways, a revealing tone-setter for ZJ’s approach to the contest. —Luke Kerr-Dineen

It simply has to be Burns, as there wasn't much drama in those other picks, as evidenced by the fact that I got all five.  The issue, as the guys hit on, is that Burns has simply played quite poorly since winning the Match Play,  as Shack notes here:

Sam Burns - Went 0-3-2 in his Presidents Cup debut but seemed comfortable enough and looks like a fit with Scottie Scheffler, who might not be the easiest Team USA member to pair up. Burns would have been a tough player to leave off after winning the final WGC Match Play this year. Yet the 27-year-old scored his second top 10 last week since that win, meaning the form was acceptable enough to rationalize a pick also looking like an investment in USA’s future matches over two older once-elite major winners like Keegan Bradley or Lucas Glover.

I had expected the investment in youth argument to be made about Cam Young, but it's fair as far as it goes.

One is left with the impression that the Burns pick has quite a bit to do with his relationship with Scottie Scheffler, and it's a bit puzzling to think that a stud like Scottie would be awkward fit in the team formats.  I'll accept that Scheffler-Burns is a comfortable pairing for the two guys, but does anyone love that team competitively?  I'm even unclear as to which format works best, given their complementary skillsets.

But the karma is amusing in an ironic sense, because Burns was the victim of one of the most puzzling Walker Cup snubs ever:

After winning the Jack Nicklaus Award as the Division I college player of the year in June, Sam

Burns did what a lot of talented collegiate golfers do: He announced he would not be returning to school for his junior year at LSU this fall, but instead would turn pro. However, the 21-year-old from Shreveport, La., has one more accomplishment he wanted to achieve before making the formal jump: play for the U.S. team in the Walker Cup. So he announced he wouldn't be turning pro until the end of the summer, hoping that his impressive college resume would be enough for him to make squad.

Turns out the wait was for naught as Burns’ name was not among the 10 listed Sunday night when the USGA unveiled the 2017 U.S. team at the conclusion of the U.S. Amateur Championship.

The decision came as a surprise to many considering that after his stellar season in Baton Rouge, Burns continued to impress this summer. He was fifth at the Northeast Amateur and, having won a sponsor’s exemption into the Barbasol Championship through a 18-hole qualifying event, he went on to finish T-6 in the PGA Tour event in July held opposite the British Open. He ranked 21st in the World Amateur Golf Ranking heading last week at Riviera Country Club, where he finished T-16 in stroke-play qualifying before losing in the first round of match play.

Not sure he really earned this pick, though he was certainly owed one, especially as he took the Walker Cup snub graciously.

Biggest snub?

You have to say Young here. Young's résumé in the big events was stellar, he played extremely well at the Match Play in March, but most importantly, and this cannot be emphasized enough: FRED COUPLES SAID HE WAS ON THE TEAM! That's the PR blunder of the entire Ryder Cup picks cycle, by far, and just imagine how it must feel if you're Young, read that story, and think your spot is secure, only to lose it to Burns at the final moment. I'm not saying this isn't painful for a guy like Bradley, who loves the Ryder Cup, or even Glover, but to be granted a pick by a vice captain in a media appearance and then to watch it fade away? That's so brutal. —S.R.

Probably Bryson DeChambeau. A top five at the PGA Championship, fresh off a 58 in his LIV Golf win at The Greenbrier and a good performance at Whistling Straits. A good driver of the ball, he’d probably do well in Rome. Yes, there’s maybe a chemistry issue with the rest of the team. But it sounds like he didn’t even get a phone call. I understand why he’s not on the team, but even still: It’s a snub. —L.K.D.

How about none. I mean, Young? Save for a nice run at Royal Liverpool his season has been a disappointment, underlined by the fact he failed to make it to the Tour Championship. Bradley? Two wins, yet his win at the Travelers was his only top-10 finish in a full-field event since March. DeChambeau? Unfortunately, no gifts from the content gods. The truth is the depth of the U.S. team wasn’t as strong as it was projected in terms of performance, and no one who was left off can say their performance warranted selection. —J.B.

A case can be made that the biggest snub might be Dustin Johnson, who went 5-0 at Whistling Straits. But that was two years ago, and DJ is 2-7 in Europe and 12-9 overall, which means he had a losing record until his 2021 performance. That leaves Bradley, who won twice in the 2022-23 season, and, more importantly, is 21st in putting, the importance of which we already have stressed. And, let’s face it, Zach needs putters when you look at the problems on the greens from the likes of Scottie Scheffler and captain’s picks Morikawa and Thomas. —D.S.

Like Joel Beall, I reject the concept of "snubbing", because none of these guys played sufficiently well that they had a pick coming....

But Shane Ryan is spot on with his comments about Fred Couples, even justifying the use of the Caps-Lock key.  I mean, WTF!  There's precious little that Ryder Cup cart drivers actually do, but misleading guys that they've made the team is about as bad as it gest.  I would argue that Fred should have his cart keys confiscated and, more importantly, we should dispense with any discussion of a Ryder Cup captaincy for the man.  I mean, this is even worse than the rain suits at Celtic Manor....

You'll know this is an easy one:

Pick that might haunt Z.J.?

No need for mental gymnastics here; a lot will be riding on Thomas, because (gestures wildly to the last four months). —J.B.

Yeah, this one is obvious: Thomas. The JT discourse has dominated Ryder Cup talk for the last month and has almost become political. There's talk that he doesn't "deserve" it, that he's only

making it because he's part of the buddy system, etc. etc. Personally, I think Johnson was absolutely right to take him, but you know that if he goes to Italy and plays poorly—or even plays well but loses his matches—it's going to be a euphoric round of "I told you so!"s from the anti-JT set. It's the only pick that could really backfire on Johnson. —S.R.

Easy. JT. “You just don’t leave JT at home,” Johnson said, summing up his pick of Thomas. Zach is betting that Thomas, who pairs well with his buddy Spieth, will rise to the occasion. He had better. Let’s point out that JT makes a lot of birdies, even during a substandard year on the greens. He’ll be under a microscope all week in Italy. —D.S.

Thomas. Every great Ryder Cup player—which JT is—gets a benefit-of-the-doubt captain’s pick if he needs it. This is JT’s. Either he’ll play well and prove ZJ right or underperform and come in for all the heat. There’s no in between. —L.K.D

I'm OK with the pick and probably would have made it myself, but can we lease stop fawning over that Ryder Cup Task Force.  I correctly predicted JT would be on the team. but it's troubling that it may be more because of that buddy system than his actual play.  Geoff had this on JT:

Justin Thomas - Perhaps a “controversial” pick in others years given that three players accrued more points and Thomas did not make the Tour Championship, but America’s once vaunted depth looks pretty thin right now and none of the alternatives seem nearly as reliable as Thomas to bring the Ryder Cup passion, drive and record (6-2-1). “He has, without question, been the heart and soul of Team USA Ryder Cups,” said Johnson. “Our emotional leader I would say, and I don't think he would argue with that. He just leads by example.”

That heart and soul might do more for me if he could, yanno, putt.... But I would add Sam Burns here, because if that Scheffler-Burns pairing goes bust, it'll be on Zach.

This actually might be the better argument:

He's a road warrior, and it's wildly difficult to play on the road in the Ryder Cup

Thomas went 4-1 in the Paris Ryder Cup, including a singles victory over Rory McIlroy, while almost everyone else on the American team was getting smoked. He kept the U.S. alive in the Melbourne Presidents Cup while the rest of the team sleepwalked through the first two days. This guy is a major road hound, and that's exactly what you need in a situation like the one facing the U.S., which hasn't won a Ryder Cup on European soil in 30 years. The idea that you can throw someone like Lucas Glover or Cam Young or Keegan Bradley out there and expect them to be ready to handle that fire in the same way is borderline absurd.

Obviously the crowd in Melbourne was relatively tame compared to what we'll see in Rome, but this is likely the pick that will determine Zach's captaincy.

Overall impression of the U.S. team?

I'll give Johnson an "A" here. I've been impressed by the U.S. Ryder Cup task force/captain's committee since Whistling Straits, and I think their analysis and choices continue to be on point. He made the six picks he should have, he created a team that has a ton of chemistry and cohesiveness, and he's given himself a great shot to be the first American captain to win in Europe in 30 years. That doesn't mean there's no room for criticism; if Spieth and Thomas in particular can't get the job done, people will rightly be wondering if he should have taken players with more form, like Bradley and Glover. —Shane Ryan

Like any coach assessing how to assemble an effective (i.e. winning) team, Johnson obviously considered relationships as well as skill sets. Zach said his six picks “made the other six whole. They’re a great fit for Marco Simone and a great fit for each other, which is massive.” His selections give him obvious pairings with JT-Spieth, Burns-Scheffler to go along with Cantlay-Schauffele. Koepka, Morikawa and Fowler can mesh with anyone. He tried to build a cohesive team rather than one based simply on perceived form. It’s a risk, but with USA losing the last six overseas, it’s one worth taking. —D.S.

Well, it seems like every four years the U.S. looks really formidable on paper until the match begins on European soil and, suddenly, we realize how foolish that conviction is. All that said … the team looks pretty good. Wyndham Clark is perhaps the biggest question mark outside of Thomas, but Clark was such a killer at LACC and his short game is so good that fans shouldn’t worry too much about his Ryder Cup debut. Despite the team’s collective struggle over the past two months it’s still deeper than anything Europe will push out. Winning a modern Ryder Cup on the road is damn tough, but if any club can break the slump, it’s this one. —J.B.

ZJ did everything by the book, solid and unspectacularly. It was to the point, and all business. As for the rest of the team, Johnson’s message was clear: The picks are there to pair with the automatic qualifiers and bring the best out of them. Picks like Fowler, Morikawa and Thomas have the record to balance the inexperience of automatic qualifiers like Homa, Clark and Harman. Outside of the top-to-bottom quality is the fact that this team meshes together really well, personality-wise. There’s only one thing left to do for the U.S. team: Get to work. —L.K.D.

The guys got a single question, though seem to be answering two very different questions.  I agree with their answer to the unasked question, to wit, Zach made very predictable and supportable picks.  

As for how the U.S. team projects, one has that nagging sense that we've seen this movie before.  Alan Shipnuck promised us an era of U.S. dominance, but this team radiates that "better-on-paper" vibe that we've seen so often.  Even those six automatic qualifiers come with huge question marks, beginning with Scheffler's putter.

I'll finish with a follow-up column from Mike Bamberger that's quite the head-scratcher.  I've refereed to Mike as the conscience of our game, but he's quite clearly lost touch with the modern touring professional, as evidenced by his prior column, a fever dream that Zach would leave Koepka at home in an act of patriotism, ignoring that every element of the PGA Tour organization is committed to that Saudi partnership.  But the current effort takes the normalization to a depressing conclusion:

Brooks Koepka almost made the team on points alone, on the basis of his second-place* finish at

the Masters and his win at the PGA Championship. The top six players on a point system qualified for the team. Koepka was seventh. The only thing that could have kept him off the team was the thing that kept Mickelson from having any kind of role with it: his contract with LIV Golf, which was once seen as an existential threat to the PGA Tour.

Now, at least by public statement, LIV Golf and the PGA Tour are in the process of becoming business partners. On that basis, the threat is over. Saudi millions and likely billions, if this partnership happens, will find its way to various accounts in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

So on that basis, money has won again. Koepka’s contract with LIV Golf was no longer a disqualifying mark. On that basis, if you let that logic play out, Mickelson should now be on the very, very short list to become a U.S. Ryder Cup captain.

Mike is slightly ahead of the facts on the ground, but that is the logical end point of the world since June 6th.  We're still waiting to see if any price is to be paid by those who conspired against the organization in which they became rich and famous, but Mike thinks the smart money should be on "No".   After the shock of June 6th, I certainly don't want to talk him down from his cynicism....

On the other hand, the thought of Phil as the U.S. Captain at Bethpage in 2025 might put me off my feed for a while.... At this point, I'm not even clear on who I'll be rooting for in Rome./

We still need to get to the European Team, which we'll do in the coming days as the gear up for their captain's picks.  I'll see you later in the week.