While eight players have made their way onto the 2016 Ryder Cup team by virtue of automatic qualification, some big names are still sitting on the bubble. That group of guys, which includes the likes of Rickie Fowler, Matt Kuchar, Bubba Watson and Jim Furyk, will be sweating out a captain’s pick either on the Monday following the BMW Championship when Davis Love III makes his first three selections or in two weeks when the 12th and final team member is named after the Tour Championship.
Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee noted that he would make locks out of Furyk and J.B. Holmes, leaving the No. 7 and No. 9 players in the world watching from their respective couches. To each their own opinion is granted, but this seems absurd.
Fowler is one of the most popular players on Tour, both among fans and peers. Watson has a game tailor-made for Hazeltine and the thinking that you would rather take a guy in Jim Furyk whose Ryder Cup record is one of the worst in history because he finished second in a major championship four months prior to the Ryder Cup is flawed logic.
———
Be sure to follow us on Twitter @SwingbySwing and Like Us on Facebook.