The 2014 Ryder Cup is 554 days away from today and we’re already hearing Captain strategies – this time from Team USA Captain, Tom Watson. Watson will be changing the selection format for the team by including the nine top-ranked players and having only three Captain’s picks instead of four, as the USA try to win their first Ryder Cup in six years. “There’s not a lot of method in my madness, but I think the players ought to have another shot of getting on the team by merit,” Watson said. Paul McGinley, who will captain Team Europe, will have two wildcard selections. Watson’s scouting has already started – “I’ve watched a lot of golf on Golf Channel and the networks,” Watson said. “I know who Russell Henley is. I know Kevin … Streelman.” In addition to the first time winners, Watson will also be looking to seasoned veterans like Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods to earn their spot on the team and lead the way.
Watson also discussed Ryder Cup venues, saying the matches played at Gleneagles will give Team Europe and Captain Paul McGinley an advantage because the European Tour has had the Johnnie Walker Championship on that course the last several years. When the Ryder Cup is held in the USA, they tend to go to courses that have had major championships that players don’t see often. It was at Oakland Hills in 2004, where players had not been in eight years; at Valhalla in 2008, which previously held a PGA Championship in 2000; and at Medinah in 2012, which last held a major six years earlier. When Europe won in 2010 at Celtic Manor, Graeme McDowell, who won the clinching point, had actually won the Wales Open there that year. “The more familiar you are with a golf course, the better you’re going to play. That’s a clear advantage.”
Source: Ryder Cup Team USA, Ryder Cup 2014
