2014 Ryder Cup Captain's Picks Flop at BMW: How Worried Should Team USA Be?

Nice picks, Captain Watson. Looks like your U.S.S. 2014 Ryder cup boat is already treading water.

If the BMW Championship is any gauge, Tom Watson’s 2014 Ryder Cup Team captain’s picks are looking pretty sad.

Hunter Mahan was six over, and Webb Simpson was four over after the third round, while Keegan Bradley withdrew before the day even began. He was joined by 44-year-old Phil Mickelson who decided to take a rest prior the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles Sept. 26-28.  

Bradley was the subject of a possible rules violation on Friday that was overturned by the official.  At the time he was three over par.

In typical emotional fashion Bradley said about his early departure, “It's eating me alive. I didn't call my fellow competitors for help in the first place, and that bothers me. I know the official approved the drop, but I just can't be absolutely sure it was the right spot.”  

As it stands, Bradley will not go on to the TOUR Championship next week. But Mahan and Simpson will be there. Perhaps they can get a bit of personal redemption by playing well in the season’s last event before the Ryder Cup.  

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And remember, redemption is the word that the U.S. team members keep throwing around when talking about how they will beat a star-studded European team. Two years ago, the Europeans made the biggest comeback in the competition’s history while equaling the 13-year-old U.S. record. Entering the last day of singles matches trailing 10-6, they outscored the U.S. 14.5 to 13.5.

“Redemption is going to be a strong word among all the players,” Mahan said after being chosen. “Europe has flat kicked our butts the last 10 or 15 years and that’s just the way it is.”  

 “The Miracle at Medinah,” as it has been memorialized in books, movies and golf history, refers to the European team’s comeback but could easily have been called “The Debacle at Medinah” from the American’s standpoint.

“All the players that I talked to, every one of them, without a doubt, had one thing to say about the Ryder Cup: They want to go back, and they want to make amends for what happened at Medinah,” Watson said at a news conference in New York. “Our team has that one focus.” 

So, in an effort to harness the revenge factor, Watson went with experience and desire when making his choices. 

Mahan, who had began the year slowly, won The Barclays and finished in a tie for seventh at the PGA Championship. He has previous Ryder Cup experience on a winning team, even though he is the picture of disconsolation at the 2012 event, losing the decisive match to Graeme McDowell.

Bradley’s patriotic passion for the Ryder Cup is well-known and probably was the driving force behind his choice. The 2011 PGA Championship winner hasn’t won in two years, but he brings a fist-pumping aggressiveness that could get the U.S. team fired up.  He's sort of a U.S. counterpart to the feisty Ian Poulter.

Watson chose Simpson over a red-hot Chris Kirk who had just won the Deutsche Bank Championship and has three PGA wins to his name. Kirk is the current FedEx Cup points leader and is ranked 25th in the world.

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At the announcement on the Golf Channel, Watson said about Simpson, “He plays well in the fall.”

Simpson better shed his summer malaise pretty quickly if, as Watson later said, “The guy can get it done. He can flat get it done.” 

In his last outing at Medinah, Simpson teamed with Bubba Watson for two 5-and-4 victories. But he lost two singles matches, including one to Poulter who won the last two holes for a 2-up victory.

In addition to Kirk, Watson could have gone with any number of American players who are stroking the ball better than Simpson. Billy Horschel, who leads the BMW, and Ryan Palmer, who is in second place and has had a stellar season, both come to mind. The long-hitting Gary Woodland or Brendon Todd, with one win and seven top-10 finishes this year, would have also sufficed.

So these three really have to get it going if they are going to compete against the likes of Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, Henrik Stenson and a power-packed European team. It won’t be enough to just bring passion to Gleneagles.

They will have to get their game in motion if they are going to contribute in a positive way.

From a statistical standpoint, Simpson falls down in the driving distance category (ranked 107th on tour) but he is in the top 25 in strokes gained tee-to-green, strokes gained–putting and scoring average. He has had his ups and downs during the season, including a win last October at the Shriners Hospital event, seven top-10 finishes, but he also has six missed cuts.

Bradley may be less disconcerting, especially if you recall his 2012 Ryder Cup 3-1-0 record. He was one of the bright spots at Medinah, especially when teamed with Phil Mickelson, as they went 3-0.

Mahan may be the best match-play player among them.

Analyzing Mahan’s history in similar events, Chris Chase at USA Today wrote,

"

The match-play standout competed in the 2008 and 2010 Ryder Cups, playing eight matches and scoring 4.5 points. That’s a ratio of .563 points per match, which is higher than both Phil Mickelson (.447) and Tiger Woods (.439).

Of active golfers with two or more Ryder Cup starts, only Zach Johnson (automatic), Matt Kuchar (automatic) and Dustin Johnson (withdrawn from consideration) have been better.  

"

As Watson said during his announcement, he had been going over and over player stats until it made him dizzy. On paper, you can make a case for any of these guys.

But right now, on the course, they don’t look so good.

And that has got to be worrisome to Watson, to U.S. Ryder Cup teammates and to fans.

Stats are courtesy of PGATour.com.