I’m a huge fan of the Ryder Cup. The week of the biennial matches between the United States of America and Europe is quite simply my favorite event in golf. While some consider it merely an exhibition, which I understand on some levels, this week has staged some of golf’s most dramatic historic moments. After getting defeated in Wales two years ago, team USA will be looking to bring the cup back to home soil this September at Medinah CC under the leadership of Davis Love III.
The 2012 PGA Tour season is underway and as a result we’re already seeing movement in the Ryder Cup Points. Eight players will earn their way on Captain Love’s team with four others joining as a Captain’s selection. Interestingly enough, the Captain himself is currently in contention to earn a spot on his own team, sitting 20th in the Points Standings.
While the competition to make the 2012 Ryder Cup team will be on everyone’s radar as the PGA Tour enters it’s Major Championship season, beginning with the Masters, the real focus on those final automatic spots will take place as the US Open approaches in June. But before Captain Love can select the final four players he will present to the world as part of the 2012 Ryder Cup team, he must first select his Assistant Captains.
The role of an Assistant Captain in International competition can take on a myriad of responsibilities. Mentor, organizer, gopher, but most importantly before one typically assumes the role as Captain, he first gets a glimpse behind the scenes as an Assistant. If our next Ryder Cup Captain is going to come from the crop of past Assistants, it’s intriguing to contemplate who Love might choose to join him at Medinah to lead team USA.
In addition to having experience as an Assistant Captain, most Ryder Cup Captains also have a history with the PGA of America. Past PGA Champions are elevated to another level when being considered for the role of Captain and a good record as a Ryder Cup participant doesn’t hurt either.
David Toms had a great year in 2011, earning a spot on the Presidents Cup team by virtue of winning once and finishing in the top 25 a total of 13 times. He’s a past PGA Champion and has competed on 3 Ryder Cup teams and maintains a 4-6-2 record. In addition to his 3 Ryder Cup appearances, Toms has also competed on 4 President’s Cup teams.
Needless to say, Toms understands what it means to play on team USA and has personal experience with various Captains and their styles. Unfortunately for Toms, Davis Love III will be making his Assistant Captains selections in March and Toms will likely still be in strong contention to earn a spot on the team as a player. As a result, don’t look for Toms to be anything other than a player on the 2012 squad.
Although Mark O’Meara has lost as many singles matches as any other player in U.S. Ryder Cup history and has an unimpressive career record of 4-9-1, O’Meara has been a member of five Ryder Cup and two Presidents Cup teams.
O’Meara has also won two major championships during a single season, making him one of only three players to have accomplished that feat since 1994.
In essence, O’Meara was somewhat qualified to captain the 2012 Ryder Cup team, but he would definitely make for a good Assistant Captain. Sure, he’s been removed from the regular tour for several years, but he does have a good relationship with Tiger and knows the other veterans expected to be on the team well.
If Fred Couples wasn’t potentially going to captain another Presidents Cup team he would be a prime choice for Davis Love III. Couples will be a Ryder Cup captain at some point, there’s almost no question about that.
Although his 7-9-4 Ryder Cup record is not overly impressive, he’s been a member of five Ryder Cup teams, he’s as cool, calm and collected as they come, and he already has experience in captaining an American team at an international competition. Most importantly, Couples has experience winning as a Captain.
