How would the US Ryder Cup team look if only 2018 points counted?
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How would the US Ryder Cup team look if only 2018 points counted? Well… Tiger Woods wouldn’t be relying on a pick!
The top eight qualifiers for the US Ryder Cup team have already been confirmed, but given the way the points system works, it got many wondering what the team would look like if only points from 2018 counted.
Automatic qualification points came from all PGA Tour events in 2018 and all Majors, WGC events and the Players in 2017 – with a heavier weighting on points this year. Given that Tiger Woods didn’t play a single event in 2017 and still finished 11th on the list thanks to a T6 at The Open and 2nd place at the PGA Championship, there was a lot of intrigue to see whether he would have made the team if only this year had counted.
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Twitter’s mysterious but reliable official world ranking account ‘Nosferatu’ did the leg work for us all, and as it turns out, Woods would have made it. But Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler wouldn’t have been so lucky.
Of the current eight players who have qualified, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Patrick Reed, Bubba Watson and Webb Simpson would have retained their spots in the team, while Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler would be substituted for Tiger Woods and Bryson DeChambeau.
Interestingly, Woods is the only player inside that top eight who hasn’t won this year, while Phil Mickelson would once again miss out despite winning the WGC Mexico earlier this year.
Meanwhile, Matt Kuchar would only have 1678 points, and as Nosferatu said on twitter ‘would be way down’.
And while this is all a ‘what if’ scenario, it might give Captain Jim Furyk a little more food for thought when considering his four wildcard picks on September 3rd, which follows the Dell Technologies Championship.
What we do know is that if Tiger is picked, Furyk will relieve him of his Vice Captain duties. At the moment, Woods is one of three assistant captains (Davie Love III and Steve Stricker are the others).
“I want to make sure I have five vice-captains there,” Furyk said. “That’s what we’re allowed, and I see a lot of value in having all five there.”
“His game – the word he used is trending – his game is trending and it is great to see him playing well, for me the numbers (World Rankings) are nice, good to look at, but not always the most important.
“We want the players who are going to help us be successful. I realise he is playing very well and I am excited to see that”
