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’14 Ryder Cup Team May Look Different

by Jeff Skinner

The Ryder Cup is still over three months away and there is a ton of golf left to play but a peek at the Team USA Points Standings may just shock you.  This is a team that could look very different from past Ryder Cup teams.

The top nine players earn automatic berths and Captain Watson will fill out the team with three picks of his own.

Ryder Cup Standangs 5.19

First of all there is no Tiger Woods. With his neck surgery sidelining him for months Woods sits at 58th on the list and it will take a quick comeback and some positive play for Watson to make Tiger one of his picks.

Woods says there is no timetable for his return but the Open Championship has been bandied about as his return date and that would give him about four weeks to prove his worth. The cutoff date to earn points is the PGA Championship. A 2014 team without Woods is a definite possibility.

Phil Mickelson is currently at eighth on the list but has played very poorly recently and shows little sign of coming out of his funk. His 2013 Open Championship keeps him in striking distance of making the team. If Phil falls down the board Watson may have to make him a pick and I am sure Old Tom rather have Phil earn his way on the team.

But the reality could be no Tiger or Phil in Gleneagles. That’s a reality the PGA of America would rather not think of.

Thanks to his Masters win Bubba Watson leads all the point earners. Jimmy walker’s three wins has him solidly in second place and Matt Kuchar’s RBC win and nine top tens make him a lock also.

Jordan Spieth’s solid season and a half has him sitting in fourth place and he looks to add another team competition to go along with his ’13 Presidents Cup.

Dustin Johnson has a win and two seconds this season and would be making his third straight Ryder Cup team.

Jim Furyk is trying to make his ninth consecutive Ryder Cup Team and looks in good shape to do just that.

Patrick Reed has three wins in the last nine months and is seventh on the points list. It will be fairly difficult for a player with three wins to miss the team.

This is where it gets iffy. Phil is in eighth place and Zack Johnson is ninth, the last automatic slot and both are at risk. They will need some solid play over the next two months to secure their slot on the team.

Jason Dufner, Harris English and Chris Kirk round out the top dozen players but would all need Watson to make them captain’s picks.

There are plenty of former Ryder Cup veterans sitting way down the list and Watson will be faced with some tough decisions.

Of the top nine players, right now three would be rookies and Kirk and English would be rookies also.

In addition to Woods, missing from the top of the current points list are ’12 Ryder Cup members Keegan Bradley, Brandt Snedeker, Webb Simpson and Steve Stricker.

As the team looks now it certainly appears like there will be plenty of turnover on the ’14 Ryder Cup. And Captain Watson may be faced with a tough decision with his picks.  Will he need to “waste” a pick on Tiger or Phil or will he be able to go off the board and take a hot player.

Either way, this 2014 teams will have a different look when they tee it up in Scotland.

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