If the Ryder Cup were to be held this week, the rival captains would surely have contrasting emotions.
Europe clearly holds all the aces right now, and unless the Americans start performing in the next few weeks, it looks like they will have to wait for another four years before thinking of a win on European soil.
European captain Paul McGinley has almost got the team he would have dearly wanted, while Tom Watson can really do with some last-minute push by some of his top stars.
On September 3, the Tuesday after the Deutsche Bank Championship – the second leg of the PGA Tour’s FedExCup Playoffs – both McGinley and Watson will announce their three picks.
The current world ranking is a clear indicator of how well things are shaping up for Europe.
Four out of the top-five players are going to be part of McGinley’s team, barring world No1 Aussie Adam Scott, who’d obviously have no role to play during the September 26-28 tournament at Gleneagles.
These are still early days, considering there is still a World Golf Championship event and a major to be played.
Things can change quickly, but if it does, no captain would be disappointed to have a player in his team who is riding a hot streak.
McGinley has three picks, and he can surely hand it over to Ian Poulter; Graeme McDowell, who is showing some very good form recently, and perhaps Lee Westwood, who is struggling, but has a phenomenal Ryder Cup history.
Form is never a criterion for picking up Poulter.
If you cut that man, he’d probably bleed Ryder Cup.
He will walk into the European team even when he is playing on the Seniors Tour.
And G-Mac is a feisty character, well known for his bulldog like ability to never give up.
But what’s worked out so far for McGinley is that several of his musthave players on the team have hit form at the right time, including Rory McIlroy, who won The Open last week; Martin Kaymer and Sergio Garcia.
World No2 Henrik Stenson may not have had the best of Opens, but it is evident from the way he is playing that he is very close to the form that guaranteed him a place in the biennial competition towards the second half of last year.
And Victor Dubuisson proved once again that his earlier form was no flash in the pan as he did very well at Royal Liverpool.
As for Watson, two of his biggest superstars and most experienced hands – Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson – are currently out of an automatic place in the team.
So, unless the two players who have a combined 19 majors against their names, win at least once in the next five weeks, the captain will have to ‘waste’ his wildcards on them.
That leaves him with plenty of names he’d like to be on the team – Keegan Bradley, Brandt Snedeker and match play expert Hunter Mahan being just three of them – but just one person to choose.
The problem with both Woods and Mickelson is that they haven’t done anything of note this year.
Woods, as is well known, missed several tournaments because of his back surgery, while Mickelson is yet to notch a top-10 on the PGA Tour.
The other issue for Watson is Steve Stricker. He’d love to have the veteran in the team, but Stricker is definitely not helping his own case by playing a restricted schedule.
The good news for Watson is that Rickie Fowler and Jordan Spieth are already inside the automatic spots.
The two youngsters will add a lot to the team with their Ryder Cup inexperience.
They will not be carrying any ghosts of America’s previous defeats.
But the question remains: will that be enough for Team USA?
