Paul McGinley’s three wild card picks – Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and Stephen Gallacher – were largely expected, and the majority of European fans will be happy that they have 12 very strong men in their line-up which looks extremely capable of defending the Ryder Cup later this month.
There are always going to be some dissenting voices, and 2008 captain Nick Faldo is one of them. One of the most successful Ryder Cup players of all time, the Englishman believes Luke Donald should have been preferred over Westwood.
Faldo’s contention is that Donald has a much stronger short game than the two-time European No1, and that is always a huge factor not just in match play format, but golf in general.
Faldo has a point there, but choosing between Donald and Westwood was always going to be the toughest part of McGinley’s job yesterday, and in the end, he would have received some flak for whichever way he leaned.
Donald does have a fabulous Ryder Cup record, but so does Westwood, who has more experience. Both have been former world No1s. Both haven’t won any majors, but have been very consistent performers over the years. And both have not played very well this season.
Two things go against Westwood – one, his short game is suspect, especially his putting, and two, he has stated in the public domain that he does not like the PGA Centenary course at Gleneagles, the host venue of the tournament.
On the other hand, there are several factors in his favour. Most important among them, and the main reason why McGinley voted for Westwood, is that in the past few weeks, he has had a couple of low rounds which hint that he is on the verge of turning around his form. Recent form is the weakest part in any argument for Donald.
And while Westwood’s short game numbers are inferior to Donald, he enjoys a massive long game difference. He is 39th in birdie average, 62nd in total driving and 54th in all-round ranking on the PGA Tour, compared to Donald’s 98th, 154th and 125th position in those three statistical fields.
There is another angle to this story, which is perhaps not talked about as extensively, and I am sure McGinley did not even consider it while making his selection, but it does show the skipper in a very good light.
When the captaincy for 2014 was being debated, there were two names in the fray – McGinley and Darren Clarke. Most players, including Donald, spoke in favour of McGinley, but Westwood was a very vocal supporter of his good friend Clarke.
It’s heartening to see McGinley actually living up to his words that there was nothing personal in his wild card picks. The difference between the two players was so miniscule; he could have easily gone for Donald instead of Westwood.
Poulter and Gallacher virtually picked themselves. It’s Ryder Cup and it would have been ridiculous not to have Poulter in the team. And McGinley would have to be completely blind not to see the outstanding effort that Braveheart Gallacher put in to make the team.
I really believe this is exactly the team Europe would have hoped for to win the biennial battle once again. It has the right mix of form players, experience and youth.
