Last week we had a look at those players I’m confident will make Monty’s team for the 2010 Ryder Cup. Now we’re going to start on the slightly longer list – who are the guys battling it out for the remaining four spots?
This week we’ll look at the players who made up the rest of Nick Faldo’s losing team in 2008.
Miguel Angel Jimenez: The Mechanic has played in 3 Ryder Cups already and was Seve Ballesteros’s vice-captain in 1997. As a player, he hasn’t had great success in the team, only taking 1 ½ points in his last two outings. On the other hand, it is easy to imagine him playing a key role in Colin Montgomerie’s dressing room.
Will he qualify on merit? Despite having four 4th place finishes on the European money list over the last 11 years, he’s failed to crack the top 10 in the other years. He’s been a streaky player, and unless another streak starts his Cup career could be at an end. His 2009 has been solid, but without a win, and it just looks like there are too many young guns vying for the spaces to allow Jimenez a chance.
Robert Karlsson: As far as I’m concenred, once he’s healthy, nothing else matters. He’s been plagued by eye problems all this year, and won’t feature again until October. As we saw last year, he’s a top-class player, and unbelievably consistent, with 11 top-10s and two wins. He’s got a beautiful swing and sorted out his putting nicely. You’ve got to feel he needs a month of golf this year before a winter break to get him ready for next year’s campaign, and it’s very possible that the time out of contention will count against him. But if he’s back and seeing clearly by Christmas, watch out – he’s enjoyed his Ryder Cup experience so far, and he’s the sort of calm, steady player you want in a tight match.
Justin Rose: I can’t see him making it. He had a great Ryder Cup last time, taking 3/4 points, two of which were with European hero Ian Poulter. This year, however, he hasn’t got his game going. Playing a lot of his golf in the US, a top-5 three weeks ago is the only result of note, while he picked up a top-15 in the Open Championship. Poor old Justin’s career has been dogged with flashes of his obvious talent, and stretches of mediocrity. He showed in Valhalla that the format suis him, taking some big scalps, but his form has slipped again and I don’t see him making the cut
Ian Poulter: The man was brilliant last year. After losing his first match, he won all four remaining to be Europe’s top scorer. A wild card last year, he’ll be looking to get straight through the system this year. Skipping the last event last year and eliminating the possibility of automatic qualification, his pick was criticized, but we all shut up once he performed. Always a firey player, the Ryder Cup is his thing – getting pumped and passionate. With 11 top-20s in the States this year and a 3rd place in France, Poults has showed reasonable form this year without reaching his own standards. I expected him to get moving from around July on, but he’s still winless in 2009. The reward of a Ryder Cup berth in itself should be enough to get Poulter charged up to win next year, and I’d hope and tentatively expect him to make it.
Graeme McDowell: With a brace of wins in 2008 and a solid Ryder Cup performance (2 ½ out of 4, including a spectacular final-hole victory with Poulter over Jim Furyk and Kenny Perry), we were looking to G-Mac to become one of the greats this year and start to contend in the majors. It hasn’t worked out like that so far, his 10th place finish in the US PGA being his solitary top-10 this year. Perhaps this is just a transitional period, and he settles into his new station in golf. Like Poulter, he’s an immensely talented player with fire in his belly, and he loves to win. You can be sure he’s eyeing up a place in next year’s team, maybe alongside Harrington or McIlroy.
He’s still a young man, and he’s got a major-winnign future ahead of him – I’m fairly confident he’ll get his game in shape and mount a serious challenge for a place.
Oliver Wilson: Last year’s bridesmaid, with five runner-up finishes in the calendar year, he’s struggled to get his game going again this year. His 9th place slot in the Race to Dubai is founded primarily on that final 2nd place in November, and after great performances in the WGC events in February and March he hasn’t had a top-10 finish since. He was underplayed in Faldo’s team in Valhalla, winning his one team match with Henrik Stenson, before losing to an exceptional performace from Boo Weekley.
I can’t see him making it this time unless he gets a win soon – the longer you go without a win, particularly if you come 2nd, the more difficult it becomes to close out a championship when the time comes. I hope we’ll see more of him in the future, because I really like him as a player, but it won’t be at Celtic Manor.
Soren Hansen: Next week’s column will be looking at a couple more Scandinavian competitors, but for the moment we’ll stick to Soren. In 2008, he only took ½ a point from 3 matches, but he was partnered with an out of sorts Lee Westwood and playing opposite hometown favourite JB Holmes each time. He played great golf under pressure to qualify for Faldo’s team, and is continuing that run this year after a slow start. He’s another guy who needs a win to show he still knows how, but they way he’s playing it isn’t too far away. With the number of places I’ve already given out, it’s getting pretty competitive for the final spots, and Hansen’s going to have his work cut out. He’s a gutsy player, but I don’t think he’ll make it without a victory on Tour. If he gets that early in the year, watch out.
Next week we'll look at more potential rookies - who'll be pushing for the final spots?
