The USA have an imposing document within the Presidents Cup, successful the final 9 instances however there are a number of cracks showing in a new-look workforce which can result in a drought-breaking Internationals win on the Royal Montreal Golf Membership in Canada this week.
The People famously misplaced the Ryder Cup to the Europeans final 12 months and the fallout from Rome has been an try and banish the ‘boys membership’ tag which has connected itself to the US workforce lately.
The purple, white and blue stay haunted by their failing at Marco Simone on the course too, whereas the world primary stands because the elephant within the room.
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BILLY’S A BYPRODUCT OF BOYS CLUB DRAMA
Presidents Cup captain Jim Furyk sought to keep away from any controversy by deciding on gamers seven to 12 on the qualifying rankings along with his captain’s picks – the highest six robotically certified.
The conservative method got here after backlash Zac Johnson obtained final 12 months for choosing Justin Thomas regardless of his horror season the place he missed the FedEx Cup playoffs – that are for the highest 70 gamers on the PGA Tour.
Johnson neglected Thomas’ poor kind for his outstanding document in American colors – 18 wins, seven losses and 4 ties – however Furyk wouldn’t do the identical regardless of his blanket rule stopping in-form gamers from being chosen.
Thomas will sit at dwelling watching a US workforce in motion for the primary time in eight years whereas good buddy Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler are additionally high-profile omissions, however Billy Horschel is arguably the unluckiest.
Horschel – who was ranked seventeenth within the qualifying standings – has discovered kind on the proper time successful the DP World Tour’s BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth in England in a playoff towards Rory McIlroy and Thriston Lawrence.
The world quantity 17 has proven a liking for the large events this 12 months with a tied runner-up end at The Open and a tied eighth consequence on the US PGA Championship, and his absence from Furyk’s workforce was slammed by golf author Matt Vincenzi on X.
“In case anybody forgot, maintaining Billy at dwelling for the Presidents Cup was the unsuitable determination,” Vincenzi wrote.
Adam Schupak, senior author for Golfweek, expressed comparable sentiments on X.
“Billy Ho is primed for the Presidents Cup… oh wait,” he wrote.
Max Homa and Brian Harmon are each on the US workforce however, in contrast to Horschel, desperately want to seek out kind after lacking the PGA Tour’s Tour Championship – they completed forty sixth and thirty first respectively within the FedEx Cup standings.
Homa snuck in because the final picked having been twelfth within the qualifying standings however he’s been the US workforce’s star participant at their final two occasions – the 2023 Ryder Cup and 2022 Presidents Cup – with seven wins from his 9 matches.
He completed tied third at The Masters earlier this 12 months however his greatest end in his previous seven tournaments has been a tie for thirty third.
His choice is mimicking that of Thomas final 12 months with Outkick’s Mark Harris highlighting on X how dire Homa’s current statistics are compared to rising star Akshay Bhatia who completed 14th within the US qualifying rankings.
“Akshay Bhatia has gained twice since Max Homa final gained a golf event,” he wrote.
“Bhatia ranks twenty sixth on Tour in strokes gained: complete, whereas Homa ranks 114th.
“Homa is 147th out of 164 in complete driving, Bhatia is seventeenth. Homa is on the Presidents Cup workforce, Bhatia isn’t.”
SCHEFFLER’S UNCHARACTERISTIC RECORD
Scottie Scheffler might be a weak hyperlink within the US workforce.
That appears loopy to say concerning the world primary who has loved a Tiger Woods-like 12 months the place he gained The Masters for a second time, gained the FedEx Cup and the Olympic gold medal amongst eight wins worldwide.
However within the final Presidents Cup at Quail Hole two years in the past and final 12 months’s Ryder Cup, he didn’t win a match.
Eight begins for 5 losses and three ties is a baffling document for a participant of Scheffler’s class.
The worst of these losses is undoubtedly the humiliating 9&7 smashing he and Brooks Koepka obtained from Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Aberg final 12 months which set a Ryder Cup document for the heaviest defeat.
Scheffler’s phenomenal ball-striking eluded him that day with the Unbiased’s Jack Rathborn highlighting the shortage of chemistry between the pair.
“A gaping distance between Scheffler and Koepka emerged,” Rathborn wrote.
“Crushed into submission, the pair hardly ever felt like a unit at Marco Simone Golf Membership. Whereas they possess loads of brawn, seldom did they show crafty technique, or the kind of encouragement required to triumph in workforce golf.
“As a substitute, we witnessed an array of reckless swipes.”
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There isn’t any denying that Scheffler’s document has been tarnished by the shortage of an excellent partnership, however his Achilles heel has additionally been guilty.
Scheffler’s weak point has at all times been his placing, and the fourball and foursomes codecs put added strain on making putts to win holes.
The Internationals have focused this, with Mike Weir utilizing his captain’s picks to give attention to gamers with glorious placing stats and make it a shootout on the greens.
Previous to the FedEx Cup playoffs, the PGA Tour’s finish of season finale had been a daily stumbling block for Scheffler too, however he rectified that at East Lake.
He might do the identical at Royal Montreal however both means, it will likely be fascinating to look at play out.
REPEATING ROMAN MISTAKES
Many of the US workforce have arrived in Montreal with out teeing it up in a event because the PGA Tour’s Tour Championship.
The identical tactic backfired drastically finally 12 months’s Ryder Cup because the extra battle-hardened Europeans settled in a groove faster off the again of enjoying a number of DP World Tour occasions.
The Internationals have adopted the trail of the Europeans by enjoying throughout the PGA and DP World Excursions in current weeks, however the People have made a slight adjustment by arriving to the course sooner than they did final 12 months.
In Rome, they landed on the Monday and took a very long time to seek out their ft.
This time, there is no such thing as a time distinction to regulate to this week they usually arrived on the weekend as Furyk has declared that his gamers will play 9 holes a day for 4 days to see each nines twice.
“We’re going as much as Montreal early to organize, and to see a little bit of the wonderful metropolis,” he stated.
“Our gamers all have it of their minds that they’re going to be sharp, and we’ll get further work finished on the golf course. I checked out my leaders within the workforce they usually all stated, let’s get there a bit earlier.
“I believe getting some further work finished across the golf course might be good as we at all times speak at these occasions about how the blokes really feel rushed as a result of there’s further stuff like media and dinners going.”
However the query stays, will that be sufficient in comparison with the Internationals coming off event play?