With the 2010 Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor still somewhat fresh in our minds, I thought I would write a few names who would be my top 5 picks for the possible captain selection for the 2010 Ryder Cup at Medinah Country Club outside Chicago. The PGA of America is responsible for picking the captain, which will probably take place in December 2010. The PGA of America has a few guidelines to narrow down the names of potential captain selections, which include having won a PGA Championship or at least another major, and you must have played in past Ryder Cup competitions. One other little piece of information is these captain selections need to have a good reputation among PGA Tour players. These guidelines really do narrow down the candidates and here are my top 5 picks.
1.) Paul Azinger- Zinger led the United States team to the Ryder Cup victory at Valhalla in 2008. He has a new book out, Cracking the Code, which tells the world a few of his secrets to leading the team to victory in 2008. The only downfall, he will be 52 by the time the 2010 Ryder Cup comes around in 2012. On top of that, I doubt Zinger would want to do it again and give someone else a chance.
2.) Davis Love III- Davis will be 48 in time for the 2012 Ryder Cup. DL3 won the 1997 PGA Championship and has played on six Ryder Cup teams. Corey Pavin picked Davis as a co-captain this year in Wales possibly prepping him for 2012. I think this is the front runner right now.
3.) Justin Leonard- Justin will be 40 years old when the Ryder Cup is played outside Chicago. He has played on three Ryder Cup teams. The only possible downfall is his only major win is a British Open. But The Open Championship is still one of the majors and it looks like he meets the criteria. I think Justin would be a quiet captain, sort-of like Corey Pavin, but he would still have the respect of the players and has been a fixture on the PGA Tour for years now and routinely is at the top of leader boards.
4.) Jim Furyk- Jim will be 42 in 2010. He has won a U.S Open and played on six Ryder Cup teams. What else can you say about Furyk? He is well respected among tour players and seems to always be in the top 1o in the money rankings every year. He shows some great emotion sometimes but other than that he seems to be pretty quiet. I think Jim would make a fantastic captain selection. Can you have a playing captain?
5.) Fred Couples- Freddy is beloved by many and has won majors and played in five Ryder Cup events. He will be 53 in time for the 2012 Ryder Cup, but he has been chosen as captain of the 2011 President’s Cup. So will they give it to Freddy with the President’s Cup already on his plate? Who knows but we all know Freddy would make another great captain pick and the guys would play hard for him.
My #3 and #4 picks are long shots, of course. I am sure those two will get their chance down the road. Zinger is probably out of the question as well because he has already gotten his chance. Like I said the front runner is probably Davis Love III with Fred Couples close behind.
What do you think? Anybody else you think could make a splash?
[…] Love III- My 2012 pick for the Ryder Cup Captain, Davis is my dark horse this week. He has had a solid year currently sitting at #55 on the money […]