Tiger Woods And 3 Other Players Captain Jim Furyk Should Pick For America's 2018 Ryder Cup Team

Tiger Woods And 3 Other Players Captain Jim Furyk Should Pick For America's 2018 Ryder Cup Team
15:30, 13 Aug 2018

Jim Furyk has four huge selections to make ahead of next month’s Ryder Cup, which takes place over in France at Le Golf National between 28-30th September.

Following the conclusion of the PGA Championships, which was won by double US Open champ Brooks Koepka, the America captain now has eight players on the plane with Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Patrick Reed, Bubba Watson, Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler and finally Webb Simpson all automatically qualifying for the team.

Furyk now has three weeks to go until he reveals three of his four captain’s picks (3rd September), before the fourth and final selection is unveiled a week later.

Here are the final four players Furyk should take with him to Paris.

Tiger Woods

Shock.

Tiger Woods has enjoyed a cracking comeback since returning to golf at the start of the year, and his pick is subsequently set in stone.

While that elusive search for a 15th major continues, he has accumulated three top-6 finishes in the top-4 tournaments, including a runners-up spot in the PGA Championship over the weekend, during which he carded a stunning final-round 64.

In truth, Woods’ Ryder Cup record isn’t actually all that. The 42-year-old has only got his hands on the famous trophy twice, winning just 13 of his 33 matches, however his very presence - especially in his current form - would be invaluable to the team, while his record in the singles is decent, four wins in seven matches, losing twice in this format over that 19 year period.

Phil Mickelson

Like Woods, Mickelson failed to cement an automatic spot - for the first time ever - but it’s difficult to envision Lefty missing out on next month’s showpiece spectacle. Since making his debut way back in 1995 he has featured in all 11 editions of the Ryder Cup - a record for an American - and recorded two wins and one draw from his four matches last time out at Hazeltine.

Earlier this year the veteran ended a five-year drought by winning the World Golf Championship-Mexico following a play-off victory over Justin Thomas. The Ryder Cup stalwart will now be gunning to win the competition in Europe for the first time in his career and should, as expected, he take part he would no doubt overtake Sir Nick Faldo in the overall matches table, with the American currently one behind.

Tony Finau

What a season it’s been for Tony Finau. The Salt Lake City born big-hitter shone brightly in the first three majors of the year, finishing 5th at the US Open, T10 in his first showing at the Masters - he infamously dislocated his ankle on the eve of the tournament - and T9 at The Open.

He then came T42 in Bellerive last weekend, but did post a superb 66 during his second round, when he was playing alongside a certain Jim Furyk...

In the end the 28-year-old finished 15th in the Ryder Cup standings, but those results and experiences of battling it out in high-pressure situations would put him in great stead for the Ryder Cup, which if selected would be his first.

Bryson DeChambeau

It’s an extremely close call, but we are backing Bryson DeChambeau to edge out the likes of Xander Schauffele, Matt Kucher and Kevin Kisner.

The 24-year-old was the unlucky man to finish 9th in the Ryder Cup rankings ahead of the cut-off point, with Webb Simpson pipping his countryman by a meagre 200 points, meaning he now faces a nerve-shredding wait.

The passionate DeChambeau has enjoyed a decent season to date, posting six top-10 finishes, and won the Memorial Tournament in June - his second victory on the PGA Tour. He now has a month to persuade Furyk he is the man to shine in France, although one player who does want him in the team is Woods, who earlier this month said:

“We want him on that team.

“Bryson is very analytical as we all know, but what most of the guys don’t know is how competitive he is.

“He is very fiery, very competitive, and that’s the type of person we want on the team. We want someone who is fiery, who will bleed red, white and blue. We want those type of players on the team.”

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