Love facing wildcard dilemma

Davis Love III is set to end speculation – if not debate – over the final make-up of the United States Ryder Cup team by naming his four wildcard picks.

The US captain has the unenviable task today of narrowing down a shortlist of up to eight of the world’s leading players for the match against Europe at Medinah, near Chicago, Illinois, later this month.

With various players rating highly over matters such as form, results, experience and team computability, Love is facing one of the toughest selection decisions of any US skipper in recent times.

His challenge is to find a team to break the dominance of the Europeans, who have won four of the last five contests and six of the last eight.

Chief among his considerations might be the issue of experience, meaning veterans Jim Furyk and Steve Stricker could be uppermost in his thoughts.

The US already boast Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, who have made 14 appearances between them, in their team, but also among their automatic qualifiers are three rookies.

Love may feel Furyk, 42, who has played at seven Ryder Cups, and Stricker, 45,a two-time attendee, could offer much to the likes of first-timers Jason Dufner, Keegan Bradley and Webb Simpson.

Stricker and Furyk have both partnered Woods in the past and went close to automatic qualification themselves, finishing 10th and 11th on the list respectively.

Finishing ninth was Hunter Mahan but such was the tightness of the competition that Bo Van Pelt, who ended 14th, could have muscled his way in automatically but for a poor final round at last month’s USPGA Championship.

Both will have exercised Love’s thoughts but so too will 23-year-old Rickie Fowler, a debutant at Celtic Manor in 2010, and 31-year-old Brandt Snedeker, who finished tied third at this year’s Open.

In terms of form, Dustin Johnson and Nick Watney might have timed their runs perfectly.

Having recovered from a back injury earlier in the year, long-hitting Johnson has earned two top-10 finishes in his past four tournaments.

Watney finished 30th on the qualifying list but powered his way into contention by winning The Barclays at Bethpage Black, New York, last week.

Love, who himself played in six Ryder Cups, was setting the final rule over the contenders during the closing round of the Deutsche Bank event.