Captain plays it safe with wildcards

Davis Love confidently walked out to deliver his Ryder Cup team yesterday quietly aware he had already gained a small advantage over Europe.

With Jose Maria Olazabal announcing his selection eight days earlier, Love had the time to make whatever changes in personnel he deemed necessary to counteract the apparent depth of talent of the Europeans. More importantly, he had the opportunity to give his ‘wildcards’ an extra week to play themselves into form, analyse their performances and more importantly, finalise any team pairings he and his vice captains may have considered.

His wildcard selections of Steve Stricker, Jim Furyk, Brandt Snedeker and Dustin Johnson are solid if unspectacular. None of the four will strike huge fear into the hearts of the European team, but you must consider that the selection form part of what Love believes is the most capable team available to the US as they attempt to win back the Ryder Cup at Medinah.