"Captain" Redding's Ryder Cup Picks

The Ryder Cup is a month away and Corey Pavin will make his captain's picks in less than a week. Much ado has been made about whether Pavin will choose Tiger Woods for the team, despite the lack of success Tiger's had since his return this year.

Europe's team looks like the prohibitive favorite on paper with highly ranked players like Lee Westwood, Rory McIlroy, Ian Poulter, and Luke Donald, and 2010 major champions Martin Kaymer and Graeme McDowell. But predicting success based on paper can be a big mistake.

That's why, despite Europe having the hottest players in the game, home course advantage, and the desire to take back the Ryder Cup from the U.S., I'm going out on a limb and predicting . . .

. . . ah, who am I kidding? Europe is going to win this thing in a landslide.

Not that that's what Corey Pavin is thinking. Let's all hope he's not. But it is why deciding on his captain's picks should be both easy and difficult all at once. Difficult because, besides guys who qualified for the team like Dustin Johnson and Bubba Watson, no one from the U.S. is having a really standout season. Play has been inconsistent at best. Sean O'Hair, Nick Watney, and Hunter Mahan, all young and up and coming players, have been up and down like a teeter totter this season. Tiger Woods looks like....well, Tiger Woods one day, and Elmer Fudd the next. And despite Mickelson's assurances that he's feeling OK health wise, the stresses and rigors of a PGA season along with his and Amy's health issues have clearly taken a toll on the #2 ranked player in the world.

So who would I chose as my four captain's picks?

• Rickie Fowler - Fowler is young, brash, and confident. You have nothing to lose with him. Throw him out there and let him get his feet wet on European soil. If he plays poorly, you can chalk it up to lack of experience and all will be forgiven; but if he plays well, wins a match perhaps, he could be just the spark that ignites the U.S. team and gives them that fire to keep the Ryder Cup.
• Zach Johnson - With five rookies on the team including long hitters Bubba Watson and Dustin Johnson, Zach Johnson is precisely the type of guy this team needs. Level headed, cool under pressure, great short game, and brilliant putter, plus a great locker room guy, which again, with five rookies and playing in Europe, is never a bad thing.
• Nick Watney - Well, guess we'll make that six rookies. Another young, confident player, Watney is hungry and ready to prove that his final round collapse at the roller coaster PGA in August was an aberration. With the right combination of rookies and veterans, this team could certainly find a way to bond and come together at just the right time.
• Tiger (Tiger) Woods - Why not? I believe Tiger indeed wants to be on this team. He wants to earn back the respect he feels he's lost and might be losing with every poor performance. We've seen flashes of brilliance this season, including the first round at the Barclays, and if he can continue to put together golf rounds like that and play with a chip on his shoulder, he could provide the ultimate spark for Team U.S., igniting one of the greatest upsets in Ryder Cup history.