Has Captain Bjorn Got it Right?

Europe’s Ryder Cup captain Thomas Bjorn has received a fair amount of criticism from the golfing pundits after naming his four wildcard picks for this year’s tournament. Form was said to be clinically overlooked in favour of experience as Sergio Garcia, Paul Casey, Ian Poulter and Henrik Stenson joined up with those that had qualified from the European and World points list.

Bjorn has played it safe, but has he got his selection right?

No Weak Links

Tiger Woods by Keith Allison

One of Thomas Bjorn’s concerns would have arisen from the fact that reigning Ryder Cup champions the United States will go into this tournament with one of the strongest teams for many years. Even though they are conceding home advantage this time, comparison site Oddschecker shows that Jim Furyk’s squad are odds-on favourites to retain the title that they won two years ago and it’s easy to see why.

Among the roster is double 2018 Major winner Brooks Koepka and the current US Masters Champion Patrick Reed. Dustin Johnson, who has only just lost his World Number One ranking, also features as do Justin Thomas, Rickie Fowler and Bubba Watson who has won three tournaments on the PGA Tour this season.

Tiger Woods is included as a Captain’s pick after a strong return from injury while Furyk, unlike Bjorn, has gone for form above reputation by including Tony Finau. It’s a formidable line up so what have Europe got to offer in return?

Pride of Spain

Sergio Garcia & Francesco Molinari by myphoto

The main media focus has been on Sergio Garcia who becomes the first man in the history of the Ryder Cup to line up in the tournament having missed the cut in all four preceding Majors. On the plus side, here is a man who was Masters Champion less than 18 months previously and across a long professional career, the 38-year-old has recorded no fewer than 33 tournament wins.

During this year’s competition, Garcia could also overtake Sir Nick Faldo to become the leading European points scorer in the history of the Ryder Cup so we can, at least, empathise with Thomas Bjorn’s dilemma.

Adaptable

Ian Poulter by TourProGolfClubs

Paul Casey could only be seen as a contentious pick because the Englishman has committed to the PGA Tour for many years. He’s been consistent across the Atlantic and won the Valspar Championship earlier this season so there’s no real concern over form for a man who has appeared in three previous Ryder Cups.

Ian Poulter has also made a recovery of sorts in 2018 after he dropped out of the world’s Top 200. Victory at the Houston Open in April this year suggests that ‘Poults’ is back and he will undoubtedly prove his worth as the talisman who inspires the rest of the team.

That leaves 2016 British Open Champion Henrik Stenson where the concern is not over quality but whether the Swede is fully fit following a recent injury. Overall, the European wildcards are an experienced bunch and while form isn’t there in every case, the team will need that experience as they face what is arguably the best US side in the history of the competition.

What Does Tiger Need To Do To Win a Major in 2019

Love him or hate him, you really have to hand it to Tiger Woods. After making his eagerly awaited comeback in January earlier this year at Torrey Pines, Tiger has gone on to make an impressive 17 starts in 2018 thus far and has mounted serious title challenges at Carnoustie, Bellerive, Bay Hill and Innisbrook, whilst qualifying for the season-ending Tour Championship in the process. Moreover, Woods also managed to force his way into Jim Furyk's Ryder Cup plans and perhaps most importantly, has shown glimpses of the game which has seen him land 14 major titles. However, the question on everyone's lips remains, can Tiger land the illustrious 15th and if so, how does he go about achieving that in 2019?

Play Smart But Plan Smarter

Despite the fact that Tiger is now seemingly pain-free, it's important to remember that he's no spring chicken at 42 and with the gruelling modern-day professional golfing schedule to contend with, Woods needs to plan smart if he's to have any chance of landing another major title. Much like Woods' fellow Nike compatriot Roger Federer has done for the past 3 years with regards to the French Open and entire clay court season, Woods should look to pick and choose his tournaments wisely in order to give his body and his mind time to refocus and recuperate.

Of course, you could argue that Federer's reasons partly lie in the fact that Rafael Nadal is as good as unbeatable on clay and that trying to wrestle the Roland Garros title from his grasp is almost futile but by the same token, the rest has demonstrably improved Federer's results on grass and he has spoken numerous times about how important it is to feel fresh when you're advancing in years; Tiger Woods could do much worse than take note of this advice - perhaps he can use this extra downtime to build and design some new courses?

Forget About Winning

As the old adage goes, "The harder you try, the worse it gets." Ultimately, golf is the same as any sport in that you tend to play your best stuff when you're most relaxed and enjoying yourself. Woods has really come to the fore in the past couple of months and it's plain for everyone to see that the American is simply enjoying being able to play the sport he loves without any hindrance. Although it may sound paradoxical at first, Woods' biggest strength could also be his biggest downfall when it comes to trying to land that illustrious 15th major - the competitive streak which has seen him become one of the most decorated players of all time could also lead to him trying a little too hard and few golfers have found success when operating with this mentality.

Instead, Woods should stick to simply enjoying playing golf again and events such as the upcoming Showdown at Shadow Creek should help the 42-year-old in this regard. Woods will go head to head vs Phil Mickelson during Thanksgiving week for a total purse of $9 million and, as of 11th September, Woods is the 4/7 favourite with Betway to come out on top in one of the most eagerly anticipated one-off matches the sport has ever seen.

Keep Being Tiger

Despite his namesake being a ferocious predator in its own right, Tiger is much more like a shark in that when he smells blood, you're in big trouble. Over the years, it's impossible to recall how many good golfers have crumbled in the last round when they knew that Woods is hot on their heels and back in the day (whenever that was), if Tiger took a sizeable lead into the final days play then the result was almost a foregone conclusion. The point is that the name Tiger Woods still strikes fear into the heart of the opposition and he should continue to play on this as well as rallying the crowds, all of whom will undoubtedly be rooting for him to succeed.

Tiger's Comeback Is a Victory In Itself

Those who purchased his recently-released biography on eBay or Amazon will be aware of the hardships and sacrifices Tiger has made over the last couple of years in order to facilitate his comeback - when you consider that many top commentators believed he would never be the same after his injury problems, the fact that he's back out on the course in any capacity is remarkable. However, we're all aware by now that this won't be enough for Woods and so, with that being said, can he land his 15th major title? As reported in the Express, Nick Faldo certainly seems to think so and that's good enough for us.

Three Best Bets for the 2018 Ryder Cup

The 2018 Ryder Cup is set to be a fantastic renewal of the team competition between the USA and Europe as on paper the two sides look fairly balanced and that is reflected in the betting as the bookmakers are struggling to separate them.

If you are looking to have a punt on the event at Le Golf National in Paris, France, here are the three best bets, which can hopefully help you make a profit from the tournament.

1. USA to Win the 2018 Ryder Cup

Credit: Hambric Sports via Twitter

The defending champions are -110 in the golf betting to win the Ryder Cup for the second consecutive tournament and they should be backed to do just that. Jim Furyk has a very experienced team who will be able to handle being the visitors with the crowd against them in Paris. Europe, on the other hand, have five rookies who have qualified into the event which may play against them when the pressure is on at the weekend. Three of the four Major Championships were won by Americans in 2018, which is a strong indication that they probably have the advantage and can retain their crown later this month.

2. Brooks Koepka to be Top USA Points Scorer

American Brooks Koepka has proved to be the man for the big events. The 28-year-old is now a three-time Major winner after claiming the US Open and US PGA Championship in 2018. Despite so much success in the big events, Koepka has only won one other PGA Tour tournament. The American should thrive in the Ryder Cup format and given his form this year, Furyk is sure to use him as often as he can in the four-balls and foursomes which means he should be backed to be the top USA points scorer. Koepka played in the 2016 winning team, therefore he has experience of the event; he was also a member of the European Tour in the early stages of his career and will be familiar with the course.

3. Francesco Molinari to be Top European Points Scorer

Credit: The Open via Twitter

There is no doubt that Francesco Molinari has been one of the in-form players in world golf in 2018. The Italian won the Open Championship at Carnoustie earlier in the summer where he broke his maiden in the Major Championships. Molinari shot bogey-free rounds on the Saturday and Sunday in Scotland to beat the field by two shots. The world number six also claimed the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth earlier in the campaign, while he was sixth recently in the US PGA Championship, which was won by Koepka at Bellerive Country Club. This will be Molinari’s third appearance in the Ryder Cup, therefore not only will Thomas Bjorn be looking at him to help the rookies through the tournament, he is sure to be in the majority of the matches across all three days so back him to be the top European points scorer at Le Golf National.

Enjoy the great team competition in sport and good luck with your bets.