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Ryder Cup: The biggest snubs from the U.S. and European rosters

By Cameron Salce

WEST CONSHOHOCKEN, PA - SEPTEMBER 04: U.S. Ryder Cup Team Captain Jim Furyk announces Bryson DeChambeau, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods as the Captain's Picks for the 2018 U.S. team during a press conference at the Philadelphia Marriott West on September 4, 2018 in West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
WEST CONSHOHOCKEN, PA - SEPTEMBER 04: U.S. Ryder Cup Team Captain Jim Furyk announces Bryson DeChambeau, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods as the Captain's Picks for the 2018 U.S. team during a press conference at the Philadelphia Marriott West on September 4, 2018 in West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /
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HONOLULU, HI – JANUARY 12: Xander Schauffele of the United States plays his shot from the 17th tee during round two of the Sony Open In Hawaii at Waialae Country Club on January 12, 2018 in Honolulu, Hawaii. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images) /

Xander Schauffele burst on to the national golf scene last season when he won the TOUR Championship and was recognized as the PGA Tour’s Rookie of the year. He followed that up with quietly having another terrific season on tour as a sophomore this year.

He had five top-ten finishes on Tour this season and played pretty consistently throughout the entire year. He also notably tied for second at the Players Championship and the British Open in two of the biggest and most grueling tournaments of the year.

Furyk’s decision was seemingly narrowed down to Schauffele and Tony Finau going into the BMW Championship. Schauffele played great and finished the tournament tied for third three strokes ahead of Finau who finished the tournament in eighth. Schauffele was even the leader after the first two rounds of the tournament and probably would have had a better chance to make the team had he held on to win the event.

Schauffele was also ahead of Finau in the Ryder Cup points standings  in 12th place compared to Finau’s 15th before the automatic qualifying ended at the PGA Championship, but only the top eight automatically make the team.

However, Finau has had a better year overall having finished in the top ten in every major this season and top five in the first two FedEx Cup events. That consistency from start to finish is what likely earned him the last spot on the roster over Schauffele.

Even Schaufelle himself admitted Finau was probably the correct decision with the final captain pick, after round one of the BMW Championship he said,

"“Obviously, I thought a lot more about it the past couple of weeks, I’m sort of in a position where I feel like a win is the only way I’d be in consideration. I mean, Tony is the guy right now. He just shot 64 as well. He’s not making it easy on anyone else trying to get on that team.”"

Yet out of all the young stars in the game of golf under the age of 25, Schauffele, 24, has arguably been the best during this two year stretch to start his career. The only player in his age range that will be playing in the Ryder Cup will be 25-year-old Jordan Spieth who is currently the number 10 ranked player in the world 8 spots ahead of Schauffele, who has risen to 18th in the World Ranking. (NOTE: Schauffele fell to 19th following the TOUR Championship)

Spieth has had a down season and did not even qualify for the Tour Championship because of his poor performance in the FedEx Cup playoffs. Schauffele on the other hand played some of his best golf at the BMW Championship playoff event and might be playing better right now than Spieth, who many consider to be the best young gun in the game of golf.

Schaufelle was ultimately left off of the team because of his inexperience in the Ryder Cup because he has never played at the event. But he has played well in big tournaments before, he has placed in the top 6 in half of the majors he has played in so far in his career.

If his game continues to improve on the trajectory that he is on he will undoubtedly play on plenty of Ryder Cup team’s in years to come. It might have been smart to get him some experience this season because he will likely be a perennial competitor in the event and could help the Americans win in the future.

Since the Americans are looking for their first win away from home since 1993, it was smart of Furyk to choose the most experienced and best golfers right now, instead of looking towards the future.

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