Ryder Cup: Steve Stricker Makes Right Choice in Scottie Scheffler

United States Ryder Cup captain made his captain’s picks official on Wednesday. The only pick that was really in question was the one that Stricker used to select Scottie Scheffler.

The U.S. captain had six automatic qualifiers – Collin Morikawa, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas and Patrick Cantlay. That was a solid core with which to start.

More from Pro Golf Now

Stricker then selected players seven through 10 in the standings. That gave him Tony Finau, Xander Schauffele, Jordan Spieth and Harris English.

At that point, Stricker had two spots still available. As had been reported last week, Stricker picked Daniel Berger, who was 12th in the standings but ranked 18th in the world, with one of those selections.

So, Stricker had one spot left. He was seemingly picking between Patrick Reed, Scheffler, Kevin Na and Sam Burns. Each had a strong case to make the field.

Reed is a Ryder Cup veteran who has earned eight points in three Ryder Cup matches. But he was thought to be a bad fit in the team room.

Na played well last week, finishing third at the Tour Championship. But his overall body of work was not as good as others.

Burns has had a wonderful season on tour. But his lack of experience, especially in big events like majors, was seen as a detriment.

Then, there was Scheffler.

The defending PGA Tour Rookie of the Year has proven time and again that he has big-time game. And he has proven that this season.

Scheffler has been in the mix in every major this season. He tied for 18th at the Masters, then tied for eighth at the PGA Championship.

He tied for seventh at the U.S. Open and followed that with an eighth-place showing at the Open Championship. That’s three Top 10s in four majors and Top 20s in all four majors.

Next. 2021 Tour Championship: Winners and Losers at East Lake. dark

Scheffler was also runner-up at the WGC-Match Play in March, falling to Billy Horschel in the final. He was third at the Memorial Tournament in June.

The Ryder Cup will be a challenge for Scheffler for sure. He will need to lean on experienced players to help him through. But overall, he was the best choice for the final captain’s pick.

Home/Ryder Cup