2014 Ryder Cup rosters: The best team USA and Europe captain’s pick options

The calendar has flipped to September, which means it’s Ryder Cup month. The European team settled its first nine players on Sunday, and now the two captains will announce their three captain’s picks on Tuesday. It’s one of the most intriguing days in golf off the course, and a couple spots on each side are up for debate at the last minute. Here’s our effort to breakdown the current rosters, and then all the best options for each captain ahead of tomorrow’s announcements.

While the points race for the USA roster closed at the end of the PGA Championship, the European side did not determine their nine automatic qualifiers until the last day of the month on Sunday (Here’s a refresher for how each side calculates points for these qualifying spots). And the race for the final spot for Paul McGinley’s European side came down to a shot. While Graeme McDowell sat at home enjoying his new baby daughter just born on Monday, Stephen Gallacher was making a desperate push to bump the Ulsterman out of the ninth automatic spot. Gallacher needed to finish in the top two at the Italian Open, but came up a shot short of David Howell and settled for third.

Gallacher posted a T7 and 3rd in his last two weeks and has a very compelling argument to be a captain’s pick, but the auto spot still goes to the veteran McDowell.

The European Tour creates two separate points rankings because so many European players don’t play full-time on their tour. So in addition to a basic European Points List, there’s also a World Points List to reward all those worldwide wins and PGA Tour wins that European-born players lock up each year. Thanks in part to his BMW PGA Championship in England, the Euro Tour’s premier event, Rory McIlroy finished in first in both the European Points list and the World Points List, which he also dominated thanks to those two majors and WGC title.

Here are the final standings for the two separate points races for Team Europe:

The Euro Tour closing their points race on Sunday was a bit quirky because the PGA Tour, where so many top Euro players are still in the FedEx Cup, was not wrapping up their event until Labor Day afternoon. So if a player like Luke Donald or Ian Poulter went low and was in contention on Monday at TPC Boston, it wouldn’t have mattered for this qualifying chances.

With nine spots now reserved on each side, here are where the rosters stand on Monday afternoon:

Tuesday!

Photo via Andrew Redington

Paul McGinley will announce his three captain’s picks on what will be Tuesday morning for the American TV audience. The announcement is set to take place around 7 a.m. on Golf Channel’s “Morning Drive” program.

Tom Watson will fill out his roster later, making his announcement Tuesday evening in a made-for-TV show originating from the “Saturday Night Live” Studio 8H in New York. The show is supposed to start at 7 p.m. ET and Golf Channel will also carry it live.

McGinley definitely has the tougher task. The European pool is so deep that they could put together two very competitive teams with 24 guys. There are some new names, and one old name in Thomas Bjorn, that probably weren’t expected to be on the roster at the start of the year. Jamie Donaldson, Victor Dubuisson, and Bjorn locking up three spots leaves several Ryder Cup superstars and veterans battling for three spots. Here are the candidates:

Ian Poulter -- Unless he’s injured or completely lost his game, Poulter should always be on the team. He’s probably the best player in the world in the match play format, a reputation built by crushing American dreams several times over in past Ryder Cups and repeated deep advances in the bracket at the WGC Match Play event. As a captain’s pick in 2012, he went 4-0, whipping the USA in every format and with several different partners in the two-man games. His overall Ryder Cup record is 12-3. It’s not been a strong season for Poulter on the PGA Tour, but this is his event and he’s going to make the team.

Stephen Gallacher -- Like Donaldson and Dubuisson, he’s another new face that’s probably going to bump out one of those stars we’re so used to seeing on the European team. A native of Scotland, he’d obviously be one of the fan-favorites at Glenagles if selected. He started the season targeting a Ryder Cup spot, and made a big early move when he won the Dubai Desert Classic, beating out Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy after playing as the third wheel in their group for the first two rounds. His strong finish to the season, missing out on that auto-spot by a shot, also likely puts his name on the roster. His position is probably not as strong as Poulter’s but they seem to be the first two choices.

Luke Donald -- The former No. 1 player in the world is still inside the top 30 in the rankings, but he’s been mediocre-to-poor all season. Donald has made a ton of money on both the PGA and Euro Tours, and he’s a four-time Ryder Cupper that’s had a run of success partnering with Sergio Garcia. He’s also a natural partner for all the other English vets. But he’s going to end the season with a missed cut at The Barclays and a finish near the bottom of the leaderboard at the Deutsche Bank Championship. There was a time you could always count on Donald to make it all the way through the FedEx Cup and be there in Atlanta for the finale, but he’s going home this year after just two events. That middling finish, and four ugly showings at the majors, may leave leave him on the outside of an event where he’s become a fixture and leader for Europe. It will probably be a toss-up for that final spot between Donald and ...

Lee Westwood -- Another Englishman who has been a leader on so many successful European teams but who’s also had an underwhelming season with inconsistent form. He’s the most experienced player on the European side by a wide margin, playing in every Ryder Cup since 1997 and posting an 18-13-6 record. It’s hard to imagine a European team without Westwood, but he’s not in his best shape and this is as deep a pool as he’s ever had to beat out for a spot. Westwood’s season ended last week at the Barclays, a T57 result putting him outside the top 100 in the FedEx Cup standings. His brief run at the Masters, where he always seems to be a factor, was the only real notable moment this year for the former No. 1 player in the world.

It will be difficult for McGinley to call Donald or Westwood and tell them they’re not on the team, but that’s probably how this is going to go over the next day.

Miguel Angel Jimenez -- In any other year where Euros weren’t winning all the time on all the tours across the world, Jimenez would be an easy choice. He won the Spanish Open, his debut event on the Champions Tour, and made the Masters so much more enjoyable with that weekend charge and 4th place finish. But the 50-year-old doesn’t have enough to warrant a selection at this point, much to the disappointment of writers and bloggers everywhere. Here’s hoping the most entertaining and interesting man in golf somehow becomes a part of the week at Gleneagles, whether it’s as a Euro advisor or assistant or some last second made-up position.

Like McGinley, Tom Watson may have a tough job filling out his roster but it’s for a much different reason. McGinley has five or six candidates who would be deserving in most years, while Watson doesn’t have many good options to complete his 12-man team. Tiger is injured. Jason Dufner is injured. Dustin Johnson is indisposed. It’s a thinner group, to be sure. Here’s a look at who’s in the running for the US picks on Tuesday night.

Keegan Bradley -- He’s been pegged for one of these captain’s picks for over a month now. Bradley is a natural partner for Phil Mickelson, and he fell just outside the top 9 in the points race. The anchored putter teamed with Mickelson and rolled through the Euros early in Chicago. They also played pretty well as a pair at the Presidents Cup last October. Bradley has not won on the PGA Tour in more than two years, but he’s come close several times and remains one of the USA’s better young players. He’ll get a spot.

(via @bubbaprog)

Hunter Mahan -- Mahan spent most of the season way down the Ryder Cup standings at 25th or worse. But now he’s shot into the middle of the captain’s pick conversation, and probably played his way onto the team with his win at The Barclays last week. Watson cited Mahan specifically during his opening press conference when he was named captain last year. The captain questioned a team selection process that left Mahan off the roster, so there’s a little background there with Watson being a fan of Mahan’s consistent work over the past decade. He was left off the 2012 team because his game flamed out over the second half of that season. He’s finishing this year with a T15 at a WGC event, a T10 at the season’s final major, and a victory at the first FedEx Cup event. Given the limited options, it would be surprising to see Mahan passed over again, which is a stunning change from his status as a longshot a month ago.

Webb Simpson -- The 2012 U.S. Open winner may emerge late as the best of a lot of not great options. Simpson would pair well again with Bubba Watson, who could be the most fragile member of the team trying to navigate the hostile Euro crowds. Simpson has eight top 10s in 22 events this season, and is in contention this week in Boston after missing the cut at The Barclays. He was 2-2 in his Ryder Cup debut at Medinah. A spotty season might be enough for the final spot.

Brandt Snedeker -- After the PGA Championship, he was probably one the favorites, along with Bradley, to claim a captain’s pick. But he’s missed the cut in the first two postseason events to promptly end his FedEx Cup. Snedeker was shaky at times in his 2012 Ryder Cup debut just after winning the $10 million FedEx Cup a few weeks prior. Once one of the best putters in the world, Snedeker has struggled with the flatstick all year. These last two weeks may have completely knocked him out of consideration for that final spot.

Brendon Todd -- He’s an unknown, but Watson would make a clear break with the past if he went with Todd. The Georgia product had never even played in a major championship until June’s U.S. Open, but that came during a stretch where he was one of the most consistent American golfers on the PGA Tour. He got his first career win at the Byron Nelson, and then went T5, T8, T5, T4 in four of his next five events. That run at least gave Todd a chance to go out and grab a spot from nowhere over the past month, but he’s not played well since the start of August. A rough PGA Championship and two uninspiring FedEx Cup starts likely takes him out of the running as a darkhorse pick.

Anybody... anybody? While those were the five main US contenders for those three spots, the candidates are so weak that a good result on Monday at the Deutsche Bank could change things.

Chris Kirk is another Georgia alum who has had a consistent season, beginning with his win last fall at the start of the wraparound schedule. He’s in contention at TPC Boston and could be a late addition.

The same goes for Russell Henley, another Georgia boy who has one of the better putters on the Tour. He holds the final round lead at the DBC and is going for his third Tour win at just 25-years old.

Ryan Moore finished in 10th place in the final Ryder Cup standings, but he needed to make a big move in the FedEx Cup to close in on a captain’s spot. He’s in last place at the moment, and it’s unlikely this former amateur star gets his first ever Ryder Cup chance this year.

Bill Haas is another American with team experience, playing in the last two Presidents Cups. He’s had subpar season for his standards but is making a bit of a push with a T15 at the PGA, a T2 in Greensboro, and is now going low in the final round at TPC Boston to make a charge up the leaderboard. It’s probably too little and too late, but that final spot is so open that Haas could be under last second consideration.

Tiger Woods won’t be a Tom Watson pick on Tuesday night, and neither will assistant captain Steve Stricker.

I think Watson will go with Keegan Bradley, Hunter Mahan, and Webb Simpson, while McGinley’s choices in the morning will be Ian Poulter, Stephen Gallacher, and Luke Donald (and I was wrong, McGinley opted for Westwood over Donald).