The U.S. Would Like To Play The Ryder Cup This Week

In recent years, a look at the U.S. Ryder Cup points standings a few months from the event could be eye-opening, even depressing, but as Jason Sobel notes, not this year.

Just look at the options after the first eight of Bubba Watson, Jason Dufner, Phil Mickelson, Matt Kuchar, Hunter Mahan, Zach Johnson, Keegan Bradley and Rickie Fowler.

Sobel writes:

The next eight on the current points list – Steve Stricker, Tiger Woods, Bill Haas, Brandt Snedeker, Ben Curtis, Johnson Wagner, Kyle Stanley and Mark Wilson – have each won a Tour event already in the year’s first five months, giving the captain plenty of ammo for his four wild-card selections.

All of which leads to one prevailing notion: The team will never be hotter than it is right now.

Granted, that only increases the U.S. chances by mere percentage points. As we’ve often witnessed over the years, the hotter team on paper hardly owns much of an advantage once the first balls are in the air at this biennial grindfest, but even the smallest advantage is still an advantage.