Common Sense Walker Cup Solutions If Anyone Is Listening

Ryan Lavner at GolfChannel.com gives the Walker Cup mess--a minor mess solely of the USGA's making--a nice, detailed examination.

His conclusion? A little more transparency and keep picking mid-amateurs when warranted. No task force needed. And his advice is all free of charge, which is precisely why the USGA international team selection committee will probably dig in and get more secretive and bizarro in their thinking.

Apparently, there’s an internal points system that the committee reviews, but those results are never made public to the players, parents, fans, media - anyone. Instead, after the first five players are selected, the rest of the would-be contenders are left to wonder how they stack up because they receive, quite literally, no information about their standing.

It is unnecessarily secretive, especially when these decisions have significant ramifications; this year alone, Hunter Stewart and Denny McCarthy delayed turning pro just to have an opportunity to make the Walker Cup team.

Obviously, there needs to be some discretion, because these players are representing not just themselves but also their country, but the USGA loses all credibility by keeping players in the dark during the process. As a result, the organization never has to justify its decisions, saying only that it was a tough choice for the committee and that there were many qualified players in the mix. Heck, this year, there wasn’t even a news conference to discuss the team once it was finalized, despite a two-year run-up to the announcement.

An even more significant mistake is not allowing the captain – who should be the single most important figure in shaping the team – to have a deciding vote on which 10 players make the squad.

Seriously: Miller traveled to 13 college and amateur events this year, speaking to every player under consideration, studying his game, learning what makes him tick, seeing how he could fit into the team … and yet he didn’t have so much as a vote.