Adam Scott?? USA Continues President's Cup Dominance

I'll eat virtually anything, but one thing I don't like to eat is crow. Luckily for me, my simple (yet effective!) analysis yielded exactly the results that I anticipated. Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson each went undefeated (5-0-0 and 4-0-1, respectively) draining putt after putt and hitting shot after ridiculous shot. If you haven't seen Tiger's 218 yard 3-iron blast to within 8 feet for eagle on the 18th hole on Saturday's Foursomes match against the short-hitting Mike Weir and Tim Clark, which Steve Stricker rolled in to come from behind and win 1-up, I highly recommend visiting ESPN.com for the highlight video. Stricker turned out to be a perfect teammate for Woods, something that Corey Pavin should keep in mind as he leads the U.S. Team in next year's Ryder Cup matches.

Camilo Villegas and Retief Goosen were the biggest disappointments for the International team at a combined 0-7-1, but Greg Norman's surprising captain's pick in Adam Scott cost the International team precious points that MAY have kept the match much closer down the stretch. Scott was the only player on either team to be ranked outside of the top 50 (he was ranked 53 at the time of the pick, and as of October 4th he had dropped to 65th). While his talent is undeniable, Scott was having a terrible 2009 season and looked as if he hadn't hit a putt in weeks during the matches. To Norman's credit, his other captain's pick Ryo Ishikawa turned in the single best performance along with Ernie Els (both 3-2-0), which goes to highlight how critical the captain's picks can actually be.

Based on the World Golf Rankings as of September 6th, some other possible picks that Norman could have chosen were Shingo Katayama, Jeev Milkha Singh and Rory Sabbatini. It's easy to see how Norman chose Scott - Scott is a protege of Norman and a fellow Ausie - but his putting inconsistencies and new swing issues left many wondering if Scott could live up to expectations.

U.S. members Sean O'Hair and Hunter Mahan (a captain's pick for Fred Couples) also made great contributions throughout the matches. The U.S. now has a solid lineup of young talent with both Ryder and President's Cup experience. With veteran leadership from Woods, Mickelson, Cink and Furyk, I think the U.S. has an excellent chance in winning the Ryder Cup next year as well. Momentum coming into the matches this year played a huge role in the success of the U.S. squad, so let's hope our players finish the 2010 season strongly and retain that which they currently have in their possession: