Among the action items born out of the disastrous 2014 Ryder Cup in Scotland was something unofficially called the “Billy Horschel Rule.” Horschel started the ’14 FedExCup playoffs outside of automatic qualification, at age 35th in points, but dominated in four postseason stops with a runner-up finish in the Deutsche Bank Championship and victories in the BMW Championship and the Tour Championship.
Unfortunately for Horschel, automatic qualification for the US team ended after the PGA Championship on Aug. 10 and captain Tom Watson announced his three picks on Sept. 2, before Horschel won both of his playoff events.
After the ’14 matches, as part of the overhaul of the US Ryder Cup system, the captain’s picks were pushed back after the Tour Championship to address the “hot hand” and ’16 captain Davis Love III taking advantage He chose Ryan Moore after he posted three top-10 finishes in the playoffs, including a playoff loss to Rory McIlroy at East Lake.
Moore, who was 20th in the final standings, went 2-1-0 at Hazeltine and the US won back the cup.
For Love, Lucas Glover’s recent run feels like déjà vu. Glover – who, like Horschel in ’14, started the playoffs 35th on the US Ryder Cup points list – has five top-10 finishes in his last six starts, including back-to-back victories at the Wyndham Championship and last week’s FedEx St. Jude Championship.
“Like Ryan Moore at the time, back in 2016, we took into account the statistics. Lucas will do the same. He’s going to be on the list, how will he fit the course and who do we have with him?” said Love, a vice captain of the team this year. “We’ll be watching Lucas closely this week and at the Tour Championship to see how he continues to play. You want a warm hand for sure. “
One of Glover’s main concerns is that at 43 he will be a Ryder Cup rookie playing his first match overseas, which is widely considered one of the sport’s most challenging environments. , but Love dismissed those concerns.
“I think we’ve learned over the last 10 years that the rookie factor can be good for you, veterans like Davis Love let us down. Even on the European side, the rookies seem to be performing well,” Love said. “Lucas is a professional, he is a veteran player who knows what he is doing. He returned again; he’s as veteran as you get.â€
The top 6 on the US points list will qualify for the team after this week’s BMW Championship and captain Zach Johnson will name his six picks after next week’s Tour Championship. Given the current order of the US roster, Johnson may be faced with a choice between Glover (who is 16th on the points list) and Justin Thomas (No. 14), who did not qualify for the postseason this year.
“That’s oversimplifying,” said Love when asked if it was a choice between Glover and Thomas. “We have six or seven [players] you are strong then there are seven or eight that you look at. Eventually this guy or that guy will come, but that’s the end. “
Even if the matches aren’t played directly after the Tour Championship, as they were in ’14 and ’16, Love said the next two weeks could be crucial in deciding who gets one of Johnson’s six captaincy picks. .
“Zach did a great job of telling us to watch the playoffs,” Love said. “Today I’m pushing my Jay Haas index cards around and doing potential pairings, and I’m like, we’ve got six or seven guys locked in on the team. The big decisions are about to be told by the men that they will or won’t do.