Rory McIlroy reckons it’s a load of ‘rigmarole’ the process rival USA Captain Davis Love 111 is going through on Sunday night to name his final Hazeltine pick.
Love 111 is set to deliver his pick at half-time in Sunday night’s NFL third-round clash between the Dallas Cowboys and the Chicago Bears, and only given TV host NBC also will host the Ryder Cup.
It means the announcement of the last 2016 US Ryder Cup team member will not be known to around 10pm East US time or 3am Monday morning UK/Irish time and 4am in most parts of western Europe, and that will be more than six hours after this week’s PGA Tour season-ending Tour Championship will have been decided.
McIlroy spoke of the bizarre scenario ahead of him teeing up on the opening day of the Championship at East Lake in Atlanta.
“If I was having a bet, I’d put my money on Bubba,” said McIlroy.
“No matter how you fit him into a team or whatever, Bubba is the seventh ranked player in the world, won two Majors, two Masters, he has got the credentials, he has played in a Ryder Cup before and the crowd will get behind him.
“But I don’t know why they are doing this whole rigmarole announcing the pick during half-time in Sunday Night Football.”
And McIlroy poured cold water on Lee Westwood controversially igniting the fuse on the pre-Hazeltine phoney war in declaring vice-captain Tiger Woods will be ‘adverse effect’ in the team room.
“One of the reasons Tiger announced last week he was hopeful of returning to competition next month was because he didn’t want it to get in the way of the US team,” said McIlroy.
“So I don’t see him having any adverse effect on the Ryder Cup or the American team.
“The Ryder Cup is the Ryder Cup. It’s a huge event and one person being there is not going to take away from what it is.
“From what I have heard, and I am close with a lot of the US guys on the team, they are saying Tiger has been on the phone every week, so he’s really into it.”
McIlroy got off good start on the opening day of the Atlanta event racing to two under par after five holes, and after dropping a shot at the first.
But it all turned pear-shape with back-to-back double bogeys when he three-putted the seventh and then put his approach shot into the drink left of the eighth green.
And whether or not McIlroy becomes the first Irishman win the Tour Championship on the occasion of its 10th anniversary, McIlroy says it will make no difference to the European Ryder Cup Team cause heading to Hazeltine.
”Yes, it would be a boost for the team if I were to win but I don’t think it makes a difference going into the Ryder Cup if I win or not ,” he said after eventually posting a round of a two under par 68 that included turning around his first round with four straight birdie over his East Lake back nine.
McIlroy played the first round in the company of England’s Paul Casey and the player he relegated into second place in capturing the Deutsche Bank Championship. He played alongside Casey on day one here in Atlanta and now after each shot a 68 they are out side-by-side on day two.
