Chubby Chandler: Team USA only has two advantages against Europe

Keegan Bradley. Picture: USGA

Chubby Chandler is never short of an opinion and he didn’t hold back when discussing the forthcoming Ryder Cup with Casino Hawks.

Team USA only have two advantages against Europe - the crowd and Scottie Scheffler
I wrote down my thoughts for and against each team and for the American team were two things: the crowd and Scottie Scheffler but Scheffler didn't actually do that good last time anyway. I remember him crying on the edge of a green. 

For Europe, I had about seven pluses, including the pairings being the same and the fact that they had seven in the top three, and they're experienced. They all play in the big tournaments. They all play in America all the time. Nobody's missing out on anything. 

In a strange sort of way, there’s another advantage in Fleetwood too. Fleetwood has suddenly become a world-class player in the last two months. He's had two massive disappointments and then gone and won their biggest tournament. I wouldn't know how that's gone down with the Americans seeing a young English lad with long hair winning their tour championship! He’s a very popular English lad too you know, more popular than the Americans. 

I think Europe has got more personality. They've got more fortitude. They’re right on top of it. Luke Donald’s been around a lot as the captain, overseeing everything. I’d like to ask him what his dinner plans have been for the last four months. I’ll bet he’s taken them all out for dinner. I'll bet he's played with most of them in a practice round or a tournament. He’s a very good captain.

I thought the body language of the Americans when they were being told they were in was interesting. There was no excitement. Very ho-hum. Ben Griffin was the only one excited. 

I cannot see America winning.

Nobody takes the world rankings seriously - Jon Rahm’s place is understood

No, it’ll be completely understood. The world rankings are so warped right now that nobody really takes them seriously.
I had to look yesterday to be able to tell you there were seven in the top 15, whereas I used to know it without needing to look. I don't look at them anymore because it doesn't matter. You’ve got Jon Rahm ranked nowhere in the world rankings. 

You've got Joaquin Niemann, who’s not ranked where he should be, too. They’ve got to sort that out. They’ve got to sort everything out. But they’ve been going on for so long, I’m not sure it’ll ever get sorted.

I don't know who wants to sort it out . That's the problem. I don't think the LIV guys do. I don't think the PGA Tour guys do so. If nobody wants it sorted, it won't get sorted, will it?

It’s all boring now, the PGA vs LIV story. It had its chance about a year ago. It was building some momentum, and people were watching it, and they've lost all that now. Nobody's that interested, and the PGA Tour have been lucky that they've had a really good run for about a year and a half. There've been some great finishes and great tournaments.

Tommy's been captivating, hasn't he? It's been good fun watching it so I don’t know where it’s all going for LIV now.

A year ago, everybody was asking, ‘What's happening with LIV?’ Nobody is bothered now.

The New York crowd is going to be mental - it’ll be horrific but fun

Well, there will be a good Ryder Cup because it will be full of incidents. The crowd is going to be mental. The layout of the course lends itself to rowdiness. It has a loop 15, 16, 17, where all the hospitality is, and no more than 10% of the crowd will be sober.

The thing that will happen in New York more than anywhere else is that the American spectators are not going to be golf fans. They’re sports fans. The American spectators are the guys who go to the NFL, they go to the NBA, and they behave like they do there, too. It’ll be horrific but it’ll be fun, and the Americans will know that Europe were 4-0 up last time with the same team. Luke might even send out the same four pairings that won 4-0 last time.

It could be like the Harlem Globetrotters of golf, except a bit more serious. There won't be that many smiles.

Justin Rose will be the next Ryder Cup captain for Europe

Justin Rose. If Justin Rose doesn't make the team, Justin Rose will be captain. Unless they go for a three-timer with Luke to wait for Justin to get old enough, or bad enough. Because the thing with the Ryder Colts captain, you've got to be either old enough or bad enough, haven't you?

Keegan Bradley not playing weakens Team USA - he’s a tough cookie in matchplay

That's absolutely right. His not playing it probably weakens the team because you forget that Bradley's a really tough cookie in match play.

It’s no bad thing to have such a tough cookie behind the ropes, but he is a hard lad, and I wouldn’t say they’ll have told him he’ll get a spot next time, but that will be in his head that he can play the next one anyway.

If he’d made himself captain this year and picked himself to play, he’d have had everything to lose and nothing to gain.

There’s nothing you could look at to say Team USA are going to win - it could blow up in pundits’ faces

I saw that and I couldn’t believe it. The guys who have written about Europe being written off and then America gaining the advantage by Bradley not picking himself to play, I don’t know what they’re looking at.

There's nothing you can look at to think that they're going to win, which might be quite worrying for the pundits.

I think he should have played, and I think by not playing, he saved himself the abuse if he had played. As he said, he was picked as captain and he’ll be captain, and it’s a pretty big honour, isn't it?

It's not like he's sitting out the team for somebody better. He's got a job to do, but he's got good captains.

Tiger Woods might have bottled his chance to become Team USA captain

They offered it to Tiger. He didn't want it.

I think he might have bottled it. I don't know. He'd say maybe there wasn’t enough time, but that's nonsense.

They don't treat it like we do, though. America doesn’t treat it like it's a big thing, as Europe does, and they never have done.

Patrick Reed is one of the few that treats it like we do but he's not in.