Oh Dear: Davis Love Declares His 2016 Ryder Cup Team Maybe The Best Ever Assembled

Well there is good news in the bombast from captain Davis Love: for day or two we forget the bizarre situation with Bubba Watson, who is stinking it up at East Lake and less likely to make a team that has never sounded interested in his presence.

Bubba has volunteered himself to be a vice captain should he not be picked, and oh won't that be an awkward phone call when Captain Love has to pass up Bubba as a player and as a shuttle driver for players and wives.

(Maybe Love can say Bubba Hovers are banned at Hazeltine?)

Anyway, Captain Love moved the attention to himself with some shocking comments about the strength of his 11-man team. Talking to Matt Adams on Fairways of Life, Love suggests that the recent visit with Bill Belichick and Gillette Stadium may have fueled a warped sense of this year's team.

“We don’t have to do anything superhuman, we’re a great golf team,” Love said. “This is the best golf team, maybe, ever assembled.”

In case you don't believe me, the full embed here, including the Bellichick advice to the "team."

Coach Belichick's advice: ignore the noise. Only problem?

Davis Love just made the noise!

I'm sure Richard Gillis is licking his chops right now to add this example of Captaincy audacity to his already excellent book, discussed this week on State of the Game. It's hard to fathom how Captain Love can say something so silly. Has he not seen past Ryder Cups, when seemingly talented players turn to jelly and everything on paper gets thrown out the window?

We also discussed the best team ever assembled on that show (1981), which Brandel Chamblee noted in his comments. Chamblee and Paul McGinley both criticized the comments, with Chamblee citing "American arrogance" and McGinley calling it "strange positioning" and noting that statistically, Love's thinking "doesn't add up."

The clip:

The statement is being met with ridicule in Europe. James Corrigan for The Telegraph noting that the United States has beaten Europe once in the current 17-year span.

Europe should save their air fares. Davis Love has made the astonishing claim that his US Ryder Cup side “is the best golf team, maybe, ever assembled”.

Lee Westwood was one of the first to ridicule the statement made on PGA Tour radio, tweeting: “No pressure there then lads!”

I think if Love had said it's as good a team as the points list has ever assembled, he might ultimately take less grief.

But using the "assembled" word also suggests task force brilliance. Sigh.