New Ryder Cup system may produce dramatic moves

I know it's a little early in the season, but 2006 is a Ryder Cup year and players are already starting to position themselves to make the U.S. team that will take on Europe across the pond this fall at the K Club in Ireland.

The points system for qualifying was changed after the United States' humiliating defeat at Oakland Hills in 2004. The idea was to place more emphasis on winning and current-year finishes leading into the matches. Here's the difference in point totals for top 10 finishes.

The top 10 finishers on the points list qualify for the 12-man team, with U.S. Ryder Cup captain Tom Lehman selecting the final two players.

The impact of the new points system could be significant -- and what happened during the first two weeks of play was telling.

By winning the Sony Open in Hawaii, David Toms more than doubled his point total and jumped from sixth place to third on the Ryder Cup list. Vaughn Taylor also made an early move. A fourth-place finish at the Mercedes Championship catapulted him to seventh in the standings. And Chad Campbell -- a rookie with the '04 team -- moved into the top 10 in the standings with a second-place finish at the Sony Open. 

Tiger Woods' phenomenal 2005 season, with two majors and six wins overall helped him acquire 1,932.5 points, pretty much assuring him a spot on the team (Tiger has more than double the points of No. 2 Phil Mickelson, who's at 766.875). But other than Woods, no one's really safe.

Last year, the victorious U.S. Presidents Cup team figured out partners for the likes of Woods and Mickelson for the early rounds of foursomes and fourball. Mickelson and Chris DiMarco -- along with Woods and Jim Furyk -- have been slated as two of those perfect pairings.

But DiMarco has already dropped to sixth on the points list, and to make matters worse, he hasn't won a Tour event in nearly three years. In order for DiMarco to make the team, he's going to have to string together some top-10 finishes.

Furyk, on the other hand, has gotten off to a great start with two top-10 finishes in the first two events of '06. Furyk has been a member of four Ryder Cup teams and should have no trouble making a fifth. Unless Furyk takes an unexpected nosedive, look for him to be paired with Tiger in Ireland.

With more points at stake each week, that could create more fluctuations in the Ryder Cup standings. It also raises the possibility that a player who might otherwise had been out of luck after a poor 2005 season can now ride a hot streak in 2006 all the way to Ireland.

Here's a look at the current top 10 among U.S. players.

Traditionally, U.S. teams are favored in these matches, at least on paper. But in the last 20 years (10 matches), the Americans' record is 3-6-1.

How many times have U.S. golf fans looked at Team Europe and said there's no way they can beat us with all those inexperienced and unproven players, only to be disappointed when the Euros hand us our proverbial lunch amid chants of "Ole ... Ole, Ole, Ole!"?

In an interview on my radio show, Gary Player, captain of the Presidents Cup team said, "If a man beats me four out of the last five times, I'm no longer considered the favorite."

That's why the U.S. shouldn't be favored going into the 2006 Ryder Cup. It's also why having the right components is now more important than ever. No longer can the U.S. afford to have players who can't pull their weight.

One thing is for sure: When the dust settles after the PGA Championship in August, some unexpected names will make the U.S. roster, names that many us may feel have no business being there.

But they will have earned it -- and the new blood will do the U.S. some good.

Former pro golfer Bob Casper, the son of Hall of Fame golfer Billy Casper, is the co-host of the syndicated weekly radio show, Real Golf Radio.