Is Fowler a howler?

Both Ryder Cup Captains have made controversial picks for their teams to play at Celtic Manor this year, with US skipper Corey Pavin and Europe’s helmsman Colin Montgomerie looking to either extremes of the experience scale for a little inspiration.

Monty’s pick of an out-of-sorts Padraig Harrington alongside Luke Donald and Edoardo Molinari could yet to come back to haunt him if the Match is a close-run thing – and they usually are.

Harrington, 39, is a three-time Major winner, the first European to claim consecutive Open wins since 1906 and the first to win the USPGA for 78 years. But his Ryder Cup pedigree is more rabid Jack Russell than prize poodle. In his first three appearances he played 12 times, winning seven and a half points. But in 2006 and 2008 he claimed a mere one point and no wins IN NINE MATCHES!

What’s more worrying is that of his seven winning matches in Ryder Cup competition, three came alongside Montgomerie and one alongside one of this year’s vice-captains Paul McGinley, a hero at The Belfry in 2002. Oh dear.

Still, picking Harrington could look inspired in comparison to Pavin’s pick of 21 year-old Ricky Fowler (above), as one of his four picks, along with a returning-to-form Tiger Woods, Zach Johnson and Stewart Cink. The flamboyant tour rookie has ousted seriously experienced and talented players such as Anthony Kim, Lucas Glover and Ricky Barnes for a place in the US Ryder Cup team.

There’s no doubting Fowler’s raw talent. In 2007 he was ranked the world’s top amateur golfer, and he apparently played rather well in the 2009 Walker Cup, which a dominant American team won easily. On the US Tour this year he has notched up, ahem, three runner-up finishes. But how will he deal with the cauldron of a Ryder Cup contest? Will Pavin’s pick of Las Vegas-based Fowler prove too big a gamble? It’ll be fascinating to find out.