ESPN 2008 Ryder Cup

Paul Azinger revamped the U.S. Ryder Cup points system to give himself four captain's picks instead of the traditional two with the hope that by hand-selecting 25 percent of the team, he could choose the golfers who were playing their best golf as close to the matches as possible.

Since Azinger's eight automatic qualifiers were finalized after the PGA Championship, few Americans have set themselves apart from the pack, leaving the U.S. captain in a precarious position.

On the flip side, European captain Nick Faldo owned just the two traditional picks but had a plethora of possible players to choose from.

So which system gives its captain the better chance at victory in the biennial matches? Our experts ponder that question and more as they share their opinions in this week's edition of Fact or Fiction.

FACT OR FICTION? Having four captain's picks instead of two is the better system for selecting a Ryder Cup squad.

The problem with the selection process is that players are judged on their performance based on a style of play that is not used at the Ryder Cup. Though it is important to get a sense of how a player is performing, that does not mean it will translate to one day's match in which a single putt or shot could determine the outcome of winning or losing a point. Then, when it's over, you start again the next match.

That is why getting as many captain's picks as possible is a better system.

Tony Jacklin, the four-time European captain, lobbied for three at-large picks before he took the job starting in 1983. His reasons: "They qualify stroke play and that is completely different than match play," he said. "And guys who are good stroke players are not necessarily good match players. You need that flexibility."

So it stands to reason that having the choice is better. If U.S. captain Paul Azinger wanted to go strictly by the points, he could have gone that route and chosen Woody Austin with his next pick. He didn't, which suggests he preferred the idea of adding J.B. Holmes, Chad Campbell and/or Hunter Mahan.

No doubt, Nick Faldo would have loved to have had four picks rather than two. The last two players to qualify for his team, Soren Hansen and Oliver Wilson, are unproven. Had he been given the flexibility, undoubtedly Darren Clarke would be on the team, and perhaps Colin Montgomerie as well.

When you walk into a nice restaurant, would you rather have the choice between steak or chicken … or have a few other options, too? I'd take the latter, and if I were a Ryder Cup captain, that would translate into my wanting more picks, as U.S. skipper Paul Azinger had this year.

With two more captain's selections, Azinger gave himself the option of simply following the points list by electing to name the next two players in the standings, or going off the board with guys whom he thought would fare well in the match play format.

Sure, it means he'll leave himself twice as susceptible to second-guessing as previous captains, but really, isn't this the whole reason he was named to the position in the first place? Yes, I understand that color-coordinating players' wardrobes and deciding whether to make Valhalla's greens fast, faster or fastest are decisions that weigh heavily on a captain's mind; player selections, however, are tangible choices that mean the difference between winning and losing.

If a guy is to be entrusted with the role of Ryder Cup captain, having a few extra choices isn't such a bad thing. It's tough to be limited to just steak and chicken. Oh, and for the record, steak always outplays chicken at the biennial competition.

This year, for the Europeans anyway, it certainly would have been a better system. Captain Nick Faldo had four serious candidates -- eventual choices Ian Poulter and Paul Casey, along with Darren Clarke and Colin Montgomerie -- as well as a few other semi-intriguing choices such as Ross Fisher and Martin Kaymer.

Just imagine how much better the European team would be if Faldo were able to replace Soren Hansen or Oliver Wilson with any of the four above. It's not that Hansen or Wilson won't be up to the challenge of playing for the Cup in Valhalla in three weeks. But Faldo would have liked the option of picking four players instead of two.

Meanwhile, in the U.S., it didn't really matter how many picks Paul Azinger had. Though I do believe the automatic qualifiers for the U.S. team make it a strong one, the captain didn't have much to choose from when filling out players nine through 12 on his team. But having four picks gives Azinger the opportunity to make sure each player has viable partners, allowing for the best possible result in the team format.

It is absolutely better to have four captain's picks. That increases the chances of making certain the hot golfer right now makes the U.S. team rather than someone who had six hot weeks nearly two years ago and qualified for the squad base on points. While it is admirable to reward consistent play over a two-year period of points accumulation, that system is more likely to produce a player or two who are not Ryder Cup-worthy at the present time.

That said, the fact U.S. captain Paul Azinger had four wild-card selections instead of the two used by European captain Nick Faldo is not going to mean a hill of beans. The one thing that cannot be created, no matter what selection process is used, is desire. And, quite simply, the Ryder Cup means more to the European players than it does to the Americans.

Try as he might, Zinger is not going to be able to make his guys want it as badly as Faldo's boys will want it. New system, same old result: Europe in a rout.