“That is a big head-scratcher” - Brandel Chamblee's prediction comes true as Zach Johnson's surprise Ryder Cup pairing fails to deliver
The 2023 Ryder Cup teed off early on Friday and US team captain Zach Johnson is already under fire. The skipper is now being questioned by fans after his bold call to pair Sam Burns and Scottie Scheffler failed to yield any result. The plan backfired as predicted by Golf pundit Brandel Chamblee.
The Golf Channel presenter on Thursday commented on the controversial pairing and called it a ‘big head-scratcher.’ Backing his comment with data, Chamblee noted that Burns and Sheffler’s strengths don’t complement each other in the alternate shot format. The pundit slammed the decision to pitch the two PGA Tour stars together and noted that came as ‘one big surprise’ for him.
Commenting on Sam Burns and Scottie Scheffler’s pairing after the Ryder Cup opening ceremony, Brandel Chamblee said, as quoted by the Mirror:
"Generally speaking, not a lot of surprises (in the pairings), but one big surprise, in that Scheffler is playing with Burns in foursomes. Everyone thought they would play together in the fourballs, but in foursomes, you are typically looking for players who are not going to make that many mistakes tee to green.”
He further called Burns the ‘absolute worst ball-striker on the US team.’
Chamblee explained:
“In Burns, you've got strokes gained, approach strokes gained off of the tee he is the worst player on the team. And in good old-fashioned statistics like driving accuracy, greens in regulation, he is the worst player on that team.
"I don't know why you would choose to mitigate the ball-striking strengths of Scottie Scheffler, with the absolute worst ball-striker on the US team. That is a big head-scratcher for me."
Europe takes commanding lead over US in the Ryder Cup
It is interesting to note that Chamblee’s prediction materialized as Europe’s Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton got a flying lead on Day 1 of the Ryder Cup by beating the pair in question. Rahm and Hatton cruised to a 4&3 victory in the opening match, to give their side the lead.
It is noteworthy that Burns’ pick over the likes of major champions Brooks Koepka, Jordan Speith and Wyndham Clark, caused confusion for the fans at first. Many even asked why Johnson let his best players sit out the opening session, while he gambled with the 27-year-old.
For the unversed, Luke Donald’s European team is currently leading the Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club by 3-0. The lead set by Rahm and Hatton was doubled by the pairing of Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Aberg. This was increased again by Shane Lowry and Sepp Straka.