Smith: "Luke Donald is relishing Team USA's Ryder Cup mess"

Luke Donald will never admit it, but he'll be relishing the apparent mess Team USA find themselves in ahead of the Ryder Cup matches. 

His counterpart, Keegan Bradley, genuinely appears to be in a bind over whether or not to include himself among the dozen that will head to Bethpage Black. 

Beyond that big decision, the 39-year-old American also has a bigger headache when it comes to team selection. 

Scottie Scheffler, JJ Spaun, Xander Schauffele, Russell Henley, Harris English and Bryson DeChambeau have qualified automatically. 

Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa and Patrick Cantlay are widely viewed as locks owing to their experience and pedigree in the dust-up. 

But then it gets tricky.

Ben Griffin has had a fine season and would surely rise to the occasion should he get the nod. Just don't give him any creatine. 

In-form Andrew Novak, Scottish Open winner Chris Gotterup and Maverick McNealy would also bring something to Team USA. 

Then you have Sam Burns - who made his Ryder Cup debut in Rome two years ago - hitting form at precisely the right time. 

And what about Cameron Young? The 28-year-old is bursting with confidence having finally broken through on the PGA Tour at the Wyndham Championship. 

Jordan Spieth and Brooks Koepka will also believe they are deserving of selection simply on reputation alone. 

It wouldn't be unfair to suggest that cohort would be a tad ticked off should Bradley pick himself and not deliver. 

As has already been suggested by former European Ryder Cup great Sam Torrance, it would rank among the worst decisions ever in the history of the matches should it backfire.

He would never live it down. 

Compare and contrast this to how Donald's team are shaping up. 

Rory McIlroy likely only has a few remaining goals in his career that he's willing to get out of bed for. 

An Open victory in front of his home fans, an Olympic medal of any colour and a Ryder Cup victory in hostile territory are surely three accomplishments the Ulsterman would relish ticking off. 

McIlroy will be Europe's talisman and it would not be in the least bit surprising to see him back-up his career best performance in Rome with another quality display next month. 

The rest of the European team is also in good health. 

Robert MacIntyre and Tyrrell Hatton will take confidence from their performance in the majors this year. 

Tommy Fleetwood has had another splendid season, albeit without a win. 

Sepp Straka has won twice and appears unfazed under pressure. Matthew Fitzpatrick, too, appears to have turned a corner after a disastrous start to the season that saw him split with Billy Foster. 

Perhaps the only real concerns Donald may have are over the form of Ludvig Aberg and Viktor Hovland. 

Hovland was won this season but has repeatedly talked about his frustrations off the golf course.

Sweden's Aberg has had a quiet year, particularly in the major championships. 

It will likely all be irrelevant as home advantage in the Ryder Cup has become significant since the Medinah fluke in 2012, but it certainly seems to be the case that Donald's path to Bethpage isn't nearly as hazardous. 

Bradley will confirm his six wildcards on 26 August. 

It's far too late now, but I believe Bradley should've just stepped down and thrown himself at the mercy of Jim Furyk. 

It would have allowed him to be picked deservingly and he is clearly held in high regard by the PGA of America, who would have allowed him to take up the reins in the future.

Tommy Fleetwood's pursuit of glory may be next compelling story in men's golf

Rory McIlroy's Masters triumph was a huge moment for the sport. 

Although McIlroy has his fair share of critics, there is absolutely no denying there were millions of fans on both sides of the pond willing the 36-year-old to victory at Augusta National. 

McIlroy rightly asked what we were going to talk about going forward. Probably Scottie Scheffler. 

Although it may not be as compelling to watch, Fleetwood's pursuit of a victory in America certainly has my attention. 

Fleetwood now has zero victories in 163 starts on the PGA Tour. He crumbled like a pack of cards down the stretch at the Travelers and should have - at the very least - been in a play-off with Keegan Bradley. It was a similar story in Memphis last month. 

I admire Fleetwood's honesty and willingness to face the music in the immediate aftermath of such disappointments. 

Nobody would've scoffed had Fleetwood thrown his toys out the pram after so many close-calls. 

"I get disappointed and I get angry," Fleetwood said before the Tour Championship at East Lake.  

"I've thrown the odd club in the water when I'm out there and maybe feel a bit better for a while. But I’m not that great at being angry. 

"It just doesn't suit me. I just kind of let it go. I work really hard on letting things go, moving on. 

"Not that much great comes from those moments of anger."

What really gets on my nerves is the 'choker' accusations levelled at Fleetwood.

He's held the 54-hole lead six times in his career and got over the line on three occasions. 

The sample size is simply not big enough to use that term. 

Fleetwood will get over the line soon. He's done it multiple times all over the world and emerged unscathed in high-pressure environments.

"I think it would be pretty funny if I won this week and then got the FedEx Cup as well," Fleetwood added.

Not funny, Tommy. Not one bit. 

Deserving.