Hoylake, England – In his quest for a berth on the 2006 U.S. Ryder Cup team, Chris DiMarco had at least a couple of things going for him. One was a fiery passion that has been lacking on the Americans’ side during their recent slide to Europe. Another was an impressive pairing with Phil Mickelson in the other biennial team match, the Presidents Cup.
What DiMarco didn’t have, however, entering the British Open, was what the locals might call “good form,” having missed the cut in seven of 12 events since injuring his back during a March ski trip to Colorado.
Despite that, for the past two weeks, DiMarco has insisted that he could give U.S. captain Tom Lehman a reason to select him with one of his two wild-card choices. However, after Sunday’s final round of the British Open, that probably won’t be necessary.
Shooting a 4-under-par 68 that was bettered by just two players in the field Sunday, DiMarco finished second to Tiger Woods – in the process gaining enough Ryder Cup points to move from 21st place in the standings to sixth. The top 10 finishers in the point race that concludes after next month’s PGA Championship gain automatic berths on the team.
The Europeans have won four of the past five competitions in the event, which takes place Sept. 22-24 at the K Club in Ireland.
“I had a lot on the line today,” said DiMarco, who earlier in the week said playing for the Americans would mean more to him than winning a major championship. “I was trying to win, obviously, but I was also trying to get major points for the Ryder Cup.”
Told of his rapid climb up the standings, DiMarco merely exhaled the word, “Good.” Having pushed into position, DiMarco added he expects he will play well enough to remain there.
“I feel like finally I’ve gotten over my injury and over the hump,” he said.
Too little, too late
One player who won’t be in Ireland is Sean O’Hair. After beginning the season with Ryder Cup aspirations following his rookie-of-the-year performance in 2005, O’Hair had trouble from the start, missing four cuts in his first five tournaments.
Recently, though, O’Hair said he felt his game returning, evidenced by his 5-under 67 on Sunday, which tied Woods for the best round of the day and moved him into a tie for 14th place.
“My focus was the best it’s been all year. Today was the first day I felt 100 percent into each and every shot,” said O’Hair, who admitted that thoughts of the Ryder Cup, as opposed to day-to-day affairs, may have been a problem for him throughout the season.
“That was definitely a big goal of mine, and I think it may have gotten in the way of my playing a little bit,” he said. “I put a lot of pressure on myself, but I’m going to learn from it.
“It was the first time I was in the mix of things for it. I just have to take what happened and move on.”
Footnotes
Four players – Woods, DiMarco, Ernie Els and Jim Furyk – were under par all four rounds. … After shooting a 6-over 78 in Saturday’s third round, David Duval rallied with a 1-under 71 on Sunday, and former Kent Denver golfer Brandt Jobe shot an even-par 72 to finish at 1-under 287 for the tournament.
