The man wearing the biggest smile this side of Tiger Woods after the British Open was probably Tom Lehman. After a tough week for some potential members of the 2006 U.S. Ryder Cup team, the American captain caught a break Sunday when Chris DiMarco finished second.
That catapulted him from 21st in the standings to sixth, lending the U.S. what will likely be some much-needed fire and experience in the September matches at the K Club in Ireland.
Before the Open there were five first-time U.S. players among the top 10 point-getters for the biennial competition, leaving Lehman with the unpleasant task of not only having to shepherd such a green squad against a European team that has won four of the past five matches, but also being forced to select only two men from a group that could have included DiMarco, Davis Love III, Fred Couples and Scott Verplank, among others, for the wild-card choices.
Even more disheartening had to be the results from Royal Liverpool. Not only did Love and Couples miss the cut, possible Cup rookies J.J. Henry, Lucas Glover, Brett Wetterich and Zach Johnson did as well.
DiMarco’s ascent in the standings soothed Lehman’s wounds a bit and made the challenge of wild-card selections a bit easier. With only four tournaments – this week’s U.S. Bank Championship, the Buick Open, The International and the PGA Championship – remaining before the standings are finalized, it would seem DiMarco is certain to remain among the top 10, who are assured of spots on the team. Then again, given how John Rollins could rise into a berth on the heels of his weak-field victory last week at the B.C. Open, that may not be quite accurate.
Regardless, the U.S. side will still be pretty green – chances are that for the first time since he initially made the team in 1997, Woods won’t be the youngest member of the squad. But perhaps surprisingly, the already-favored Europeans aren’t looking at the Americans’ inexperience as a guarantee of yet another win.
“The unknown is never welcomed in a situation,” European stalwart Colin Montgomerie said last week. “I wouldn’t say it’s frightening, but it’s certainly an unknown factor. Rookies, in the past on these Ryder Cup teams, both teams, have performed actually quite well. Who knows what to expect?”
Up in the air
The putting green at a major championship can be better than a New York runway when it comes to golf fashion. That’s why it was somewhat disconcerting to see a pair of blue jeans walking among the resplendent Sergio Garcia, Darren Clarke, et al., last week.
The casually dressed man was Paul Azinger, who was at Royal Liverpool not as a competitor, but rather in his capacity as an analyst for ABC Sports. The sight was a reminder of the upcoming changes in the PGA Tour’s television deal – particularly as it applies to ABC, which will virtually disappear from the scene beginning in 2007.
As a result, Azinger’s co-analyst, Nick Faldo has signed a deal with The Golf Channel, which will become a major player in the new package. However, if Azinger, winner of the 1993 PGA Championship, has his way, he’ll be at Carnoustie for next year’s British Open – this time wearing his final-round best.
“I don’t know, Faldo was a little bit of a surprise, but I’m still trying to play. I want to play,” Azinger said recently when asked what the immediate future held.
In 19 starts this season, Azinger has made 12 cuts, with five top-25 finishes and one top-10, at the Memorial. His $516,658 puts him 108th on the money list.
If he cannot hold onto his playing privileges, Azinger knows the odds of him landing in a booth on a regular basis are relatively small.
“The reality is that Lanny (Wadkins) is locked in (at CBS) and Johnny (Miller) is locked in (at NBC), and so there’s no room for me anyway,” he said. “But I don’t see them doing every tournament at this point; there’s too many of them. Who knows?”
International growing
The International picked up more commitments Wednesday, including past winners Davis Love III (1990), David Toms (1999) and Rich Beem (2002), as well as Justin Leonard, Jonathan Kaye, Jay Haas, David Howell, Chris Riley, Joe Ogilvie and Glover.
Also added to the field are players who won first tour events this year: Trevor Immelman (Western Open), Aaron Baddeley (Verizon Heritage), Chris Couch (Zurich Classic), Aaron Oberholser (Pebble Beach), Wetterich (Byron Nelson) and Henry (Buick Championship).
Staff writer Anthony Cotton can be reached at 303-820-1292 or acotton@denverpost.com.
