Medinah, Ill. – As far as the chase for the Ryder Cup is concerned, the PGA Championship was a non-event.
With no shortage of possibilities for movement into or out of the top 10 spots in the United States standings, and with them an automatic berth on the team that faces Europe next month at the K Club in Ireland, there was no change among the front-runners.
As a result, the U.S. team will include four first-time participants: Vaughn Taylor, J.J. Henry, Zach Johnson and Brett Wetterich. The four finished Nos. 7-10 in the standings and will join Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyk, Chad Campbell, David Toms and Chris DiMarco on the squad. Team captain Tom Lehman will make two wild-card selections today.
Lehman had hoped the players at the bottom of the top 10 and lower would use the week at Medinah Country Club to either cement their spots or make a dramatic bid for inclusion, but that never happened. Henry was the only one of the final four to make the cut, finishing in a tie for 41st. Points are awarded only for top-10 finishes.
Even more discouraging was the performance of most of the contenders. Scott Verplank, considered a solid candidate, missed the cut, as did Fred Couples, Jerry Kelly, John Rollins and Tom Pernice Jr.
Davis Love III, a six-time Ryder Cup veteran who Lehman was desperately hoping would crack the top 10, ended the first round in a tie for fourth. But he finished in a tie for 34th, shooting 73-76 on the weekend.
“I don’t know what he should do really,” Love said of Lehman. “He’s in a tough position. I saw him sneaking around out there today watching. You know, I didn’t really show him that much and I don’t think anybody else is, either.”
Shaun Micheel, the 2003 PGA champ, gained 360 points for his second-place finish, but that didn’t get him into the top 25 on the points list.
“I don’t expect to be getting a call,” he said. “I would certainly love to have an opportunity to play because I think I could help the team, but I’ll work on 2008 and the 2007 Presidents Cup team.”
One possibility is Stewart Cink, whose 3-under 69 on Sunday tied him for 24th. Cink is 12th on the points list.
“Right now, the one thing I bring is that I’m playing pretty well,” said Cink, who has three top-five finishes in his past six events, including a fifth at The International. “I’m playing the kind of golf that would make me a good team member. I’m grinding on all my putts, and I’m never giving up on my shots.”
In what could be considered a shocking move, Lehman may use one of his picks on U.S. assistant captain Corey Pavin, who finished in a tie for 49th here. Pavin won in Milwaukee less than a month ago, his first PGA Tour victory in 10 years.
Try again later
Tim Herron and playing partner J.B. Holmes were put on the clock for slow play, an irony Herron said, given that at one point, he was forced to make his own ruling during an on-course situation because he couldn’t find a rules official.
“It really wasn’t a big deal, it was just a drop from a sprinkler. It’s something we do all the time, so I’m sure I got it right,” he said. “It was just that we couldn’t get anybody. I guess they were all out watching Tiger.”
Aloha
With Woods winning two majors this season, the fourth spot in the end-of-the-year Grand Slam of Golf will go to Furyk. They will be joined in the Nov. 21-22 event in Hawaii by Masters winner Mickelson and U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogilvy.
