Ben Curtis had so much fun playing for his country that he wants to do it again.
Curtis, who went 1-1-1 in his Ryder Cup debut last month, has selected Brandt Snedeker to be his partner for the World Cup, which will be played in China during the week of Thanksgiving.
Six other Americans turned down the long trip, and Curtis wasn’t sure he would be able to go without the right partner. He wound up with Snedeker, who is becoming a world traveler this time of year.
“I am very excited to be playing with Ben and representing our country in this event,” Snedeker said. “In our sport, you don’t get the opportunity too many times to compete for your country, and this is going to be a thrill for me. I think it will also be a good experience as a I work hard to reach my goal of making the next Ryder Cup, and perhaps next year’s Presidents Cup teams.”
The Americans have won 23 times since the World Cup began in 1953, but their last victory came in Argentina in 2000 behind Tiger Woods and David Duval. A year ago in China, Boo Weekley and Heath Slocum lost in a playoff to Scotland.
Colin Montgomerie returns for the defending champions, this time with Alastair Forsyth. Other teams include Ian Poulter and Ross Fisher for England; Henrik Stenson and Robert Karlsson for Sweden; and Rory Sabbatini and Richard Sterne for South Africa. Sabbatini led South Africa to the World Cup with Trevor Immelman in 2003.
As for Snedeker? The World Cup will be the end of a month on the other side of the world.
He is getting married this weekend, then plays the Kiwi Challenge in New Zealand on Oct. 28-29. Then it’s off to Fiji for his honeymoon, followed by a trip to Japan for the Dunlop Phoenix before meeting up with Curtis in China.
Calc’s knee.
Mark Calcavecchia made it five years before another knee surgery.
He was to have athroscopic surgery Tuesday in Phoenix to repair the torn medial meniscus in his left knee, his first surgery since 2003 but the fifth since 1985. He expects it will take four to six weeks to recover, but that won’t stop him from defending his title in the Merrill Lynch Shootout with partner Woody Austin.
“I’m not sure how much cartilage will be left after this,” Calcavecchia said. “I’ll play the Merrill Lynch in a wheelchair if I have to, but I’ve got plenty of time to get ready for it.”
The Merrill Lynch Shootout has been pushed back this year to Dec. 11-14.
Calcavecchia played with pain most of the year, withdrawing from the U.S. Open and Turning Stone Championship two weeks ago when he couldn’t take it anymore. He is 48, but has one omen on his side for next year.
“My recent ‘even’ years haven’t been too good, but the ‘odd’ years have been,” he said. “So I’m looking forward to ’09.”
Shootout.
The Merrill Lynch Shootout has something for everyone this year.
Greg Norman’s popular silly-season event has six Ryder Cup players, five Champions Tour players and one guy who has been on injured reserve most of the year — Brad Faxon. Still to be named are two more players in the 24-man field for the Dec. 12-14 event in Naples, Fla.
Mark Calcavecchia and Woody Austin are the defending champions.
The Ryder Cup players are Stewart Cink, J.B. Holmes, Kenny Perry, Ian Poulter, Steve Stricker and Boo Weekley. Also playing is Paul Azinger, the winning captain from the Ryder Cup.
Big Easy reflection.
Tiger Woods generated plenty of conversation when he said reconstructive surgery on his left knee typically recovers at 85 percent after six months, but takes two years before it is back at full strength.
Ernie Els, who tore up ligaments in his left knee in the summer of 2005, spoke from experience when he said Woods was doing the right thing to take his recovery slowly. Woods is not expected to even hit balls until January. Els returned in December of 2005, but says he wasn’t fully recovered until six months later.
“I was very stubborn. I wanted to come back as soon as possible,” Els said. “I set a date for me of Sun City, and that was definitely too early. The doctors down there saw my knee and though I was crazy to play, it was so swollen. My doctor told me that I couldn’t do any more damage to my knee. The tendon was a good surgery. That was what I wanted to do.
“Obviously,” he said, “Tiger is a little different.”
Sweet Home, Alabama.
Two courses on the Robert Trent Jones Trail in Alabama were ranked 1-2 among public courses in a new survey from Golf World in which the magazine’s readers were asked to rank the best private, resort and public golf courses.
The Grand National course in Opelika, Ala., was No. 1, followed by the Capitol Hill course in Prattville, Ala.
Golf World said it received more than 21,000 individual golf course ratings from online polling, and readers were asked for evaluations on various criteria.
The top two resorts in the survey were Kiawah Island and Turning Stone, while the top two private course were Augusta National and Pine Valley.
At a glance
PGA TOUR
Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open
Site:Las Vegas.
Course: TPC Summerlin (7,243 yards, par 72).
Purse: $4.1 million.
Winner’s share: $738,000.
Television: Golf Channel, 3-6 p.m.
Last year: George McNeill won his first PGA Tour title, finishing at 23-under 264 for a four-stroke victory over D.J. Trahan.
Last week: Zach Johnson won the Texas Open for his fourth PGA Tour title, following a third-round 62 with a 64 for a two-stroke victory over Charlie Wi, Mark Wilson and Tim Wilkinson. Wi finished with a 61.
Notes: The tournament is the fourth of seven Fall Series events. . . . Former UNLV players Chad Campbell, Chris Riley, Ryan Moore and Charley Hoffman are in the field along with McNeill, Johnson, Hunter Mahan, Fred Couples, John Daly and Mike Weir. . . . The Open is next week in Scottsdale, Ariz., followed by the Ginn Sur Mer Classic in Palm Coast, Fla.
On the Net:
LPGA TOUR
Kapalua LPGA Classic
Site:Lahaini, Hawaii.
Course: Kapalua Resort, Bay Course (6,240 yards, par 72).
Purse: $1.5 million.
Winner’s share: $225,000.
Television: Golf Channel, 6: 30-9 p.m.
Last year: Inaugural event.
Last week: South Korea’s In-Kyung Kim won the Longs Drugs Challenge in Danville, Calif., for her first LPGA Tour victory. She closed with a 1-over 73 in gusty conditions for a three-stroke victory over Angela Stanford.
Notes: Top-ranked Lorena Ochoa and No. 2 Annika Sorenstam top the field. Ochoa, fourth last week, has seven victories and 17 top-10 finishes in 19 starts this season. Sorenstam, leaving the tour at the end of the year, opened the season with a victory in Hawaii in the SBS Open at Turtle Bay. . . . The tour will be in China and South Korea the next two weeks for the Grand China Air LPGA and Hana Bank KOLON Championship.
On the Net:
CHAMPIONS TOUR
Administaff Small Business
Site:The Woodlands, Texas.
Course: The Woodlands Country Club (7,018 yards, par 72).
Purse: $1.7 million.
Winner’s share: $255,000.
Television: Golf Channel, 1: 30-3 p.m.
Last year: Bernhard Langer matched the Champions Tour scoring records for a 54-hole event, shooting 62-65-64 at Augusta Pines for a 25-under 191 total and an eight-stroke victory. The German star was playing in his fourth Champions Tour event.
Last week: D.A. Weibring won the Senior Players Championship in Timonium, Md., for his first career major tournament victory in 65 tries. Weibring closed out a 2-under 68 for a one-stroke victory over hometown favorite Fred Funk.
Notes: Hal Sutton is making his Champions Tour debut, nearly six months after turning 50. The 2004 U.S. Ryder Cup captain won the 2001 Houston Open at The Woodlands for the last of his 14 PGA Tour titles. . . . Langer has two victories this year. . . . The AT&T Championship is next week in San Antonio, followed by the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship in Sonoma, Calif.
On the Net:
PGA EUROPEAN TOUR
Portugal Masters
Site:Vilamoura, Portugal.
Course: Oceanico Victoria Golf Club (7,231 yards, par 72).
Purse: $4.1 million.
Winner’s share: $684,220.
Television: Golf Channel, 8-11 a.m.
Last year: England’s Steve Webster won the inaugural event for his second European tour title, closing with an 8-under 64 for a two-stroke victory.
Last week: South Africa’s Charl Schwartzel won the Madrid Masters for his second European tour victory, beating Argentina’s Ricardo Gonzalez by three strokes.
Notes: Sweden’s Robert Karlsson has won his last two European tour events, the Mercedes-Benz and Alfred Dunhill Links, to top the money list. European Ryder Cup teammates Lee Westwood, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Graeme McDowell and Oliver Wilson also are in the field along with 2007 U.S. Open champion Angel Cabrera.
On the Net:
NATIONWIDE TOUR
Chattanooga Classic
Site:Chattanooga, Tenn.
Course: Black Creek Club (7,149 yards, par 72).
Purse: $500,000.
Winner’s share: $90,000.
Television: None.
Last week: Australia’s Marc Leishman won the WNB Golf Classic in Midland, Texas, by 11 strokes, matching the tour record set by Chris Smith in the 1997 Omaha Classic. Leishman finished at 21 under for his first Nationwide victory.
On the Net:
