The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Furyk to name three wild cards for Paris
GOLF: US Ryder Cup captain expected to leave final pick until next week
US Ryder Cup captain Jim Furyk will name his first three wild cards today and appears to initially have a far more straightforward decision than European counterpart Thomas Bjorn.
While Bjorn could have as many as 10 genuine contenders from which to select his four wild cards tomorrow, Furyk looks set to opt for Bryson DeChambeau, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods, the players who finished ninth, 10th and 11th in qualifying.
It is only the identity of his final wild card, to be named after the third FedEx Cup play-off event next Monday, which will be causing Furyk a headache with the likes of Xander Schauffele, Matt Kuchar, Tony Finau, Kevin Kisner and Zach Johnson in the frame.
Woods underwent spinal fusion surgery in April last year and was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence the following month.
The 42-year-old, who had five prescription drugs in his system, later pled guilty to reckless driving and will spend a year on probation and undergo a diversion programme.
Woods only returned to competitive golf in November but has been impressive ever since, recording five top-10 finishes and missing just two halfway cuts, with sixth place in the Open at Carnoustie and second in the US PGA removing any lingering doubts about his place on the team.
The 14-time major winner will be replaced as a vice-captain when selected and will look to improve on his poor record in the event, which has seen him win 13, lose 17 and halve three of his 33 matches.
Mickelson’s record does not make for any better reading, the five-time major winner winning 18, losing 20 and halving seven of his 45 matches. Only Furyk has lost as many matches in the biennial competition.
The 48-year-old is having to rely on a wild card for the first time in his career after his chances of qualifying ended with a missed cut in the US PGA, although he did win his first title since the 2013 Open in the WGC-Mexico Championship earlier this season.
As for DeChambeau, he also missed the cut in the US PGA when he had a chance to overhaul Webb Simpson in the automatic places, but on his next start he won for the second time this season with a four-shot victory in the first FedEx Cup play-off event.
DeChambeau carded a final round 67 to win the Dell Technologies Championship yesterday to become only the second player to land the first two FedEx Cup titles after Vijay Singh in 2008.
Justin Rose finished two shots behind after a closing round 68.