Woods seems ideal for Ryder Cup team
ST. LOUIS — The upside to Jim Furyk finishing so early at the PGA Championship was being able to watch the final round on television, partly as a player but mostly as the Ryder Cup captain.
And that meant seeing plenty of Tiger Woods.
“I really wanted to see kind of how Tiger was playing, and I only got to see, I don’t know, like every shot he hit for the rest of the day,” Furyk said yesterday with a laugh. “It was great theater, really.”
Ultimately, nothing really changed.
Woods was as dynamic as he has been all year, shot 6-under-par 64 for the lowest final round of his career in the majors, had his lowest 72-hole score in the majors, captivated one of the largest and loudest galleries and was runner-up to Brooks Koepka by 2 shots. He’s a threat at majors or anywhere else.
As for the Ryder Cup, Furyk ended up with the same eight players who started the week atop the U.S. points standings.
The PGA Championship was the final event for eight players to earn automatic spots. Furyk will choose three captain’s picks next month after the second FedEx Cup playoff event, with the last pick Sept. 10 after the third playoff.
Koepka, who won three of the eight majors during the qualifying period, overtook Dustin Johnson to lead the points list, and the next six players stayed the same — Justin Thomas, Patrick Reed, Bubba Watson, Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler and Webb Simpson.
Woods, who started the year with zero points, moved from No. 20 to No. 11 on the strength of his tie for sixth at the British Open and his runnerup at Bellerive. Furyk was not willing to say what appears certain for everyone else: Woods will be in France with golf clubs for the Sept. 28-30 matches.
“We want the players who are going to help us be successful,” Furyk said. “He’s playing very well. I think there’s a lot of folks out there who probably think he can help us. Really, what we wanted to talk about today was the top eight players. I realize Tiger is a story. I realize he’s playing very well, and I’m excited to see that.”
Woods was appointed a vice captain in late February, and has said he would like to serve two roles. He made it clear he wants to compete in his first Ryder Cup since 2012.
“I do want to be there as a player,” he said Sunday. “Our captain has some decisions to make. We’ll all sit down and give him our input, who can contribute. Hopefully, my name will be part of that process.”
Woods doesn’t need numbers to state his case. He’s Tiger Woods, and that carries a lot of weight.
Furyk has other decisions to make. Phil Mickelson failed to qualify for the Ryder Cup for the first time since 1993, his first full season on the PGA Tour. He was 10th in the standings. Mickelson has one victory over the last five years.
Bryson DeChambeau was at No. 9 and Xander Schauffele is at No. 12.
Furyk said he would meet with his vice captains frequently over the next few weeks, and planned to attend two of the FedEx Cup playoff events for meetings with players on the team, who will have some input.
That includes Woods, a vice captain and a likely sure-fire pick.