Tiger, Phil pairing not likely
Furyk not keen on idea
SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES, France — Hold off on that return of a Tiger WoodsPhil Mickelson pairing in the Ryder Cup.
U.S. captain Jim Furyk said Wednesday it’s “probably not too likely.”
Mickelson raised speculation the day before by saying he and Woods would welcome a chance to play together, adding that he knows the way Furyk is thinking without revealing what he knew.
The question posed to Furyk on Wednesday was how he would feel about “dusting down Hal Sutton’s 10-gallon hat?”
That was a reference to Sutton being the captain in 2004 when he sent out Woods and Mickelson twice, both losses. Sutton, who grew up in Louisiana and now lives in Texas, wore a cowboy hat that U.S. caddies had presented to him the morning the matches began.
“I guess nothing’s out of the realm,” Furyk said. “They did play some golf yesterday. I think they both mentioned it would be a lot better pairing than it was in the past. I’m not really from Texas, so we don’t wear a lot of 10-gallon hats in Pennsylvania.
“I won’t ever say it wouldn’t happen, but it’s probably not too likely.”
TIGER MEETS TIGER
Tiger Woods met another Tiger.
Woods took a break from putting at the Ryder Cup to meet the Junior Ryder Cup teams earlier in the week. As Woods shook the hands of the youngsters standing in a line, he reached a British player named Robin Williams, whose middle name is Tiger.
“You’re a big inspiration to me, thank you,” the youngster said to Woods, who approached him and gave him a pat.
Woods asked Williams, who is 17 and from Peterborough, England, if he would be conflicted when the Ryder Cup begins Friday.
“You can root for Europe,” Woods said, “but hope I go 5-0.”
QUIET, PLEASE
At some point this week, Bubba Watson will hit an opening tee shot that will be different from recent Ryder Cups. It will be quiet. Watson in 2012 at Medinah was the first player to encourage the massive crowd around the first tee to keep yelling as he was teeing off. The grandstands around the first tee at Le Golf National hold nearly 7,000 people. It will be loud. The problem? The tee shot at No. 1 is difficult and likely will be an iron instead of the big head of a driver, which is easier to hit for an opening shot.
“It’s a lot easier when it’s a driver off the tee, but this hole, this is a different golf course, different setup,” Watson said. “I don’t want to get (the crowd) revved up trying to hit a bullet off the tee and fat it 20 yards down the fairway. They told me I can’t do it this time.”