U.S. Ryder Cup captain enjoyed ‘great theater’
Furyk likes what he saw from Tiger
The upside to Jim Furyk finishing so early at the 100th PGA Championship at BelleriveCountry Club in St. Louis 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 Ionly got to see ... I don’t know, like every shot he hit for the rest of the day,” Furyk said Monday with a laugh. “It was greattheater, really.”
Ultimately, nothing really changed.
Woods was as dynamic as he has been all year, shot 6under 64 for the lowest final round of his career in the majors, had his lowest 72hole score in the majors, captivated one of the largest and loudest galleries in golf and was runner-up to Brooks Koepka by two shots.
He’s a threat at majors or anywhere else. He gets attention inside and outside the ropes.
As for the Ryder Cup, Furyk ended up with the same eight players who started the week atop the U.S. 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 final pick Sept. 10 after the third playoff.
Koepka, who won three of the eight majors in 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, where he briefly led in the final round, and his runner-up 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 he has said he would like to serve two roles. He also said that when he was appointed a vice captain for the Presidents Cup for the 2017 matches, and no one took him all that seriously.
They do now, and Woods made it clear he wants to compete in his first Ryder Cup since 2012.
PGA ratings
The charge by Woods at the PGA Championship and the two-shot victory by Koepka drew the highest finalround coverage for the major in nine years. CBS Sports said Monday that the final round Sunday drew a rating of 6.1 and share of 14 — up 69 percent from a year ago.
The top viewership market was St. Louis (11.5/24). Fort Myers, Fla., was next, followed by Kansas City, Mo.; Tampa/St. Petersburg, Fla; Dayton, Ohio; and West Palm Beach, Fla. Ratings represent the percentage of all homes with televisions tuned to a program. Shares represent the percentage of all homes withTVs in use at the time.
Woods won the most recent of his 14 major championships at the 2008 U.S. Open. The following year, he lost a 54-hole lead in a major for the first time when Y.E. Yang beat him at the PGA.