Potential picks not making Pavin’s job easier
August 31, 2010
NORTON, Mass. (AP)—Too bad Ryder Cup eligibility is based on passportsinstead of property taxes. There still might be hope for Paul Casey, who hasbeen living in Arizona for most of his adult life.
Ditto for Justin Rose, who makes his home in Florida.
Alas, those English-born stars were left off the European team when ColinMontgomerie had five worthy candidates as captain’s picks and could only takethree. Montgomerie famously referred to his dilemma as an “embarrassment ofriches.”
For U.S. captain Corey Pavin, there’s more emphasis on “embarrassment”than “riches” at the moment.
Some people thought Pavin was lucky he didn’t have to announce his picks theday after the PGA Championship, instead having three additional tournaments toallow players to state their case.
It isn’t getting much clearer.
Arjun Atwal won the Wyndham Championship at Greensboro. He was born andraised in India and now lives in Isleworth, making him eligible for theTavistock Cup, but not the Ryder Cup. Turns out Atwal wasn’t even eligible forthe FedEx Cup.
Then came The Barclays, where the only Ryder Cup chatter was the coincidenceof a Scot—Martin Laird—leading the tournament. The winner turned out to beMatt Kuchar, who already is on the team.
The Deutsche Bank Championship, which starts Friday on the TPC Boston, couldgo a long way toward helping Pavin figure out his picks. Pavin will make theannouncement a week from Tuesday at the New York Stock Exchange.
It’s looking very much like a bear market at the moment.
Tiger Woods figures to be a lock to make the team, for no other reason thanhe wants to play. And it helps that Woods took a significant step last weektoward at least starting to resemble the world’s No. 1 player. Woods spent hisfinal few minutes at Ridgewood cleaning out his locker and going over thepossibilities of Pavin’s picks.
Like everyone else, he didn’t come to much of a conclusion.
Anthony Kim, the catalyst of the U.S. victory at Valhalla in 2008, won theHouston Open and was third at the Masters. Then he had thumb surgery, sat outfor three months, and has made only one cut since his return—at Firestone,which has no cut. He is all but forgotten now, although a good week at the TPCBoston might put him back on the radar screen. The Ryder Cup does not startuntil Oct. 1.
Most players believe Zach Johnson is the logical pick behind Woods. Theformer Masters champion has a splendid short game and won at Colonial, thenfinished one shot out of the playoff at the PGA Championship.
The rest of them?
Former U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover had a chance to make the team untilhe missed the cut at the PGA Championship. He had a chance to show he was worthpicking at Greensboro when he took the lead in the final round, only to shoot 38on the back nine.
Stewart Cink, a British Open champion and steady influence in the Ryder Cup,struggled badly with scoring earlier in the year. His game is rounding intoform, but he still has only three top 10s this year.
Rickie Fowler? Really? On a U.S. team that already has four Ryder Cuprookies, does Pavin take a 21-year-old who has never won a tournament? Fowlerhad a chance to win the Phoenix Open when he opted to lay up on a par 5 insteadof hitting 4-iron, and he failed to hold a three-shot lead at the Memorial,hitting into the water on the 12th hole. This is not passing judgment. These arefacts.
Nick Watney could have earned a spot at the PGA Championship, where he had athree-shot lead going into the final round. He shot 81. Watney has two top 10sin the majors, but he has not won. Sean O’Hair is more than capable, but hehasn’t won this year, either, and hasn’t come particularly close.
Ben Crane won in San Diego and is a great putter. He has never played on aRyder Cup team.
Can anyone find two players who stand out above the rest? Can anyone findtwo players who stand out at all?
The Americans were in about the same place two years ago. Paul Azinger hadhis eight players, and while Steve Stricker was a logical pick, no one else hadreally distinguished himself. Turns out it wasn’t entirely up to Azinger,anyway. He revealed later that he let his three “pods” pick their fourthplayer.
This time, it’s up to Pavin. He is looking more for a team of 12 than 12players on a team.
“Whoever I choose is not a bad reflection on them if I don’t pick them,”Pavin said the day after the PGA Championship. “It’s not a slap in the face.It’s just who I think is going to make for the best team.”
Pavin invited 21 top players from the Ryder Cup standings to a barbecueduring the PGA Championship, and said everyone there would get a phone call witheither good news or bad news.
“I told them they all are deserving, and the hardest thing for me is topick four and leave some guys off the team,” Pavin said. “I felt everyone inthat room deserved to be on the team.”
That may be true.
But unless something changes drastically this week, no one will have muchroom to complain if they don’t get picked.
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Tour does about-face on pro-am policy
August 31, 2010
NORTON, Mass. (AP)—Retief Goosen knows what a lousy feeling it is tooversleep and miss a pro-am time on the PGA Tour.
The reigning U.S. Open champion recalls hustling to Riviera, arriving whenhis group was on the first green. Because of a new tour regulation, Goosen wasineligible for the 2005 Nissan Open. It was a blow to the sponsors becauseGoosen was among only three players from the top 10 in the world that week.
PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem heard the outcry and said officials wouldtake another look at the rule, although he didn’t expect a change. “The rulewas put into effect, and it accomplished its mission. And you can’t argue withthat,” Finchem said.
Jim Furyk did the same thing last week at The Barclays. The reaction wasentirely different.
Less than a week after Furyk, the No. 3 seed in the FedEx Cup, overslept andmissed his pro-am time, Finchem announced he was suspending the regulation thatled to Furyk being unable to play.
For the rest of the year, any player missing his pro-am starting time willbe subject to punishment under “conduct unbecoming a professional.” What thatmeans is unclear, for the tour does not discuss disciplinary action. The playerwill be required to finish the pro-am round and may be required to do additionalsponsor activities.
Anyone who misses his pro-am entirely is out of the tournament, unless hewas excused.
“Certain players have a higher stature than other players,” Goosen saidTuesday at the TPC Boston. “Some players make a noise and nobody listens, andother players make a noise and everyone listens.”
Goosen thought it was unfair for Furyk to miss the tournament, just as hedid at Riviera more than five years ago.
Nick Price went to bat for Goosen back then, suggesting that every playerget one absence during the year. That’s what Goosen would like to see now.
“You should have at least one chance a year that something like thishappens. At least you’re not disqualified,” he said. “Furyk being up there inthe FedEx Cup, there was great sadness he wasn’t there. It was a great golfcourse for him. I’m sure he would have been up at the top with the leaders.”
Most peculiar about last week? Furyk wasn’t nearly as outraged as some ofhis colleagues. He blamed no one but himself when the charge on his cell phone—which he uses for an alarm clock—became disconnected and his phone went dead.
It was only the second time he had overslept for a pro-am in his 17-yearcareer. The tour did not adopt the pro-am regulation in 2004 because of playerssuch as Furyk.
Phil Mickelson was among the most outspoken last week, noting that the ruleonly applies to those players—54 out of 122 at The Barclays—who were in thepro-am. “I have no idea how the commissioner let this rule go through. It’sridiculous,” he said.
Pat Perez said the tour suspending the regulation was “long overdue,” andnot many would disagree. In the case of Furyk and Goosen, both made a spiritedattempt to get to the golf course. Furyk didn’t even take time to put on a beltor tie his shoes.
In a statement provided by the tour, Furyk said he was glad the PGA Tour haschanged the rule, pleased that Finchem and his staff reacted swiftly.
As for conduct unbecoming? That suggests a fine would be in order, and thatleft Goosen skeptical.
“Certain players with so much money, they’ll pay $5,000 10 times a year notto play in the pro-am,” he said. “At the end of the day, you should get onerelief a year for accidentally missing a tee time.”
Finchem has asked the Player Advisory Council and board to evaluate therules to be discussed at the November board meeting.
The question is why the tour chose to suspend the regulation after Furyk waseliminated from the tournament, yet did not see a need to do anything afterGoosen was suspended.
Furyk’s case brought more attention to the regulation because of his No. 3ranking and the start of the playoffs, where every tournament helps a player getin position for the $10 million prize. A player has been knocked out of atournament seven times for missing his pro-am, but this is the first time inhappened in the playoffs.
As for Goosen?
Since missing his pro-am time at Riviera, he has requested afternoon pro-amtimes at every tournament.
A GLASS HALF-FULL: Despite wild rumors on the Internet, Deutsche Bank isexpected to pick up the final two years of its option this week, which will keepit as the title sponsor of the Deutsche Bank Championship through 2012.
It would continue an impressive run by the PGA Tour in a tough economy, the19th piece of business—either a new title sponsor or an existing sponsor—since the start of 2009.
The tour is closer than ever to finding a sponsor for the World GolfChampionship at Doral. That would leave only Hilton Head, St. Jude and the BobHope Classic as regular events without sponsorship.
MR. OCTOBER: Steve Stricker is golf’s version of “Mr. October,” eventhough he’s usually in a deer stand that month. Golf’s version of the playoffsare in August and September, but that’s when Stricker seems to play his best.
He is the only guy to have played all 52 rounds of the 13 playoff eventssince the FedEx Cup began in 2007. Stricker has won twice (’07 Barclays, ’09Deutsche Bank), has one runner-up finish and has twice tied for third.
His earnings from the playoffs alone are $5,142,790—or 19 percent of hiscareer earnings on the PGA Tour. And that doesn’t include more than $5 millionin FedEx Cup bonus money.
Stricker’s scoring average in playoff events is 68.9.
DIVOTS: Tiger Woods is a combined 1-over par in 37 rounds he has completedthis year. Not that it matters—he became ineligible for the Vardon Trophy whenhe withdrew in the middle of the fourth round at The Players Championship. …Woods was No. 1 in driving accuracy at The Barclays, hitting 79 percent of thefairways. In his previous two tournaments, he was last among 71 players at thePGA Championship, and 79th out of 80 players at the Bridgestone Invitational.… U.S. Amateur champion Peter Uihlein, runner-up David Chung and Scott Langleywill represent the United States at the World Amateur Team Championship, whichwill be Oct. 28-31 in Buenos Aires. … Along with going atop the PGA Tour moneylist, Matt Kuchar now leads the race for the Vardon Trophy for lowest scoringaverage.
STAT OF THE WEEK: Cameron Beckman, Derek Lamely, Matt Bettencourt and BillLunde are the only PGA Tour winners this year who did not advance out of thefirst round of the playoffs. They all won opposite-field events, which awardonly half of the points.
FINAL WORD: “Our decision is based on 14 1/2 .”—European captain ColinMontgomerie on his three wild-card picks, referring to the points required towin the Ryder Cup.
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Kerr, Mahan win Begay Challenge
August 31, 2010
VERONA, N.Y. (AP)—Cristie Kerr and Hunter Mahan rallied with six birdieson the back nine, combining to shoot 10-under 62 and win the NB3 Challenge.
Kerr and Mahan trailed Annika Sorenstam and Rickie Fowler by two shots atthe turn before pulling away in the closing holes to win the $100,000 top prizein the best-ball competition at Atunyote Golf Club.
Sorenstam and Fowler were second at 8 under.
The event is the chief fundraiser for Begay’s foundation, which is dedicatedto helping fight obesity and diabetes in the Native American community.
The field included Lorena Ochoa, as well as current LPGA stars SuzannPettersen, Morgan Pressel and Anna Rawson. PGA Tour regulars Anthony Kim, CamiloVillegas, Vijay Singh and Notah Begay III completed the field.
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GOLF-PGA suspends rule that led to Furyk disqualification (Reuters)
August 31, 2010
MIAMI, Aug 31 (Reuters) – The PGA on Tuesday suspended arule that resulted in golfer Jim Furyk’s disqualification fromlast week’s Barclays Classic for being late to his pro-amstarting time.
Should a player be late for his pro-am starting time forthe remainder of the season, “Such player will be required toparticipate in the remainder of the pro-am round and may berequired to perform additional sponsor activity,” PGA Tourcommissioner Tim Finchem said in a statement.
“A player who misses his pro-am obligation in its entiretywill still be ruled ineligible for the tournament unless he hasbeen excused in accordance with the provisions of theregulations,” Finchem added.
He said the Player Advisory Council and Player Directorshad been asked to evaluate the regulations to determine whetheralternative measures can ensure that players honor their pro-amobligations without placing them at risk of disqualification.
The matter will be discussed at the Policy Board meeting inNovember.
(Reporting by Gene Cherry in Raleigh, North Carolina.Editing by Steve Ginsburg; To query or comment on this storyemail sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)
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After long wait, Charlotte gets PGA Championship
August 31, 2010
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (AP)—The PGA of America has announced it will holdthe 2017 PGA Championship at the old-style course at Quail Hollow Club.
It will mark the third time the PGA will be in North Carolina, and the firstfor the state’s largest city. The event will draw about 50,000 a people a dayand tens of millions of dollars in economic impact.
Quail Hollow has hosted a PGA Tour event since 2003, but its future isuncertain once the title sponsor deal ends in 2014. Harris says the eventdefinitely won’t be held in 2016 or 2017 as they prepare the course for the PGA.
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Golf-Charlotte’s Quail Hollow to host 2017 PGA Championship (Reuters)
August 31, 2010
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina, Aug 31 (Reuters) – Charlotte’sQuail Hollow Club has been selected as the site of the 2017 PGAChampionship, officials announced Tuesday.
It will be the third North Carolina course to host theyear’s final major.
“It is with great pleasure that we bring the PGAChampionship back to North Carolina, and to make our firstvisit to Quail Hollow Club, a venue and a community that hasdemonstrated its skill in hosting premier golf,” PGA of AmericaPresident Jim Remy said in a statement.
PGA championships previously were held at Pinehurst Resort& Country Club (1936) and Tanglewood Golf Club of Winston-Salem(1974), the PGA said.
This year’s PGA Championship was played at WhistlingStraits in Kohler, Wisconsin. The 2011 event is set for theHighlands Course at the Atlanta Athletic Club in Johns Creek,Georgia.
Quail Hollow annually hosts a stop the PGA Tour.
(Reporting by Gene Cherry in Raleigh, North Carolina.Editing by Steve Ginsburg. To query or comment on this storyemail sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)
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First-round tee times for Mylan Classic presented by CONSOL Energy (PGATOUR.com)
August 31, 2010
First-round times. All times are local.
Mylan Classic presented by CONSOL Energy Tee #1TimePlayers 7:20 amMark AndersonBobby GatesTed Brown 7:30 amJustin HicksDicky PrideScott Dunlap 7:40 amEwan PorterNick FlanaganDavid Hearn 7:50 amBrian SmockJim McGovernB.J. Staten 8:00 amChris WilsonAndrew SvobodaBarrett Jarosch 8:10 amAndrew BuckleSonny SkinnerJoel Edwards 8:20 amBubba DickersonPaul StankowskiSteve Pate 8:30 amTommy GaineyAlistair PresnellJeff Gallagher 8:40 amWill MacKenzieDave SchultzJay Delsing 8:50 amEmmett TurnerMiguel Angel CarballoZack Miller 9:00 amChris KaminBrice GarnettBrian Vranesh 9:10 amColt KnostSteven BowditchLeif Olson 9:20 amDaniel BarbettiRussell KnoxManuel Villegas 7:20 amRob OppenheimEsteban ToledoLuke List 7:30 amKeegan BradleyBrent DelahoussayeBen Bates 7:40 amCliff KresgeMichael PutnamMichael Clark II 7:50 amJason EnloeJim HermanJohn Riegger 8:00 amPeter TomasuloPaul ClaxtonDan Buchner 8:10 amBradley IlesJess DaleyJonathan Kaye 8:20 amDavid BranshawKyle ThompsonScott Gardiner 8:30 amD.J. BrigmanFrank Lickliter IIDoug LaBelle II 8:40 amAdam BlandMark HensbySteve Wheatcroft 8:50 amJeff CurlBret GuetzAlan Morin 9:00 amBrady SchnellDiego VanegasGeoffrey Sisk 9:10 amCamilo BenedettiJesse HutchinsHugo Leon 9:20 amSam SaundersJohn AberKevin Shields12:30 pmKevin KisnerNate SmithScott Stallings12:40 pmJason GoreRocco MediateJamie Lovemark12:50 pmScott GutschewskiMathias GronbergDarron Stiles 1:00 pmJhonattan VegasTom ScherrerDavid Mathis 1:10 pmWon Joon LeeJames HahnJeff Brehaut 1:20 pmJohn HustonBrendan SteeleTodd Demsey 1:30 pmMartin FloresRobert DamronDavid Morland IV 1:40 pmBrandt JobeBilly HorschelJulien Trudeau 1:50 pmTy HarrisBrad ElderBronson La’Cassie 2:00 pmTed Potter, Jr.Sal SpalloneNick Beach 2:10 pmDaniel SummerhaysMadalitso MuthiyaAaron Watkins 2:20 pmKyle StanleyGary WoodlandJustin Smith 2:30 pmDustin GrovesRobert RohannaPeter Malnati12:30 pmMatthew BorchertGarrett OsbornJarrod Lyle12:40 pmJoe AffruntiJosh BroadawayRyan Armour12:50 pmPhil TataurangiBrad AdamonisStephen Poole 1:00 pmPatrick SheehanJim Gallagher, Jr.Ken Duke 1:10 pmJ.J. KilleenJon MillsDavid McKenzie 1:20 pmRon WhittakerJonas BlixtBobby MacWhinnie 1:30 pmKevin ChappellJeff GoveTag Ridings 1:40 pmFabian GomezJohn KimbellScott Sterling 1:50 pmKyle ReifersScott BrownCasey Wittenberg 2:00 pmChris NallenTravis BertoniBryan DeCorso 2:10 pmMatt DavidsonTrevor MurphyKelly Grunewald 2:20 pmKeven Fortin-SimardWilliam McGirtJustin Peters 2:30 pmChesson HadleyDennis DolciSteve Cuzzort
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USGA pleased with Chambers Bay after Amateur
August 31, 2010
UNIVERSITY PLACE, Wash. (AP)—Until Chambers Bay morphed from an everydaypublic course into championship conditions, Mike Davis didn’t know what toexpect.
Davis, the U.S. Golf Association’s director of rules and competition andresponsible for developing the setup used at the U.S. Open, had somepreconceived ideas of how Chambers Bay would play during the U.S. Amateur thatended on Sunday.
And after a week of watching the best amateur golfers in the world try andsolve the hard fairways and sloping greens of the links course, Davis came awayexcited for what awaits five years from now when Chambers Bay hosts the U.S.Open.
“It’s very fun to set it up,” Davis said.
Fun seemed to be the overwhelming word players and officials used todescribe the way Chambers Bay played during the Amateur, won by Oklahoma State’sPeter Uihlein. Shot making was at a premium, as was imagination, taking away theidea of shooting right at pins or playing the hole exactly as it appeared.
Uihlein had a perfect example in Sunday’s final against David Chung. Knowinghis downhill putt on the drivable par 4 12th hole had no chance of stopping nearthe hold, Uihlein rolled his putt past the hole, up a slope and watched it inchback toward the cup, settling just a couple of feet away.
“You can’t really get close to the flags by hitting them at the flag.You’ve got to use the slopes and be creative,” Uihlein said. “You’ve got tohit every shot with a certain spin and height. You’ve really got to control yourball.”
Chambers Bay was awarded the Amateur and the 2015 Open within a year of thecourse first opening. It’s unique fescue grass, large footprint and setting onthe shores of Puget Sound was the setting the USGA had been hoping to find tofinally bring it’s national championship to the Pacific Northwest for the firsttime.
That meant the Amateur was a dress rehearsal for five years from now. Thediscoveries last week were plentiful.
For example, Davis learned that even with hard, brown fairways and greens,the grass at Chambers still needed sufficient water. During the stroke playportion of the Amateur, the firmness of the golf course got out of hand, Davissaid.
The discovery: because of its sandy base, the golf course needed adequatewater six, 12, 18 inches below the surface to maintain a level of fairness forplayers.
“There were some things that we did anticipate we thought might work reallywell. We had some questions about some things and there were some things thatbeing very candid, we never had an idea, nor did the architects or any of theChambers Bay people,” Davis said.
Davis said there will be plenty of adjustments to the golf course by thetime it’s next in tournament conditions five years from now. Some fairways willbe narrowed, others will be widened, and even others will be moved one directionor another. One major benefit for the USGA staff was seeing various weatherconditions during the week and seeing winds blowing from three differentdirections.
Outside the ropes, there are issues with spectator transportation, crowdflow and fans climbing on the steep and slippery dunes around the course to beaddressed.
“I think we’ll spend the next few years trying to get that right becausethis was a dry run,” said the USGA’s Tom O’Toole. “That’s why we came here.… A lot of notes this week (and) it will really help us in preparation for’15.”
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Ryder Cup still a contest between tours
August 30, 2010
PARAMUS, New Jersey (AP)—If it seems outrageous that the No. 9 player in theworld would not be part of the Ryder Cup, then consider the European team thatfirst crushed the United States in this popular exhibition.
The highest-ranked player Europe had in 2004 was No. 9 in the world.
That was Padraig Harrington, who six years and three major championshipslater became a debated captain’s pick Sunday.
Colin Montgomerie called it an “embarrassment of riches” that his threepicks did not include Justin Rose and Paul Casey, who was at No. 9 when thechoices were made. And that the likes of Henrik Stenson, Robert Karlsson andSergio Garcia didn’t even qualify.
The real embarrassment will be if Europe doesn’t take home the cup, lastseen on Twitter being meticulously polished by former U.S. captain Paul Azingeras a way to needle Ian Poulter.
Europe is a lot like the United States used to be.
It has the highest-ranked players, with all 12 members inside the top 40based on Monday’s ranking. Europe won more majors this year, with GraemeMcDowell and Martin Kaymer trumping Phil Mickelson. And it is favored to win theRyder Cup, once the domain of the USA.
One thing hasn’t changed.
Winning the Ryder Cup is more meaningful to Europe than the United States,which is not to suggest the Americans don’t care about winning or won’t covertheir ears if they have to listen to the singsong cheering of “Ole, Ole, Ole.”
This is not a competition between the best players from Europe and the U.S.
It’s a competition between tours.
What motivated Europe for so many years—and led to so many victories—wasthe perception of being a second-class golf tour. Even though it is thesecond-best tour in the world (with deep apologies to the Nationwide Tour), noone likes to hear it.
And that’s why any suggestion to revamp Europe’s qualifying criteria wouldbe a mistake.
The top four players are decided by the world ranking points they accumulateover the last 12 months. The next five come from money earned during the sametime from European Tour events. The other three players are up to the captain.
It doesn’t hurt that seven of Europe’s players were not U.S. tour members atthe start of the year.
Luke Donald suggested last week that if the No. 10 player—that would behim—were left off the Ryder Cup, something would be seriously flawed with thesystem. It was not clear if he was talking about the Ryder Cup criteria or howhe got to No. 10 in the world.
“The European team has to look harder at the qualification system andwhether it’s the correct way to do it, or whether there’s a better way,” Donaldsaid after learning he was a pick. “I think golf really is becoming a worldgame, and I understand they won’t protect the European Tour. But at the sametime, the top guys are going to want to play against the best players in theworld, no matter what.
“And they shouldn’t be penalized for that.”
No question golf has become a global game, which is why the major tours leanso much on the world ranking. But to exclusively use the world ranking todetermine the team would make the Ryder Cup feel more like the Presidents Cup.The passion of the Ryder Cup is as much about tours as continents and flags.
Sure, there are a few tweaks that can be made.
Europe should consider taking four players from a ranking list, four playersfrom a money list and giving the captain four picks. That’s the same number ofpicks the Americans get.
Even more peculiar is why Montgomerie had to make his captain’s picks—Harrington, Donald and Edoardo Molinari—on Sunday night. Players don’t beginto arrive in Wales until Sept. 27, which is a month away. Are they really inthat much of a rush to stitch names into the back of caps and fit players fortuxedos?
European officials tried to force players’ hands by making them choosebetween the final European Tour qualifying event (Johnnie Walker Championship)and the start of the FedEx Cup playoffs (The Barclays).
Harrington, Donald, Casey and Rose chose to play The Barclays, even thoughthe ranking points did not count toward Ryder Cup standings because of thefive-hour time difference. Make the picks on Monday, and those four could havetried to play their way onto the team. There’s no drama in Europe watching on TVat 11 p.m.
Then again, isn’t the drama supposed to unfold Oct. 1 at Celtic Manor?
Would it have mattered? Not this year. It would have been an embarrassmentfor Montgomerie to leave off Molinari, who won two big tournaments in Scotlandover the last two months to rightly deserve a spot on the team.
Someone was going to be left out. Someone was going to be upset. Someone wasgoing to question the system.
Montgomerie won’t say this, but it did not hurt Donald’s chances when he wasamong the few who played the Wales Open this summer for a preview of the CelticManor course.
Harrington said if he did not make the team, he would have blamed onlyhimself for not setting his schedule property.
No one was more devastated than Casey, who realized he wasn’t on the teamwhen he saw Harrington’s wife give a thumbs-up to his caddie without sayinganything to Casey.
Even so, he found perspective in his despair.
“I’m not going to stand here and plead a case for why I should be on theteam,” Casey said. “It’s done and dusted. I tried my hardest, and I didn’tmake it.”
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Official: Charlotte to host 2017 PGA Championship
August 30, 2010
RALEIGH, North Carolina (AP)—North Carolina will be the site for the 2017 PGAChampionship.
A state government official with knowledge of the decision told TheAssociated Press on Monday that the PGA will announce Tuesday at Quail HollowCountry Club in Charlotte that the course will be the site for one of golf’sfour majors that year.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid upstaging the PGA’sannouncement.
A public relations firm announced that the Tuesday morning event willfeature Gov. Beverly Perdue, Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx and the club’spresident.
Quail Hollow has hosted what’s been called the Wachovia Championship andmost recently the Quail Hollow Championship as a regular PGA stop since itsinception in 2003. It will be called the Wells Fargo Championship in 2011.
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