Ryder Captain Jim Furyk has clearcut Ryder Cup wild card calls

By Jason Price

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 on September 10, 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, when he was found asleep at the wheel of his car.

The 42-year-old, who had five prescription drugs in his system, later pleaded 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 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 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, though the left-hander 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 also went into the final round of the Dell Technologies Championship just a shot off the lead, while his friendship with Woods could see the pair teaming up at Le Golf National.

As if Furyk needed any convincing, Mickelson put on a show on the eve of the first set of the US Ryder Cup captain’s selections. Mickelson started the final round 11 shots off the lead, but he raced up the leaderboard with an eight-under 63. It marked his best round on Tour since the 2016 Open and capped one of the few bright weeks since a T-5 result at the Wells Fargo Championship in May.

It feels really good to put it all together,” Mickelson said. “I feel like over the course of the last couple of months I’ve been turning 65s and 66s into 71s and 72s. Today, I was able to get off to a good start and maintain it.

Mickelson hasn’t missed a US team event since 1993, and he has long been considered a virtual lock, along with Tiger Woods and Bryson DeChambeau, for the first three of Furyk’s four picks, which will be announced today, but he likely removed any doubt with five birdies over his first seven holes, taking only 22 putts to complete the round. It’s the type of putting performance he displayed during a memorable singles match with Sergio Garcia two years ago at Hazeltine, and it’s one of the key reasons why Mickelson expects a phone call shortly from Furyk.

“The case I would argue is, again, it always comes down to putting. You want to have your best putters,” he said.

Rory McIlroy’s hopes of making a major move up the FedEx Cup standings failed to materialise when he closed with a one-under 70.

Tied for eighth, just four shots behind Abraham Ancer heading into the final round, he made three birdies on the front nine to get to within two shots of the lead but never looked comfortable. He was four shots off the lead again heading down the back nine, but his driving let him down and while he scrambled a par after a wayward drive on the 13th, he bogeyed the 14th and 15th after missing the fairways. He eventually ended the week tied for 12th on 10-under and was projected to moved up just four spots to 24th in the FedEx Cup standings with only the top 30 after this week’s BMW Championship at Aronimink in Philadelphia making the season-ending Tour Championship from September 20-23.