Rookies Occupy 5 Of 10 Spots For U.S. Presidents Cup Team
- Details
- Category: Inside Golf
- Published: 2017-08-03
Charley Hoffman Hits His Tee Shot On The 11th Hole During The 2017 RBC Canadian Open. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)
AKRON, Ohio (Doug Ferguson/AP) — With just over a month remaining to qualifying for the Presidents Cup, this is shaping up as a new American team.
Charley Hoffman’s playoff loss in the Canadian Open moved him to No. 10 in the standings, which is based on FedEx Cup points. That gives the U.S. team five players from the top 10 who have never competed in a Presidents Cup or a Ryder Cup. The others are Justin Thomas (No. 3), Daniel Berger (No. 4), Kevin Kisner (No. 7) and Kevin Chappell (No. 9). U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka is No. 5 and has never played the Presidents Cup, though he played the Ryder Cup last fall.
U.S. captain Steve Stricker could see this coming.
He was an assistant to Davis Love III at Hazeltine last year. Thomas and Berger were invited to play the Minnesota course ahead of the final picks, though neither of them was chosen. The last pick went to Ryan Moore, another Cup rookie.
“You could see the change there, even though some of them didn’t play,” Stricker said. “You can see the movement is definitely going to younger, powerful players.”
Right behind them is a blend of experience (Patrick Reed, Jason Dufner, Brandt Snedeker) and new (Brian Harman, Gary Woodland). The top 10 players qualify after the Dell Technologies Championship on Sept. 4.
That could have a bearing on how Stricker uses his captain’s picks.
“It concerns me a little bit that we have a lot of rookies,” he said. “But it also excites me what I’m seeing from them. They’re very courageous, they’re feisty, they’re making clutch putts when they have to. It just shows a lot of guts. These guys are playing well and showing a little attitude when they’re doing it, which is nice to see, especially in match play.”
Phil Mickelson has dropped to No. 17. His best finish this year was reaching the quarterfinals of the Dell Technologies Match Play. Mickelson has never missed a Presidents Cup or a Ryder Cup since 1994, and he had to rely on a captain’s pick for only the second time in his career in 2015. He went 3-0-1 for the week.
Stricker said he told Mickelson to give him good reasons to pick him if Lefty doesn’t make it on his own.
“And he told me flat out he’s going to make his way inside the top 10,” Stricker said. “He feels like he’s playing that well, he just needs to score a little bit better and see some putts to go in. But he’s not worried about sneaking his way into the top 10.”
NO SURE THING: PGA Tour players are often mistaken when they talk about one of the perks from reaching the Tour Championship — getting into the four major championships the following year.
That’s not always the case.
Roberto Castro, who made it to the Tour Championship on the strength of his third-place finish at the BMW Championship, did not qualify for the PGA Championship. This is the second straight year that has happened — Steven Bowditch failed to qualify for the PGA Championship last year.
Castro has missed the cut in 14 of his last 18 events. He has fallen to No. 99 in the PGA Points list, which effectively is a money list from the 2016 Canadian Open through the 2017 Canadian Open. The top 70 earn spots in the PGA Championship.
It’s rare that a player doesn’t make it because accruing the money to get to the Tour Championship (plus earnings at East Lake) is enough to be in reasonable shape on the PGA Points list the following year.
Bowditch also hit a spell of bad form after reaching the 2015 Tour Championship, missing 11 out of 17 cuts.
The Masters, U.S. Open and British Open each give exemptions to players in the field at the Tour Championship. The PGA Championship does not.
FEHERTY’S SON: David Feherty, who brings comic relief and analysis to golf on NBC and Golf Channel, is coping with tragedy. Feherty revealed on Twitter that his oldest son, Shey, died of a drug overdose.
“My first born son is gone from me, dying from an overdose on his 29th birthday. Bless his sweet heart, I will fight on,” Feherty tweeted.
A funeral service was held in Dallas.
“Our deepest condolences go out to David Feherty and his family on the passing of his oldest son, Shey,” Golf Channel said in a statement. “Family means everything to David, and his Golf Channel, NBC Sports and extended television family send their love and support at this difficult time.”
TEXAS SHRINE: Former PGA champion Steve Elkington will be inducted this fall into the Texas Golf Hall of Fame, and he couldn’t be prouder.
“I’ve lived longer in Texas than in my home country of Australia, so this honor is special to me,” Elkington said. “So many famous players have come from the state of Texas and I’m proud to be included as one of those now.”
Elkington will be inducted Oct. 9 along with two-time U.S. Women’s Amateur champion Kelli Kuehne, PGA professional James “Buddy” Cook of San Antonio and Montford T. Johnson Jr., who helped shape amateur golf policy while serving in the USGA.
Elkington won the 1995 PGA Championship at Riviera in a playoff over Colin Montgomerie. He also won The Players Championship in 1991 and 1997, and he won the Vardon Trophy for the lowest adjusted scoring average in 1995.
He was the first prominent Australian to play college golf in America, helping to lead the Houston Cougars to national titles in 1982, 1984 and 1985. Elkington still lives in the Houston area and considers Jack Burke Jr. his mentor.
DIVOTS: Ernie Els is among those who have received a special exemption to the PGA Championship next week. ... Laura Davies and Paula Creamer each made it through Monday qualifying for the Ricoh Women’s British Open. ... Steve Stricker is preparing for the PGA Championship by playing a PGA Tour Champions event in Minnesota this week. ... Montreal-born clubmaker Bob Vokey was inducted into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame last week. He has become one of the world’s top wedge designers for Titleist Vokey Design. ... The Latin America Amateur Championship will be held Jan. 20-23 at Wales Country Club in Santiago. ... Se Ri Pak will host an American Junior Golf Association event on Aug. 21-24 at Butte Creek Country Club in Georgia.
STAT OF THE WEEK: Bernhard Langer has won five of his 10 senior majors after turning 58.
FINAL WORD: “I’m going to check to make sure the range is in play when the Presidents Cup comes there.” — U.S. captain Steve Stricker, referring to Jordan Spieth playing a crucial shot from the range at Royal Birkdale when he won the British Open.