GolfWRX Morning 9: No Ryder Cup pick surprises | Thoughts on No. 12 | Bryson’s “air” problem?

By Top Golf Gears On Sep 10, 2018

Good Wednesday morning, golf fans.

1 The captain’s picks you expected

No drama in the first three-fourths of Jim Furyk’s captain’s picks for the Ryder Cup. Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, and Bryson DeChambeau are the selections.

Golf Digest’s John Strege…”Captain Jim Furyk made it official in a drama-free televised news conference in Philadelphia in advance of the BMW Championship at Aronimink Golf Club in nearby Newtown Square.”

“The fourth and final captain’s pick will be made after the BMW Championship, allowing the captain to add a player with a hot hand. Even that seems to be a foregone conclusion; the consensus choice is Tony Finau, who finished second in the Northern Trust and tied for fourth in the Dell Technologies Championship.”

“Tiger and I have had this conversation,” Furyk said. “What Tiger and I have decided is he will play in this Ryder Cup and we’ll name another vice captain. He’s been instrumental in helping not only the captains before, but me as well, as far as strategy, as far as planning, as far as pairings. I’m going to continue to use that knowledge and that strategy. I also want to make sure Tiger gets very focused on that. I want to free him up.”

Tiger Woods…”At the beginning of the year, that was one of my goals, to make this team. I got the call from Jim, and he asked if I would serve as vice captain. ‘Absolutely. Anything I can do to help you out.’ Deep down I wanted to make the team. I hadn’t really started playing golf again. But still the goal was at the end of the season to make this team. As the year progressed, I kind of gained some traction. I was somehow able to get some high finishes and lo and behold I’m part of this team. It’s incredible, to look back at the start of the year … as I said, it’s beyond special.”

2. But who will be the 12th?

Rumor has it, unimpressed with the options available to him, Jim Furyk plans to pick himself as his final captain’s pick…In all seriousness though, with three of Furyk’s picks foregone conclusions now made official, attention turns to the one pick that was always going to be a wildcard.

Golf Channel’s Ryan Lavner...”Though Furyk was coy about the exact nature of those calls, he said that he talked to “at least” everyone through No. 15 on the points list. That suggests that Xander Schauffele (No. 12), Kevin Kisner (No. 14) and Finau (No. 15) are still in the running.”

“DeChambeau, Mickelson and Woods were Nos. 9-11 in the points standings, and No. 13 Matt Kuchar was named as a Ryder Cup vice captain on Tuesday.”

“I don’t know if I left it at: ‘If you do X, you’ll make the team,’” Furyk said, “but I just said, ‘This is the situation we’re in, and we’ll be watching.’

Furyk also added…”But there’s definitely a few guys that have separated themselves from the pack, for a couple of different reasons.”

If you do X? What about if your name starts with X. Hmm…Kidding. Finau has to be the pick.

3. Tiger returning to Old Reliable(/Recently not so Reliable)?

GolfWRX staff report…”Tiger Woods is going through some tough times on the greens lately… not just holing putts, but deciding between putters.”

“He played in the 2018 PGA Championship with a TaylorMade Ardmore 3 mallet putter, then he played last week with a TaylorMade Juno blade putter. Now, he’s back to testing out the Juno against the Scotty Cameron Newport 2 that he’s had in the bag for 13-of-his-14 career majors.”

“Woods was spotted today at the 2018 BMW Championship practice round at Aronimink in Pennsylvania testing out both putters side by side. So he’s at least considering going back to his old flame.”

4. Hunter Mahan’s triumph

An unbylined AP column looked at Hunter Mahan’s PGA Tour card clinching and what he’s been through his season.

“He earned $88,000, roughly the equivalent of 24th place during the FedEx Cup playoffs, and moved to No. 4 on the special money list. The top 25 get full PGA Tour cards, and with only two events remaining, Mahan clinched his card.”

“Mahan didn’t realize until that moment that he at least had made it back to the starting line. The scope of it didn’t really hit him until Monday morning, when he was home in Dallas waiting for his wife and three young children to return from a weekend trip to Cedar Lake.”

“”It’s been a crazy year,” Mahan said, his voice still cracking with emotion….He had taken a few minutes away from the phone when he first started to cry. He needed longer.”

“”I feel excited about golf, just moving forward,” he said. “Everything, all the work, so many people. My teacher (Chris O’Connell), my caddie (Zack Guthrie), everybody … it’s vindication for them. When I think about my family who helped me get through this year and the years before, it feels like a lot.”

5. New Mizuno drivers cometh?

The USGA Conforming Clubs list is always, always full of surprises. As of September 1, three new Mizuno Prototype drivers appear .

Unfortunately, this could be a future Japan-only release, rather than made for the U.S. market. Tour Spec Golf, a company devoted to high-end JDM golf gear, has “in-hand” (on ground) photos on its Instagram account. While that doesn’t necessarily mean it’ll be Japan only, it just might be best not to get your hopes up.

6. Perez, Kerr welcome children (but not together)

Double P withdrew from the third round of the Dell Technologies Championship due to the impending birth of his first child with wife Ashley. The pair welcomed Piper Perez to the world Monday afternoon.

Also on the offspring front, Cristie Kerr and her husband welcomed their second child. Beth Ann Nichols of Golfweek writes…”Baby news is all the rage on the LPGA, and Cristie Kerr and Erik Stevens added to the fun when they came home with Griffin Stevens over the Labor Day weekend. The bundle of joy, genetically theirs, was born Aug. 28 via a surrogate mother through in vitro fertilization. Griffin Stevens is the couple’s second son via a surrogate. Mason Kerr Stevens was born on Dec. 8, 2013.”

Congrats to all!

7. Rickie’s ready

Rickie Fowler is close to 100 percent and ready to go after sitting on the shelf for the past three weeks nursing a partially torn oblique.

“It wasn’t planned to miss, but it could end up being a good thing with the stretch we have coming up,” Fowler said. “So glad to be back. Nice to be back without pain.”

From an AP report...”Fowler said he spent the last three weeks at home in Florida using ice, heat, pain medication and a laser machine. He has a friend who is a spinal neurosurgeon, and Fowler says he used a laser machine two or three times a day.”

A laser machine!

8. Men’s quarters, women’s semis set at WLD

Per Golf Channel…“The men’s Open Division was whittled down to eight, while four women remain at the Volvik World Long Drive Championship….Sixteen men battled on Tuesday night for a spot in the quarterfinals at WinStar Resort and Casino in Thackerville, Okla., where an inch-and-a-half of overnight rain created a very slow grid [460 yards long, 50 yards wide], putting a premium on carry distance.”

9. Bryson’s air problem?

Geoff Shackelford, no fan of the #LiveUnderPar campaign/onslaught, spotted this yesterday…”Apparently, Bryson DeChambeau has a complicated relationship with the air he breathes.”

“The PGA Tour posted an incorrectly transcribed quote with the word air supplementing “error” in sharing a Bryson DeChambeau quote following Monday’s Dell Technologies win. Perhaps this was a subtle message from social media workers tired of living under water–where I hear air is limited–but multiple sources have confirmed to this website that Bryson said the word error, was understood by most who were listening to be using the word error, and has no known sensitivities to oxygen, clearing the way for him to be a Captain’s pick on the 2018 Ryder Cup team.”

GolfWRX Morning 9: No Ryder Cup pick surprises | Thoughts on No. 12 | Bryson’s “air” problem?