Tiger Woods confirms intention to play Ryder Cup
At a press conference on the eve of the WGC Bridgestone Invitational, Tiger Woods conveyed - in his usual, somewhat opaque style - his intention to play in the Ryder Cup later this year.
Asked whether he'd play on the US team, were he to find himself a wild-card pick of captain Corey Pavin, Woods replied: "I'm planning on playing my way into the team." Which at least confirms that Woods wants to appear at Celtic Manor in October, but doesn't quite answer the original question - as the journalist who asked it pointed out.
The questioner attempted to follow up his initial enquiry twice, but Woods interrupted both times, repeating his intention to play his way to Wales. It's as if Woods cannot even countenance the possibility of failure to qualify for the tournament - but whatever his unwavering belief in his own ability (or at least his need to project that image in public), for now the world No. 1 has slipped out of the automatic qualifying places for the US team.
With the top eight players in the points table automatically qualifying and Pavin picking a further four players to take as wild cards, Woods has slipped to ninth in the standings; while the world No. 1 should be capable of playing his way back into automatic qualification ahead of players of the calibre of Matt Kuchar and Dustin Johnson, there are no guarantees with Woods right now.
And time is running out. Pavin announces his wild card selections on September 7th, with the automatic qualifiers selected on the basis of performances up to August 15th, encompassing just this week's tournament at Firestone, and next week's PGA Championship.
In other news, Australia's Robert Allenby has pulled out of this week's event in Akron, Ohio because of a knee injury. The 39-year-old tore a ligament in his right knee after taking a tumble on his boat during a fishing expedition in the Bahamas this past weekend. After undergoing surgery on Tuesday, the world No. 14 will be out of the game for at least three weeks.
Allenby's withdrawal leaves a field of 81 players, all of whom are hoping to overcome the previously unstoppable Tiger Woods. The 14-time major winner has a daunting record of seven wins here, four of those victories coming in each of his last four appearances. The golfer could scarcely ask for more familiar territory as he strives to secure that first win of the season, but current form would suggest an eighth win at Firestone may be beyond Woods in 2010.
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