Woods would accept a captain's pick for Ryder Cup team
A week ago Tiger Woods insisted he wanted to earn his way onto the 2010 Ryder Cup team by proving he could play well enough to make the automatic eight. This week, he’s whistling a different tune.
Woods played the worst 72 holes of his life on the Firestone course last weekend at the WGC- Bridgestone Invitational. It was painful, it was embarrassing, and it was an all time career low. On Tuesday Woods said he still wants to be part of the U.S. Ryder Cup team, which will play against the European team in Wales on October 1st.
“Haven't seen him [captain Corey Pavin] and hopefully I won't be a pick," Woods said of Pavin’s wild card picks. “I would like to be able to play myself onto that team." But when asked if he would accept a captain’s invitation if he can’t qualify Woods answered in a one word response: “Yes.”
When confronted with the same questions a week ago Woods avoided a definitive answer: “I intend to play my way on the team.” Even when the question was rephrased he just repeated his response mechanically as if to tell the interviewer to stop asking the question. Woods really wants to earn it, but after Bridgestone realizes that might not be an option.
On Monday Pavin was widely quoted saying “Of course I’m going to [pick him]. He’s the best player in the world.” But on Wednesday Pavin backtracked his earlier statement and denied that he said it at all. On his Twitter page he wrote:
"For the record, Golf Channel and Jim Gray has misquoted me re: picking Tiger. I never said such a thing and will not say a thing until 09/07.”
Only the top eight players receive an automatic berth on the team, after that each captain may select four players as wild cards. Players receive points depending on how much money they earn at each event. The majors are worth double points, so this week’s PGA Championship will award two points for every $1,000 dollars earned as opposed to just one point.
If Woods does well he could very well see himself in the top eight. He would need to earn $122,000 (equivalent to a top 15 placing) to pass Lucas Glover, the 2010 U.S. Open winner who sits in ninth place. But let’s face it, Woods wasn’t performing well under the pressure three months ago, how will he do it this week?
The PGA Championship is the last major of the year and the last qualifying event for the U.S. Ryder Cup team. There is plenty of volatility in the points race, especially for those teetering outside the top eight. But with players like Dustin Johnson, Ricky Barnes, and Ben Crane (ninth, 11th, and 12th respectively) trying to get in Woods will have to outplay them or pray that they finish worse than he does.
Last week at Firestone, Johnson had the best finish, coming in 15th place. Barnes didn’t play the Bridgestone Invitational and Crane was T58.
After his performance at Firestone, 18 over 298, Woods didn’t believe he was playing well enough to be part of the U.S. team: “Not playing like this, definitely not, not playing like this. I mean, I wouldn't help the team if I'm playing like this. No one would help the team if they're shooting 18-over par.”
But after practicing with temporary swing coach Sean Foley on Tuesday, Woods felt he can still prove he is worthy of a Ryder Cup spot.
“One of the things I'm excited about the last few days is I made some good progress, and I've got one more day tomorrow," he said Tuesday.
Woods asked Foley to come out and watch his swings during his practice rounds, and Foley complied, occasional bringing out a camcorder to film Woods’ shots. Woods will tee off Thursday with defending PGA champ Y.E. Yang and former winner Vijay Singh.
Tags: