HAVEN, Wis. – Hal Sutton will end the suspense this morning when he announces his two captains picks for the 2004 U.S. Ryder Cup team. And while Tour players and the media have tried repeatedly to get a glimpse into whom Sutton might be considering for his picks, it’s likely Sutton didn’t finalize his choices until late last night long after the 86th PGA Championship ended.
That’s because the final points standings were uncertain going into a final round where several players could gain an automatic berth with a strong closing performance.
The top 10 players in the point standings automatically qualify for the Sept. 14-19 matches against the Europeans at Oakland Hills Country Club outside of Detroit. Sutton will fill out the 12-man squad with his two picks this morning.
Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Davis Love III and Jim Furyk were the only players to have clinched spots coming into the PGA Championship, while Kenny Perry, David Toms and Chad Campbell seemed secure.
Fred Funk, who was eighth in the Ryder Cup standings at the beginning of the week, missed the cut and had to watch yesterday’s final around to be assured he’d make the team. Steve Flesch (ninth) and Jay Haas (10th) entered yesterday’s final round knowing Chris Riley, Justin Leonard, Chris DiMarco and Briny Baird could knock them from their position.
Leonard, who entered yesterday’s play trailing leader Vijay Singh by one stroke, needed to win to make the Ryder Cup team. Jerry Kelly, in 11th place, likely blew his chance by missing the cut here at Whistling Straits, while Stewart Cink (12th) and Scott Verplank (14th) made the weekend.
About the only thing certain is John Daly won’t be on the squad. He doused the growing sentiment for Sutton to select him with a captain’s pick by shooting an 81-74 here.
“If I were to pick John Daly, it would be to spike the crowd,” Sutton said. “He needed a good tournament here and he knew it and he finished last [Thursday]. I was never going to play the popularity game and I’m still not going to play the popularity game.”
Though the final top 10 was yet to determined, it didn’t stop speculation on what the final 12 will look like. Let’s say Woods, Mickelson, Love, Furyk, Perry, Toms and Campbell are in. The most likely next five – whether they are automatics selections or captains picks – should be Flesch, Haas, DiMarco, with Cink and Verplank being Sutton’s two captains picks.
Cink and Verplank would provide experience with Cink having played on the 2001 Ryder Cup team at Brookline and Verplank part of the 2002 team that lost to the Europeans at The Belfry.
“Obviously, I think everybody would rather make it on points,” Flesch said before yesterday’s final round, “but there’s a couple of guys who could knock me out. I just want captain Hal to know that I’m going to go away kicking and screaming. He can make his own decisions, but I’m going to do the best I can to make it on my own.”
Haas would be the first member of the Champions Tour to make a Ryder Cup team, making him a sentimental choice if he doesn’t qualify on points.
“I’m of the assumption that the better I play the more good things will happen to me,” Haas said.
DiMarco, who was four shots behind Singh entering the final 18 holes of the PGA Championship, was thinking about winning his first major more than the Ryder Cup.
“If I play to win, I’ll be fine,” he said. “I’m hitting the ball great.”
Sutton’s captain’s selections mark the kickoff to the Ryder Cup hype.
“I’ve taken the last three months off and haven’t played golf in order to be prepared,” Sutton said. “I’ll make decisions and I’ll be decisive about them, and then I’m going to let the 12 great champions that the United States fields do their job.”