Posted by Jason Sobel
There will be an underlying subplot during the next two weeks on the PGA Tour, as the U.S. Ryder Cup team is finalized following the final round of the PGA Championship. With the increased volatility in the standings this year, anything can happen, but let's give the current top six entry into The K Club locker room already.
So, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyk, Chad Campbell, David Toms and Chris DiMarco: Step aside as I examine the next 10 players on the list and whether U.S. fans should be rooting for them over the next 10 days.
7. Vaughn Taylor. With a T-4 finish at last week's Buick Open, Taylor has the inside track on a roster spot, though his credentials pale in comparison to the half-dozen players above him. His only two PGA Tour victories have come at the Reno-Tahoe Open, a lesser-field event competed opposite a WGC tournament. How is he under pressure? Well, it's tough to say. Taylor only has played in four career majors, making the cut in two of them. And yes, it's absolutely astonishing that a guy who only has played in each major one time is one of the top U.S. players around.
8. J.J. Henry. A career journeyman who finally earned his first tour victory at the Buick Championship in his home state of Connecticut, Henry always has been known as a guy who has all the tools, yet needs to keep it together a bit more between the ears. Then again, with that title on the line, Henry boomed a 361-yard drive on the final hole -- the longest of any player during the week -- so maybe all he needed was to get that blood pumping in a crucial situation.
9. Zach Johnson. U.S. captain Tom Lehman got an up-close-and-personal look at Johnson when the latter defeated him 1-up in the consolation match at this year's Accenture Match Play Championship. Of course, he also got a first-hand glimpse of how excruciatingly slow Johnson plays, as his yielding nature held up the final match of Geoff Ogilvy and Davis Love III for much of the back nine. Will such hesitancy help to get under the skin of European opponents or simply leave Johnson's U.S. teammates disenchanted? We soon might find out.
10. Brett Wetterich. I recently spent a week-long vacation with friends who have a 1-year-old daughter. Throughout the week, this little girl continually got a kick out of a plush Cookie Monster doll that screamed, "Shaky, shaky!" when squeezed. For some reason, I can't help but think of that same sentiment when pondering Wetterich's chances at this year's Ryder Cup. A Q School graduate, he had one successful stretch in the big leagues, earning four top-six finishes in six starts -- including his first career win at the Byron Nelson Championship -- from late-April through early-June. In his other 12 events, Wetterich has missed the cut six times and never finished better than T-24. Shaky, shaky!
11. John Rollins. Here's what we know about Rollins as a match-play competitor: Two years ago, as the lowest-ranked player in the Accenture field, he led Woods 1-up with two holes to play … and proceeded to lose 1-up about 20 minutes later. Just another victim of Tiger magic or a guy who felt a twinge of self-doubt when on the verge of victory? I tend to think the former. At 31, he's a tough player with two career wins and a mindset that won't see him back down from any of Europe's big names.
12. Jerry Kelly. "When you're [outside of the top 10], you want to go get 'em," Kelly said. "You want to win. I want to get that guy's spot. That's the mentality that I live for; that's the one that I feel like that I excel in." Unfortunately, this quote is from 2004, when Kelly eventually found himself on the outside looking in following the PGA. This year, after gaining some important points with a second-place finish in Milwaukee, Kelly inexplicably skipped the next two events rather than keep the momentum going. For a guy who has often stated his desire to play in the Cup, that's a puzzling scheduling maneuver.
13. Lucas Glover. No U.S. player has taken a tumble as dramatic as Glover, who was 10th in the standings just three weeks ago. Last week's final round at Warwick Hills served as a microcosm for his plight; in second place entering Sunday, Glover was paired with eventual champion Woods and shot an even-par 72 to drop into a share of 15th place, failing to collect Cup points for his eighth straight tournament. Said the 26-year-old, of the self-induced pressure to make the team: "I've got to figure out a way not to think about it."
14. Davis Love III. You really didn't think we could talk Ryder Cup without mentioning Love, did you? He's been a stalwart of the last six U.S. teams, but a below-average season -- he's earned Cup points in only one of 17 starts this year -- has left him well behind many less accomplished players. No matter. Even if he doesn't squeeze into the top 10 in the next two weeks, there's a great chance Love will be sitting at a podium come Monday morning after the PGA as one of Lehman's two captain's picks.
15. Fred Couples. Other than John Daly -- for whom one major golf magazine has been campaigning to be named to the team -- Couples would be the most fan-friendly selection to the roster. And for good reason. Couples' final-hole birdie against Vijay Singh in a Sunday singles match at last year's Presidents Cup should still be fresh in Lehman's mind. "I just felt like in my mind that if I was going to beat anyone and it was going to be probably their best player," Couples said at the time. Hmmm … sound like a guy you'd want on your side in a team competition? Thought so.
16. Tim Herron. For a guy who's usually one of the more predictable on tour -- Herron never has finished above 22nd or below 67th on the money list in 10 seasons -- he has been consistently inconsistent this season. There was that three-week stretch where he pulled a T-7 in New Orleans and a win at the Colonial, but he's also missed the cut eight times, including three of his last four starts. Lumpy is sitting out this week at Castle Pines, so he'll likely need to finish somewhere in the top three or four at the PGA to climb his way onto the team.
