ST. LOUIS — Now that the drama from the 100th PGA Championship has subsided — the crazed cheers from the galleries, mesmerized by Tiger Woods’ Sunday charge and by Brooks Koepka swallowing up Bellerive Country Club as if he was downing a protein shake during a workout, have silenced — the golf world turns its attention to the Ryder Cup.
Specifically, whom U.S. captain Jim Furyk will select as his four captain’s picks now that the qualified first eight are set as of the conclusion of the PGA.
The automatic eight who will compete Sept. 28-30 in France include Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Justin Thomas, Bubba Watson, Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler and Webb Simpson. Every one of those players has won at least one tournament this year except for Spieth, whose last win came at last year’s British Open.
Now, early next month after each of the FedExCup playoff events, Furyk will select his four captain’s picks.
Two of those four figure to be — and should be — already booked in Furyk’s mind: Woods and Phil Mickelson.
Furyk, speaking to reporters Monday at Bellerive to introduce his qualified eight players, was hesitant to delve into who his picks might be.
“Really, what we wanted to talk about today was the top eight players,” Furyk said in an attempt to steer questions away from his potential picks.
“I realize Tiger is a story,” Furyk said. “I realize he’s playing very well, and I’m excited to see that. I think there’s a lot of folks out there who probably think he can help us.”
There’s no justifiable argument to be made that Woods — after his tie for sixth at the British Open last month and Sunday’s runner-up finish at the PGA — should not be a player on the U.S. side. He’s already a member of the team as one of Furyk’s vice captains and figures to serve a role as both player and assistant.
“I do want to be on the team as a player,” Woods said. “Our captain has some decisions to make after the first [FedExCup] playoff events, and we’ll sit down and give him our input and what we think and who should be on the team, and who can contribute to the team … and hopefully my name will be part of that process.”
Woods’ performance at the PGA elevated him from 20th on the Ryder Cup points list to 11th.
“I’m not sure the numbers are always that important when I look down the list,” Furyk said. “What is important is how well Tiger has played. Sixth place at the Open Championship, a second place at the PGA. His game … I think the word he used is ‘trending.’ His game is trending.”
The case for picking Mickelson is a little more complicated, because he is not trending in the same direction as Woods, who has five top-10s and seven top-12s in 14 starts this year and whose 64 on Sunday was the lowest final-round score of his career.
Mickelson missed the cut at the PGA, did not contend at the British or the U.S. Open and has not been in great form since winning the WGC-Mexico in the spring.
But the value of Mickelson on the Ryder Cup team has to do with intangibles almost as much as it does with how many birdies he makes. Mickelson, who’s played on the last 11 U.S. Ryder Cup teams (as an automatic qualifier), has served as a playing captain for several years now.
He, too, was a catalyst in changing the culture of the U.S. Ryder Cup process, helping to initiate that “task force” that has shaped the cultivation of captains.
Mickelson also is known for being a player who can turn it on in big moments. And there are no bigger moments in golf than the Ryder Cup.
The two true wild cards after Woods and Mickelson are much more up for debate.
Barring a player getting hot and winning next week’s North Trust at Ridgewood and the Dell Technologies outside of Boston, Bryson DeChambeau, who’s No. 9 on the points list, and Kevin Kisner, who’s 14th, should round out Furyk’s four captain’s picks.
Kisner, who contended for much of the PGA, is the kind of fearless bulldog Furyk should want on his team. Kisner, too, has formed a successful partnership with Mickelson in team play.
The quirky and analytical DeChambeau has become a player Woods has taken to. Figure on Woods lobbying for DeChambeau and Mickelson doing the same for Kisner.
“We have some big tournaments coming home,” Furyk said. “We get an opportunity to see some more guys play well. Who has played well for the season is important, but the reason we put this system into place is to identify hot players, identify guys who are playing well right now who can help this team.”
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