Woods must wait on Ryder Cup wild card spot
TIGER WOODS must rely on a wild card pick from captain Corey Pavin if he is to make the US Ryder Cup team this year.
The world No1 tied for 28th in the US PGA Championship at Whistling Straits at the weekend – not enough to propel him into the eight automatic qualifying places.
As it is, Woods, the 14-time Major champion, lies 12th in the standings and must now rely on receiving one of Pavin’s four wild card picks on 7 September to book his place at Celtic Manor in October.
In truth, Woods is a near certainty to be offered a pick, although Pavin refuses to guarantee him a place in the side to be fair to the other players.
“Well, Corey texts me a lot so I’m sure he’ll be texting me or calling me and I’m sure we’ll be talking,” Woods said. “I’m looking forward to it. Hopefully, Corey will pick me on the team.” He then joked: “I think I’ve got a chance of helping out in the singles.”
US?PGA runner-up Bubba Watson climbed 15 spots to claim his place in the American side, although Anthony Kim and Zach Johnson were among those to miss out.
Meanwhile, champion Martin Kaymer guaranteed his place on the European team by leaping up to third in the standings, although Luke Donald, Padraig Harrington and Justin Rose are among a cluster of big names also relying on wild cards from captain Colin Montgomerie.
Harrington missed out on the top nine by less than £1,000.
USA STANDINGS
1. Phil Mickelson 6,095.063
2. Hunter Mahan 4,095.620
3. Bubba Watson 3,894.319
4. Jim Furyk 3,763.642
5. Steve Stricker 3,697.976
6. Dustin Johnson 3,573.804
7. Jeff Overton 3,533.148
8. Matt Kuchar 3,415.813
12. Tiger Woods 2,902.580
EUROPEAN STANDINGS
WORLD LIST
1 Lee Westwood (Eng) 422.0
2 Rory McIlroy (NI) 316.9
3 Martin Kaymer (Ger) 285.4
4 Graeme McDowell (NI) 249.3
NEXT 5 ON EURO LIST
5 Ian Poulter (Eng) 2,238,874
6 Ross Fisher (Eng) 1,708,614
7 Francesco Molinari (Ita) 1,612,747
8 M-A Jimenez (Spa) 1,499,775
9 Paul Casey (Eng) 1,487,776