SPRINGFIELD, N.J. – One way or another, PGA Tour veterans Jim Furyk and Steve Stricker will participate in the Ryder Cup at Hazeltine National Golf Club two months from now.
Given their druthers, two men already committed to serve as U.S. captain Davis Love III's vice captains prefer to play their way there.
Whether shaped by Stricker's limited schedule or Furyk's lengthy wrist injury, both are well down the U.S. qualification points standings — Furyk is 18th, Stricker 23rd — that a month from now will automatically decide the first eight players for the 12-man team.
Each man made Friday's cut at the 98th PGA Championship, and a strong finish Sunday (or Monday or Tuesday) at Baltusrol Golf Club will move either significantly up the list. That's because the season's last major rewards double points for every dollar won. No matter the mathematics, each probably is playing as much to attract the attention of Love — their longtime peer and pal — when it comes to making his final four captain's picks.
Stricker is 49 and has played in three Ryder Cups. Furyk is 46 and has played in 10. They'd add experience and age to the U.S. team that will include 46-year-old Phil Mickelson but is anchored in good part by 23-year-old Jordan Spieth, in a year when 20-something players Brooks Koepka, Rickie Fowler and Patrick Reed all are just on the other side of that top-eight bubble.
"I think it's on everyone's mind," Furyk said after Saturday morning's 1-under-par 69 that left him even for a championship that was suspended by afternoon thunderstorms. "It's an honor to represent your country. I think most guys playing that event — the competition, the camaraderie, the history of it, it's my favorite event. In one respect, it's nice to know I'm going to be there to help the United States team. Obviously, I'd like to play, but I also have to play well here the next month or so."
Furyk returned in May after seven months away injured and played his first tournament practice round with Love. He tied for second at the U.S. Open in June, finished 13th at the RBC Canadian Open last week and played well these past three days on Baltusrol's brawny Lower Course.
Love said he'll have his number crunchers analyze "10,000 times" what Furyk might have done had he played his regular schedule or if Stricker chose to play a busier schedule. Love said he, his vice captains and the players themselves "know who the best players are and who they want."
