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Golf Notes European Ryder Cup team decided this week
JACKSONVILLE, Florida (AP) -- Now that the U.S. team is set, Ryder Cup attention shifts to the BMW International Open in Germany, where 16 players are still in the running for three vacancies on the European team. 'It's going to be very tough for the guys ... trying to make the team,' said Darren Clarke, who finished atop the European standings. Two rookies -- Pierre Fulke and Niclas Fasth of Sweden -- already have locked up positions, and captain Sam Torrance faces the prospect of two more should Paul McGinley (No. 8) and Philip Price (No. 10) hold their positions. Right behind is another rookie, Ian Poulter of England. Torrance likely will take Sergio Garcia and Jesper Parnevik as his captain's choices, although Garcia can play his way onto the team by winning this week. The same goes for Jose Maria Olazabal, who otherwise might have to miss these matches. McGinley and Bernard Langer (No. 9) appear to be safe bets barring a bizarre set of circumstances. Most of the focus is on Price. If the Welshman misses the cut, Poulter needs only to finish 22nd to make his first team. Clarke didn't seem concerned. "I think the side looks very good at the moment," he said. "I don't really think it matters who gets there."
Player of the yearPhil Mickelson raised plenty of eyebrows last week when he suggested that no one has played better and that he still had a good shot at winning player of the year if he had a strong week at Firestone.There is no question Mickelson has played very well this year - he has finished in the top 10 in 13 tournaments and has had 42 out of 82 rounds in the 60s. But it's all relative -- especially when his record is held up to Tiger Woods. Woods has nine top-10 finishes and three more victories -- one of those was a major (Masters), the other as good as a major (Players Championship). Woods has as many scores in the 60s, while playing 18 fewer rounds. And while a victory at the NEC Invitational restored his lead on the money list, Woods has played seven fewer tournaments. He averages $342,859 per tournament; Mickelson averages $191,473. One more statistic worth note: Woods and Mickelson have played in the same tournament 12 times this year. Woods has finished higher in nine of them, four of them victories.
SoldAt the conclusion of every Ryder Cup, the U.S. captain gets to keep the cart he uses to drive around the course that week.Curtis Strange decided to donate his cart in advance to the Jimmy V. Foundation, established in memory of North Carolina State basketball coach Jim Valvano, who died of cancer. PGA of America spokesman Julius Mason said the cart went for $50,000 during an auction over the weekend. The buyer: retired basketball player Charles Barkley.
Hoch the historianScott Hoch will never be confused for Ben Crenshaw when it comes to golf history.While explaining that he only dislikes one course on the British Open rotation (St. Andrews), Hoch was asked how he felt about Lytham, where he missed the cut last month. He stared back quizzically. "Is that where we played this year?" he said. "I don't even remember the names. It was St. Lytham, right?" No, Scott. Royal Lytham & St. Annes. "OK, whatever," Hoch said. "I thought the course was fine." It's not just British courses, either. Hoch remembers the first time he played the Masters in 1979 as the U.S. Amateur runner-up. His local newspaper asked what he thought about driving down Magnolia Lane for the first time. "Bunch of old trees with a white house at the end," Hoch said. "I have never been into stuff on history or anything," he added. "Well, except when we went to Rome. That kind of history I like. But as far as golf history, no. Hallowed ground? I don't do that." And how was that trip to Rome this year? "We went in the Vatican and my wife was like, 'Isn't this awesome?' I was like, 'Yeah, pretty nice. Big place.'"
Q-RatingArnold Palmer is still the king in the annual Golf Personality Index commissioned by Golf World Business magazine. But Tiger Woods is closing fast.The magazine surveyed 1,500 avid golfers to measure consumer attitudes toward prominent golf figures. The criteria was familiarity, likability and credibility. Palmer scored a 72.7 rating, down from 76.3 a year ago. That gave him a slight edge over Jack Nicklaus (71.0, down from 73.2), while Woods' index increased from 67.6 last year to 70.2. Rounding out the top 10 were Phil Mickelson, Fred Couples, Tom Watson, Ernie Els, Davis Love III, Lee Trevino and Greg Norman. Golf World Business editor Mark Murphy suggested Woods' rise was related to his record-setting season in 2000, while Palmer might have dipped slightly for endorsing Callaway Golf's non-conforming driver. "But there's still no doubt that Arnold Palmer is No. 1 with avid golfers, and those are the people who influence this list the most," he said.
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