SI: Furyk Not A Lock; Davis Has A "Man Crush" On Rickie

Alan Shipnuck spent the Barclays week fitting in some range chats between sightseeing and golf, and senses that Jim Furyk is most definitely not a lock for the U.S. Ryder Cup team.

Captain Love makes his picks Tuesday, September 4th, giving this year's Deutsche Bank Championship extra meaning in the selection derby since he reiterates to Shipnuck that he is more than willing to pick a golfer playing well in the final two weeks.

In talking to Love, reading the tea leaves of those around him and sifting through the driving range -innuendo at the Barclays, the latest consensus is that Stricker's a lock, Love has a man crush on Fowler, Furyk has been downgraded to a maybe, Snedeker's stock is surging, Mahan (who missed his second straight cut and has one top 10 in the last five months) is now a long shot and Watney and Johnson have such a similar skill set it's unlikely both would get the nod.

And regarding players rounding into form...

"I've been saying I want a hot player," the captain added. "I felt all along these two weeks [the Barclays and Deutsche Bank] would identify that guy. Someone is going to play their way onto the team."

Padraig Harrington Was A Tough Call For Captain Ollie; Well Not Really

Oh, the phone call was painful, implied European Ryder Cup Captain Jose Maria Olazabal but Harrington was not even on his radar according to this unbylined Scotsman item.

However, he insisted the Irishman could have no complaints after finishing 19th on the European points list at the end of a year-long qualifying campaign. “I felt I had to make the phone call to Padraig more than anyone else,” said Olazabal, who also got in touch with David Lynn, Rafael Cabrero-Bello, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano and Alvaro Quiros after they’d fallen just short as well. “Padraig is a very good player, but you could also say that about the likes of Paul Casey, Henrik Stenson and Robert Karlsson, other former Ryder Cup players. The fact is that he [Harrington] didn’t perform well enough. He’s a great champion, but Thomas [Bjorn] was also ahead of him on the list.”

So Padraig was always behind Bjorn and Olazabal is lumping him in with Casey (injured), Stenson (111th in the world) and Karlsson (swing yips).

It's a shame he's got four cart drivers already, as future captain Harrington would have looked great behind the wheel of a Club Car!

"That essentially leaves Love having to look at five players - maybe more - for two spots."

It wasn't that long ago that Captain Davis Love appeared to have a wealth of attractive options for his four Ryder Cup Captain's picks, but as Doug Ferguson lays out, Love now faces a tough decision made tougher by Nick Watney's win Sunday.

Working on the premise that Steve Stricker and Jim Furyk are locks and leaving two more picks, Ferguson writes:

Watney was enduring a lost season until winning The Barclays. That doesn't make him a frontrunner, but he is a big blip on the radar at the very least. Brandt Snedeker already was under consideration - a winner at Torrey Pines, a contender at the British Open and a guy who can putt. He showed that at The Barclays, making a 15-footer for par on the 17th and a birdie putt from about that length on the 18th to finish alone in second.

Dustin Johnson, who has won every year since his rookie season in 2008, tied for third at Barclays. His sheer power and talent is difficult to ignore. Fowler showed up on the leaderboard until Saturday, when Bethpage Black became Bethpage Brown and sent scores soaring. Not to be forgotten is Hunter Mahan, who was poised to make the team on his own until he finished toward the bottom of the pack at Firestone and missed the cut at the PGA Championship and the Barclays.

The list can get even longer depending on the Deutsche Bank Championship, especially if Bo Van Pelt or someone like Bill Haas were to win.

No one will be under greater pressure than Mahan. He won twice this year, but has only one top 10 over the last five months. And he is the opposite of Furyk, who has qualified for every team. Mahan has been a captain's pick twice for the Presidents Cup, once for the Ryder Cup.

No love for Rickie?

I'd go with who is playing (and putting) well, meaning Watney and Snedeker. You?

2012 European Ryder Cup Team Set

An unbylined Telgraph story on nearly unrecognizable (he shaved!) Jose Maria Olazabal announcing captain's picks Nicolas Colsaerts and Ian Poulter.

As protocol demands, Captain Ollie made the tough phone calls Sunday night, none tougher than the one to old sparring buddy Padraig Harrington.

"It's never an easy decision," he said. "Obviously there's a few more players in the mix every time. I talked to the vice-captains quite a bit regarding the picks. We studied different possibilities. We had a few discussions regarding that. The last time we talked was on Friday this week.

"It's not an easy moment. They are all disappointed. I know they really wanted to be in the team. I talked to the next four or five guys on the list – I talked to David [Lynn], to Rafa [Cabrera Bello], Alvaro [Quiros] and Padraig [Harrington]. I made those phone calls. It's not easy. I've been in that equation. They took the news well. That's the way it is."

While he's the only rookie, Bob Harig explains how the long-off-the-tee Colsaerts should have little problem with Medinah's length. And Alistair Tait says this was a long time coming for Colsaerts, a former party animal.

A Guardian slideshow of the 12 players. Besides Colsaerts and Poulter, the others: Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, Paul Lawrie, Graeme McDowell, Francesco Molinari, Luke Donald, Lee Westwood, Sergio Garcia, Peter Hanson and Martin Kaymer.

Olazabal also talked about the state of Kaymer's game.

Captain Ollie Adds Mechanic To Team Europe's Elite Cart Driving Squad

Miguel Angel "The Mechanic" Jimenez hopes to have an extra large ashtray in his six-seat Club Car as he whizzes around Medinah next month looking important.

From the wires and posted on GolfChannel.com, a confident sounding Team Europe Lead Driver Jose Maria Olazabal:

“Miguel’s announcement means that I now have four world-class golfers as my vice captains – all with tremendous experience of playing in the Ryder Cup which is absolutely invaluable," Olazabal said in a statement.

Now, if The Mechanic would just lead the European squad in a pre-round team driving range warm-up session, we'd be in for a fun week.

Captain Ollie Fights Back Against Padraig Bias Claim: "A load of BS just to put it gently."

A Sky Sports post-round interview can be viewed here and the unbylined story accompanying it features Jose Maria Olazabal fighting back against questions that he's letting a Seve Trophy incident cloud his judgement as Ryder Cup Captain.

Asked whether Harrington was in his thoughts for a pick, he told Sky Sports: "Well he's as close as some other players, not closer than other players - simple as that.

"If you look at the list he's well back there isn't he. Sergio (Garcia) needed a win, or to make the top three last week to make the team, he's not any different to Sergio is he? So I don't know what it's all about.

"He's an experienced player obviously, but at the moment he's not been able to deliver, period. Simple as that."

When pressed about their falling out, he added: "If people believe that that is interfering with my judgement well, first of all they're completely wrong, and if it was the case I would be failing as a captain.

"So that is a load of BS just to put it gently."

Finally! A Playoff Storyline Worth Paying Attention To: The Race To Make The European Ryder Cup Team

We saw signs of potential cracks in the Euro armor Wednesday when Sergio made clear that Padraig would not top Ollie's list as a possible European captain's pick, but considering their history it was hardly a shock that Garcia might prefer others.

When Captain Jose Maria Olazabal was told of Padraig Harrington's Barclay's opening round 64 and said the Irishman needed "at least a win" to be considered for one of the two picks, the official soap opera had begun. This at least saved us from having to figure out what the algorithm geeks had done with resets and other nonsense to get Tiger Woods to East Lake in the "playoffs."

Maybe the worst part about today's news for Captain Ollie is the tone of the reports, where press idol Padraig is definitely winning the early PR battle.

From James Corrigan in the Independent, who points out how the European Tour quietly tries to force players to appear at Gleneagles this week instead of at Bethpage:

That’s “at least a win” against a field containing nine of the world’s top 10 and one which, if the cut-off point had not been somewhat arbitrarily placed at the end of the Johnnie Walker five hours before, would probably have seen him leapfrog from 19th into the automatic standings. So now Harrington knows.

Cameron Morfit at Bethpage, reporting on Harrington's attempts to diplomatically "plead the fifth" when talking about Olazabal's duty to put the best possible team together.

Still, Harrington looked anguished as he sat behind the microphone, facing reporters. How would you characterize your relationship with European Ryder Cup captain Jose Maria Olazabal? The question hung in the air as Harrington stared down at the table in front of him for one second, two seconds, three…

“You know, I don’t know where I sit,” Harrington said. “Or maybe I do.”

The scribes broke up laughing.

An unbylined AP report tells us what could be a real problem-solver for the Captain: the fine first round play of Nicolas Colsaerts at Gleneagles. A first or second place in the Johnnie Walker and Colsaerts dislodges the struggling Martin Kaymer, while freeing up a spot for Olazabal to pick Harrington or someone he doesn't dislike so much.

"(It's) a pretty good start and that's exactly what I wanted," Colsaerts said. "As for the Ryder Cup, I can only manage what I do. But we've only played one round and anybody can still make a great story happen."
The big-hitting Belgian made five birdies — including four in five holes on Nos. 14-18 — to share eighth place. He must finish first or second be assured of an automatic position in the matches next month against the United States at Medinah in Illinois.

Here is the Golf Channel highlight package focusing on the first round play at Bethpage of Ryder Cup hopefuls on both sides.

I knew these playoffs would get interesting!

Captain Olazabal: Padraig Needs "At least" A Win

From a European Tour story, European Captain Jose Maria Olazabal reacting to Padraig Harrington's opening 64 at The Barclays.

Olazábal was reminded that two weeks ago he said Harrington needed to do something extraordinary to make the side.

So what now constitutes extraordinary? "At least a win," Olazábal replied with a smile.

Considering the chemistry these two have, Americans should be pulling for Padraig to win this week!

Sergio On Padraig: "He wouldn’t be a sure pick for me!”

Brian Keogh with a terrifically entertaining look at the bad blood between European Captain Jose Maria Olazabal that appears to pale compared to the general dislike Sergio Garcia has for the Irishman dating to the '07 Open and '08 PGA losses. Padraig Harrington shares the feeling.

Though Sergio at least is honest in his assessment of Harrington's chances to make the Ryder Cup team as a Captain's pick.

“I don’t think he’s a sure pick personally. He wouldn’t be a sure pick for me!”

Monty: If I Were Captain, Padraig Would Be Selected!

Okay, I officially feel like an idiot.

Merely trying to stir up a little Ryder Cup discussion and maybe a nasty Tweet from Ian Poulter, I suggested Padraig Harrington would make a great Ryder Cup captain's pick even though he has the yips.

Well, now European Captain Emeritus Monty has endorsed Paddy, reports Brian Keogh.

“I would encourage Jose to pick as many experienced players as possible but that is not my position right now.”

I feel ashamed, yes.

Updated European Ryder Cup Standings, Final Week

Entering the final week of qualifying on points at the Johnnie Walker, the team as it stands according to Reuters: McIlroy, Rose, McDowell, Lawrie, Molinari, Donald, Westwood, Garcia, Hanson, Kaymer.

Who are you captain's picks? I would lean toward Colsaerts and Harrington. One rookie, one veteran.

Flash: Olazabal Names Clarke To Vice Cart-Driving Role After Assurances He Will Not Repeat Past Buggy Crashing Antics

Alistair Tait says the naming of Thomas Bjorn, Darren Clarke and Paul McGinley as three of four vice captains for September's Ryder Cup at Medinah will be rounded out by Miguel Angel Jimenez, assuming the Spaniard does not make it on points and the team hotel has smoking rooms.

Clarke has a bit of history behind the wheel, getting out of a speeding ticket by flashing the Claret Jug and more of a concern for potential European players, rolling a buggy at his home and sustaining minor injuries.

"You know Darren, I'll just catch a ride from Oly or Miguel or Thomas or Paul, if you don't mind," could be a popular refrain at Medinah.

American captain Davis Love recently rounded out his foursome of Senior Ego Masseurs, adding Scott Verplank and Jeff Sluman to the previously announced Mike Hulbert and Fred Couples.