GOLF:AMAZING, REALLY, how the best-laid plans can change. Rory McIlroy and Ian Poulter, after failing to qualify for the US Tour Championship, the final leg of the FedEx Cup, won't be making any late adjustments to their schedules and, like Tiger Woods, will use the unexpected two-week break to practice before resuming competition at the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor on October 1st-3rd.
In fact, Poulter is ready to get into wind-down mode with the Ryder Cup due to be his only tournament outing in the next seven weeks. He won’t play again after the Ryder Cup until the HSBC Champions tournament in China in November.
By the way, the Englishman wasn’t amused by comments by US television analyst Johnny Miller questioning his ball-striking.
“I guess I do all right for a duffer,” Poulter retorted.
McIlroy, too, has decided to take off the weeks up to the Ryder Cup match.
In contrast, a number of their European team-mates are using this week’s low-budget Austrian Open to fine-tune their games. Graeme McDowell, the US Open champion, and Spain’s Miguel Angel Jimenez are competing in Austria, while Pádraig Harrington, who added the Vivendi Cup to his schedule after an earlier departure from the FedEx Cup series, will join Edoardo Molinari and Peter Hanson at next week’s tour stop-off in Paris.
Ironically, of the four European players to survive into the Tour Championship next week in Atlanta, only one – Luke Donald – will be competing in Celtic Manor. The others – Paul Casey, Justin Rose and Martin Laird – didn’t make Colin Montgomerie’s team, of course, and were not given a wild card, which makes Casey’s quest for the huge financial rewards on offer to the man who goes on to win the FedEx title all the more intriguing.
Casey, on this occasion, and unlike the wild card announcements, has destiny in his hands, as a win in Atlanta would at least provide financial solace for being overlooked for the Ryder Cup.
The winner of the Tour championship lifts €1 million ($1.3 million) and the winner of the FedEx Cup claims a €7.7 million ($10 million) bonus.
Up to seventh in the world on the back on his runner-up finish to Dustin Johnson in the BMW Championship at Cog Hill outside Chicago on Sunday, Casey refused to use his Ryder Cup omission as a reason for extra motivation in achieving his personal goals.
“No – I can’t go there, unfortunately,” replied Casey to such a query after the BMW.
Intriguingly, Casey revealed last week that he had been “relaying” messages with Montgomerie, although the nature of the messages wasn’t revealed.
There have been suggestions Casey has been placed on standby in case Lee Westwood, who hasn’t played since before the US PGA, fails to recover from his calf injury.
As of now, though, Casey intends to go on a biking holiday in Canada the week of the Ryder Cup.
Westwood has been recuperating in Portugal and has begun putting and chipping, with the plan to be fit for the week of the match.
But he won’t play in any tournament to test out his fitness. He has claimed the “signs are good” of being able to play at Celtic Manor.
Casey, while claiming his omission from Europe’s team was “done and dusted”, nevertheless hasn’t entirely let go of the bone.
“I did pick up some stuff about not supporting the (European) Tour, and I know the facts. I know how many I played in Europe compared to guys who were picked,” said Casey.
“I think with guys like (Martin) Kaymer, (Graeme) McDowell and possibly others in the near future joining the (US) PGA Tour, what are we going to do?”
While Casey can deflect his angst at his Ryder Cup omission by pursuing the FedEx Cup, world number one Woods, who has missed out on defending his Tour Championship title, has settled on two weeks of practice rather than a hoped for one-week break.
“It’ll be good because I can practice at home with Sean (Foley, his new coach) in peace and away from everybody and put some work in.”
McDowell, meanwhile, heads a small Irish contingent in Austria this week where he is joined by Damien McGrane, who is seeking to consolidate his place in the Race to Dubai standings, and Simon Thornton and Gary Murphy, who are involved in battles of different magnitude to retain their full cards.
McGINLEY ADMITS WORRY OVER WESTWOOD
COLIN MONTGOMERIE'S Ryder Cup selection dilemma, and Paul Casey's Ryder Cup dreams, may not be over after it emerged that Europe's captain may be forced to make another wild card pick should Lee Westwood fail to recover from injury in time to play at Celtic Manor.
Westwood, who has not played competitive golf for more than a month, is recuperating from a leg injury, and Paul McGinley, one of Europe's vice-captains, conceded in an interview with the Guardian the world number three's fitness will be "an unknown factor until he turns up".
If Westwood is forced to withdraw from the 12-man team, his place is supposed to go automatically to the next man on the world points qualifying list, Edoardo Molinari. But since the Italian was one of Montgomerie's three captain's picks, another wild-card selection would be required, a European Tour spokesman confirmed.
McGinley admitted concerns about Westwood's fitness have boosted America's chances of retaining the Ryder Cup early next month.
"A couple of months ago we were quite clear favourites," he said, "but in the last two months things have changed. We have been hurt by Lee Westwood's injury. There's no doubt about that. It's going to be an unknown factor until Lee turns up that week and we see how he feels, having not competed since the Open. That's a disappointment for Europe.
"I also think the American team has got a lot stronger over the last two months and we've had some issues – none more so than Lee having been injured and not having played. He's our number one player, so I think it's going to be a very close Ryder Cup."
