PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (AP)—There is plenty of evidence that this is a Ryder
Cup year.

The U.S. players are starting to earn points from regular PGA Tour events,
with Kyle Stanley atop the standings based on his runner-up finish and win in
consecutive weeks. Davis Love III walks onto the range and players call him
“captain.”

Love, however, said the race to make the team really doesn’t start until
late May. That’s when two dozen or so players begin getting fitted for uniforms.

“When I always played, you went to the Memorial, got measured for clothes,
and you started choking on points,” Love said Wednesday. “So that’s probably
the time that it’s serious, when you get measured for your clothes and the
points start settling out.”

Love still hasn’t announced his assistant captains, saying he will work with
European captain Jose Maria Olazabal to find a good time when they can do that
together. He thinks four assistants is a good number.

Love said he would consider past captains, and especially longtime friend
Fred Couples, even though Couples could be a distraction because the players
like him so much. Couples is 2-0 as Presidents Cup captain.

“I’m looking to get the guys to play more relaxed and have fun,” he said.
“Obviously, we want to win, and it seems like Fred has put together a formula
where they came out firing and relaxed and made some great pairings. So he and I
have already talked a lot, and he would be high on my list.

“I’m going to rely on my friends that have played a lot of Ryder Cups, and
Fred is definitely one of them.”

Love said, however, that Couples is a candidate to be Presidents Cup captain
for the third time.

———

HARRINGTON HOPE: Padraig Harrington has played on every Ryder Cup team for
Europe since 1999, and he barely made it on the last team as a captain’s pick.
This year might be particularly difficult for the three-time major champion.

Europe is so strong at the top that many feel it will be the toughest team
to make in history. That’s especially true for Harrington, who is coming off
such a poor season that he has fallen to No. 93 in the world. While is two
majors in 2008 keep him eligible for the four majors, he is not in the two World
Golf Championships over the next month.

Those are the short fields that, in short, offer free points.

“There’s no doubt I’m behind the eight-ball at this stage,” Harrington
said. “I haven’t got very many points. It’s not going to be a year that I can
play well and get into it. I’m going to have to play great to get into the team.
I’m not going to be able to pick up easy points and qualify that way. I’m going
to have to actually really play well to force my way in.”

———

FAXON’S LAMENT: Brad Faxon never missed the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am
when healthy, playing 26 times until he moved over to the 50-and-over Champions
Tour. He is in Boca Raton, Fla., this week and missing Pebble in a big way.

Faxon said he thought about asking for a sponsor’s exemption, but he had
done that the last three years. His hope is to prove himself on the Champions
Tour by winning—he already has one title—so that he’s not a “pitiful”
exemption.

How fond is he of the tournament?

“When I’m with friends, I tell more great stories about Pebble Beach than
any other place,” he said.

On cue, he delivered one of his favorites.

Faxon was playing at Cypress Point in 1985 in nasty conditions, with wind so
strong that play eventually was halted. It was so bad that Ed Doughtery took 11
putts on the 17th green and made a 14.

Faxon hit driver on the par-3 16th into the wind onto the green and nearly
made the putt for birdie. Then came the 17th, which played about 360 yards, but
into the wind Faxon knew he couldn’t reach in two. He hit a good drive and had
198 yards left.

Then, play was suspended until the next day.

“I got back out there and the wind was blowing 30 mph, but from the
opposite direction,” he said. “I hit 6-iron to the green and made par. Then on
the 18th, David Frost had hit 5-iron and wedge (with the wind) the day before. I
hit driver and 5-iron and made birdie to make the cut on the number.

“And the next day,” he said, “I was paired with Jack Nicklaus for the
first time.”

———

MR. ANTI-GADGET: Spencer Levin might be considered old school when it comes
to technology.

He has an email account, but he hasn’t checked it in about eight years. And
he doesn’t’ have a cell phone. He dropped his phone in the water during the
offseason and hasn’t replaced it.

Levin is not exactly losing sleep over this.

“I just haven’t bothered to get a new one,” he said. “I have no desire
to. My girlfriend has got all my buddies’ numbers, so I can talk to my friends
through her phone. That’s how I do it.”

By Bernie McGuire

ABU DHABI, Jan 24 (Reuters) – European Ryder Cup
captain Jose Maria Olazabal will wait until the completion of
The Barclays tournament in the United States in August before
making his two wildcard picks, avoiding a repeat of 2010 when
Paul Casey was overlooked.

The 2010 captain Colin Montgomerie made his three wildcard
picks at the end of European qualifying at the Johnnie Walker
Championship in Scotland, a few hours before the end of The
Barclays.

Casey, then number nine in the world, learned he had been
left out while he was on the course playing his final round at
The Barclays.

“The scenario the last time was a delicate one, especially
for the captain and also for the players playing in the States,”
said Olazabal, who was behind the change to two picks from the
previous three.

“So we are going to wait until the Monday after until
whatever happens in the States before we make a decision.”

Ireland’s Padraig Harrington was six holes into the final
round of the 2010 Barclays in New Jersey when he learnt from his
wife that Montgomerie had chosen him as a wildcard.

Harrington was competing alongside Casey who was overlooked
by Montgomerie in favour of Harrington, Luke Donald and Edoardo
Molinari.

“Looking at what happened two years ago it was not a
comfortable decision for anybody playing in the States as they
could be on the verge of winning that tournament,” said
Olazabal.

“It would be completely unfair to name the two picks before a
guy tees off in the States.”

The 2012 Ryder Cup between Europe and the United States
takes place in Medinah, Illinois from Sept. 28-30.

(Editing by Justin Palmer; To query or comment on this story
email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

By Mark Lamport-Stokes

Dec 23 (Reuters) – Frustrated for much of this year by
a lingering foot injury, Britain’s Paul Casey has set his sights
on a healthy 2012 campaign, another victory on the U.S. PGA Tour
and a long coveted return to the European Ryder Cup team.

Though the Englishman won two tournaments worldwide during
2011, his form and consistency were adversely affected after he
was hampered by a sore right toe in May, a condition which was
never accurately diagnosed until months later.

“It’s been incredibly frustrating,” Casey told. “The trouble
with the toe injury was that I didn’t really know what was going
on until it was too late.

“I picked it up in late May, battled through it and I didn’t
really get a full diagnosis until August. By then, it was too
late to take a medical (exemption) so I tried to play through it
and got into a lot of bad habits.”

An 11-times winner on the European Tour whose only PGA Tour
victory came at the 2009 Houston Open, Casey played with a plate
in his right shoe and his toes taped up over the last six
months.

“It was a joint in my foot which wasn’t allowing my foot to
move correctly and that put pressure on my toe,” the world
number 21 said.

“What’s interesting is that if I swing the club the way I
should swing it, correctly and the way I used to swing it, the
toe is fine.

“But those bad habits led to erratic golf. My weight got
back on the heels and the club started to go up rather than
around, very simply it was too steep.”

Casey, who climbed to a career-high third in the world
rankings in 2009, has worked hard in recent months to shift his
weight back on to his toes, and on to the balls of the feet.

“That’s where it should be,” he said. “I need to do a better
job of turning because I ended up hitting the ball with the
hands and the arms this year a lot. I just need to put those
things right.”

WINNING TWICE

Asked to assess his 2011 campaign, Casey replied: “Well I’ve
managed to win twice around the world, but not on the PGA Tour,
and I’ve sort of clung on to a world ranking.

“I have dropped a bit but I am still ranked twenty-something
and that’s with playing very average golf for me. Touch wood, I
can stay healthy and 2012 can be a great season for me.”

An inveterate goal setter whose most recent victory came at
the Korean tour’s Shinhan Donghae Open in October, Casey has
established clear-cut targets for next year.

“My very lofty goals I haven’t yet achieved so they’re going
to be the same in 2012, and those will be the majors and World
Golf (Championships) events,” he said.

“But I have other goals … winning tournaments, winning a
certain number of world ranking points, making the Ryder Cup
team, being back in the winner’s circle on the PGA Tour.”

Casey is especially motivated to represent Europe at the
2012 Ryder Cup in Medinah, Illinois, having failed to qualify
for the 2010 team that regained the trophy at Celtic Manor in
Wales.

“I am really hungry to get back on that team,” said the
34-year-old, a Cup player in 2004, 2006 and 2008. “With the
depth of talent that we’ve got in Europe, it’s probably going to
be the most difficult team to make since I’ve been on tour.

“But first things first, I need to win golf tournaments and
get back on that team. And stay healthy.”

(Editing by Julian Linden; To query or comment on this story
email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

By Bernie McGuire

HAIKOU, China, Nov 28 (Reuters) – Gary Woodland is
targeting a United States Ryder Cup debut in Illinois next
September after combining with Matt Kuchar to win the World Cup
team competition.

“The Ryder Cup has always been a huge goal of mine and that
goal is now much more important after Matt and I won the World
Cup,” Woodland told Reuters in an interview.

“Ever since I turned professional I have dreamt about being
in a U.S. Ryder Cup team and it now seems a big step closer.

“I had the goal at the start of the year to make the
Presidents Cup. That didn’t pan out but then Matt chose me to
partner him in the World Cup and I could not have been happier.”

Sunday’s victory in China means the U.S. now hold the
Presidents Cup and World Cup trophies and the only professional
team title no longer in their possession is the Ryder Cup.

Woodland, who landed his first U.S. PGA Tour victory at the
Transitions Championship in Florida in March, said his
experiences at the Mission Hills resort last week would help him
in his quest to qualify for the team that will be captained by
Davis Love III next year.

HOME TURF

“Europe has kind of had the States’s number in most of the
recent Ryder Cups but it would be nice to be in the team that
win back the trophy on home turf,” said the 27-year-old.

“It’s been a long while since the States had the Ryder Cup,
World Cup and Presidents Cup in the same trophy cabinet but for
me winning the World Cup is going to be a big inspiration to
make the Ryder Cup team.

“Any time you can prove you can play foursomes and fourballs
in a team format it definitely helps. It helps my confidence and
it further boosts Matt’s confidence given that he was also on
the winning Presidents Cup side the week before,” added
Woodland.

“Hopefully both he and I can play well enough in 2012 to
make Davis’s side. I grew up watching the Ryder Cup and it would
be an honour for me to play.”

He said the fatherly approach that the likes of Phil
Mickelson and Jim Furyk adopted at the Presidents Cup in
Australia could only bolster the chances of the American team.

“There are now a lot of younger players who could qualify
for the next Ryder Cup side,” Woodland explained.

“The strong aspect of the U.S. team is there are guys like
Phil Mickelson and Jim Furyk, who I heard were excellent in the
Presidents Cup and were acting very much like coaches down there
in Australia.

“They were very helpful to the younger members of the team
and that’s something Matt undertook with me this week. He was
always very positive, very encouraging and always very helpful
in putting me at ease.

“Now the likelihood the next Ryder Cup team is going to be
much younger than we’ve seen in a long time, it’s great that
players like Phil, Jim and Matt are taking on this father-like
role.”

Woodland, who is ranked 48th in the world, said he benefited
hugely from combining with number 11 Kuchar at the World Cup.

“I’ve learned so much from playing alongside Matt and that’s
going to be a great springboard for me to take into 2012,” he
said.

“I also hope Davis has taken some notes because I hope I’ve
proved I can handle myself capably in a team format.”

(Editing by Tony Jimenez. To comment on this story:
sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)