Players positioning for Ryder Cup berths
By Thomas Bonk
Los Angeles Times
| PGA championship
Site: Whistling Straits. Length: 7,514 yards Par: 36-36—72. Format: 72 holes, stroke play. Playoff: Three holes, stroke play. Purse: $6.25 million. Winner's share: $1,125,000 Field: 156 professionals (25 club pros). Defending champion: Shaun Micheel. Television (HST): Today, 8 a.m. (TNT); tomorrow, 8 a.m. (TNT). |
Jay Haas is currently 10th, followed by Jerry Kelly, Stewart Cink, Jeff Maggert and Scott Verplank.
To bump Haas, one of the players must finish in the top 10. That will be impossible for Maggert, who is not playing this week.
"If I play well, everything will take care of itself," Kelly said.
Hal Sutton, the U.S. Ryder Cup captain, has taken notice of Kelly.
"Jerry likes to think of himself as a fighter and I see a lot of fight in Jerry," Sutton said. "I liked his comments where he said that he felt 11th was even a better position than being in 10th because he had something he had to go for."
The U.S. players guaranteed positions on the team are Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Davis Love III, Jim Furyk, Kenny Perry and David Toms. The rest of the top 10 is Chad Campbell, Fred Funk, Steve Flesch and Haas.
Sutton will announce his two captain's picks Monday.
The European team won't be settled for three weeks, but captain Bernhard Langer has plans to prepare his team for a potentially dangerous situation at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomington, Mich.
"I will make it pretty clear to them that they might face a hostile crowd," Langer said. "I will prepare them for it. I don't know if that will make a huge difference, but I want them to be aware of it so they don't go into total shock when it might happen."
