The pattern has become clear: lose a Ryder Cup, tweak the qualifying process.
The European PGA Tour announced three major changes on Wednesday for the 2018 team that will be captained by Thomas Bjorn and attempt to win the cup back from the U.S. in France.
The easy fix was to give Bjorn four captain’s picks instead of three, mirroring the flexibility created by the PGA of America for the U.S. captain in 2016. More Ryder Cup points will be offered for events later in a Cup year and to boost the European Tour’s Rolex Series, eight tournaments in which prize money has been increased to at least $7 million each, the European Tour will not award points for finishes on PGA Tour events played the same week.
That may affect the number of European players competing in U.S. tournaments such as the Quicken Loans National, hosted by Tiger Woods, the Dean and Deluca Invitational at Colonial, the Greenbrier and the RSM Classic at Sea Island, Ga. Based on this year’s calendar, they are opposite events on the Rolex Series that include the Irish Open, the Scottish Open, the Italian Open and the French Open.
“I’m confident that we’re going to have the 12 best European players representing us in France,” Bjorn said in a statement.
Europe lost to the U.S. for only the third time in 11 Ryder Cups last fall at Hazeltine National, 17-11.
Spieth, Thomas among new PAC members
In addition to being two of the brightest young stars on the PGA Tour, Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas are highly regarded off the course by their peers, judging by recent results of voting for the 2017 Players Advisory Council.
Thomas, who has won in back-to-back weeks in Hawaii and broke the 36-hole and 72-hole scoring records last week at the Sony Open, and Spieth, the 2015 player of the year, were voted by fellow players to the PAC, along with 14 others who will advise and consult the PGA Tour staff.
Matt Kuchar of St. Simons Island, Ga., Roberto Castro and Johnson Wagner were also named the three finalists to run for PAC chairman, with voting ending on Feb. 17. The chairman will then serve a three-year term on the PGA Tour Policy Board, replacing Jason Bohn after this season.
Also elected to the PAC were two other area residents, Harold Varner III and Tim Wilkinson. The other new PAC members are Paul Casey, Ben Crane, Andres Gonzales, James Hahn, J.J. Henry, Billy Hurley III, Geoff Ogilvy, Rod Pampling and Steve Stricker.
The current policy board members are Bohn, Davis Love III, Charley Hoffman and Kevin Streelman.
Dufner accepts putting woes
Most players, from 20-handicappers to the world’s top professionals, throw clubs, utter oaths to the heavens and lose sleep over their putting.
Jason Dufner has an attitude that more or less explains his laid-back approach to his golf game.
Dufner, who is defending his title in the CareerBuilder championship this week in La Quinta, Calif., has always been a good ball-striker, despite a bout with injuries that caused him to re-vamp his swing in 2015. In the past two full seasons, he’s been sixth and 24 in greens in regulation and 58th and 27th in driving accuracy, returning to the form in 2013, when he won the PGA Championship and finished 19th on the FedEx Cup points list.
His ranks for strokes gained putting, the Tour’s primary statistic for measuring success on the greens: 164th and 177th.
However, Dufner shrugs his shoulders and admits he’ll never be a great putter. His solution is to keep hitting it close.
“I’ve been putting bad for 17 years,” he told the Associated Press. “It’s tough to change. I can hit it good enough to make up for it. I’ll wait for my weeks where I putt good and try to win.”
Finchem to be honored
Former PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem was named the winner of the William D. Richardson Award, voted annually by the Golf Writers Association of America for individuals making contributions to golf. He will be honored at the April 5 GWAA banquet in Augusta, Ga., along with Stewart Cink and Ben Crenshaw, co-winners of the ASAP Sports/Jim Murray Award for players voted the most cooperative and accommodating with the media. … Justin Thomas hit tee shots that went 330 yards or longer on 34 of the 116 driving holes at the two tournaments he won in Hawaii, nearly a third. … When Thomas followed up his 59 last week at the Waialae Country Club with a 64, he produced the lowest follow-up round to a sub-60 score of the seven players who have done it on the PGA Tour. the previous low was last year, when Jim Furyk of Ponte Vedra Beach shot 66 in the first round of the Wyndham Championship, after his 58 in the final round of the Travelers Championship.
PGA Tour
Event: CareerBuilder Championship, Thursday-Sunday, PGA West TPC Stadium Course, Nicklaus Tournament Course, La Quinta Country Club, La Quinta, Calif.
At stake: $5.8 million purse ($1,044,000 and 500 FedEx Cup points to the winner).
Defending champion: Jason Dufner
TV: Golf Channel (Thursday-Sunday, 3-7 p.m.).
Area players entered: Blayne Barber, Jonas Blixt, Bud Cauley, Matt Every, Brian Harman, Zach Johnson, David Lingmerth, Sam Saunders, Hudson Swafford, Harold Varner III, Tim Wilkinson.
Notable: Dufner opened 64-65 but fell into a playoff with Lingmerth. Dufner then parred the second playoff hole to Lingmerth’s bogey to win for the first time since his 2013 PGA Championship. … Phil Mickelson will make his 2017 debut after undergoing two hernia surgeries during the off-season. Also playing are Paul Casey, Patrick Reed and Bryson DeChambeau.
PGA Tour Champions
Event: Mitsubishi Electric Championship, Thursday-Saturday, Hualalai Golf Course, Ka’upulehu-Kona, Hawaii.
At stake: $1.8 million purse ($324,000 to the winner).
Defending champion: Duffy Waldorf.
TV: Golf Channel (Thursday-Saturday, 7-10 p.m.).
Area players entered: Fred Funk, Sandy Lyle, Vijay Singh.
Notable: Waldorf drained a 25-foot birdie putt on the final hole to edge Tom Lehman by one shot. … The field of 49 players includes 11 members of the World Golf Hall of Fame and 25 players who have combined to win 37 major championship. … Also playing are Fred Couples, John Daly, Bernhard Langer, Colin Montgomerie and Tom Watson. … David Toms will make his Champions Tour debut.
Web.com Tour
Event: The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic, Jan. 22-25, the Abaco Club.
At stake: $600,000 purse ($108,000 to the winner).
Defending champion: First-year event.
TV: Golf Channel (Jan. 22, 12-2 p.m.; Jan. 23-25, 3-5 p.m.).
Area players entered: Chris Baker, Jonathan Byrd, Vince Covello, Luke Guthrie, Ben Kohles, Len Mattiace, Steve Wheatcroft.
Notable: The Web.com Tour returns to the Bahamas for the second time this month, with the second Sunday start to the tournament. … Kyle Thompson won the Great Exuma Classic two weeks ago, with a 72-hole total of 2-under after windy conditions sent scores soaring to record highs.
