Wednesday 10 August 2016 14:44, UK
Robert Lee looks at the potential wildcard picks for Europe's Ryder Cup team and reflects on a record-breaking week for Jim Furyk.
There are just three weeks until Darren Clarke announces his three captain's picks for the European Ryder Cup team, and Russell Knox did his chances the power of good with his superb victory at the Travelers Championship on Sunday.
I'm fairly certain that Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer will be the first two names on Clarke's list. Knox is now very much in the frame, but Clarke might be wary that - as things stand - he already has five rookies on the team.
The key name for me at the moment is Francesco Molinari, and if he can find some form over the next three weeks, he could be the man. But if he doesn't, then it will be very hard for Clarke to overlook Knox.
He said after his win at the Travelers Championship on Sunday that he had put Darren in a "very difficult position", and he's absolutely right. He couldn't have picked a better time to show some winning form on the PGA Tour.
Knox is a very similar kind of player to Molinari, he's straight and steady and would make an excellent foursomes player, and you can't argue that he's playing much better than the Italian at the moment.
"Like Russell Knox, Jim Furyk has found some form at just the right time and has got to be right at the top of the captain's thoughts right now."
But Molinari has Ryder Cup experience on his side, and that might be a higher priority for Darren when he considers his three captain's picks at the end of this month. Having that previous experience makes it easier to provide a positive and effective contribution in the team room.
There's always a blend of newcomers and the "old guard", but if Knox does get in, it could be a 50-50 split in the European team. We'll see how things pan out over the last three weeks of qualifying, but if Darren Clarke had to announce his picks right now, it would be very hard to leave Knox out.
He's made all the right noises, and he made the Ryder Cup a huge priority in his targets when he joined the European Tour after his win at the WGC-HSBC Champions back in November. Had he already been a member before that victory, he'd have pretty much cemented a place by now and wouldn't have to reply on a pick.
What Darren has to do is decide whether current form is of higher value than previous Ryder Cup experience. And if he decides on the former, then Knox has a great chance of being at Hazeltine.
No form concerns
It is also likely that Chris Wood and Matt Fitzpatrick have done enough to get into the European team automatically, having accrued enough points earlier this season despite not being in the best of form in recent weeks.
If they do qualify outright, then concerns - albeit minor - might be raised about the form of the English pair, but I think we can discount that. Playing in a Ryder Cup is such a unique experience, and you can start from scratch as far as the form book goes.
Even if you head into the contest in red-hot nick, you still have to adapt to the environment and learn to understand the pressures of competing on such a huge stage. The players will probably arrive at Hazeltine on Monday, so they will have four days to get themselves ready for the off. And that will feel like an eternity for a few of them.
Wood has had a couple of injury issues lately, and it's not like Fitzpatrick has been playing awfully - he was plenty under par at the Paul Lawrie Match Play last week and just happened to run into a birdie machine in Alejandro Canizares.
Furyk's fantastic 58
As far as the American team is shaping up, Davis Love III said last week that he would consider veterans Jim Furyk or Steve Stricker for a wildcard pick despite them being vice-captains, and then Furyk responds with an unbelievable round of 58 on Sunday.
Furyk doesn't have a great record in the Ryder Cup, but he's always been regarded as a good team player, and it'll be tough for Love to overlook someone who has just shot the lowest score in PGA Tour history!
Love has four picks and, like Knox, Furyk has found some form at just the right time and has got to be right at the top of the captain's thoughts right now. And who knows - he might just have had the call already.
That's happened in previous years. Certain players might have been fretting about whether they will get into the team, and they've had the call from the captain saying: "Just to put your mind at ease, you're in".
Going back to Furyk's 58, I was actually thinking he could birdie 17 and 18 and card a 56! There are half-a-dozen guys who have shot 59 on the PGA Tour before, including Furyk, so to have managed a 56 would have been an incredible marker - a real "Bob Beamon" jump.
To be fair, 58 is still a great round. Furyk is now closer to 50 than 40 and he should be kind of winding down, or looking ahead to the Champions Tour maybe. But he's broken 60 twice in the space of three seasons, and that is some going.
Stick with what works
I've always said that someone like Furyk is a "go to" guy, an alternative to all these power merchants who can smash it well over 300 yards from the tee and overpower a golf course. But for the people that don't possess that kind of weaponry, then Furyk is your poster boy.
Jim has been super consistent for a number of years, and he should be a role model for any talented youngster who thinks they can't ever make it in the game because they can't hit it far enough.
Claude Harmon III made a very good point at the Sky Cart at TPC River Highlands when he pointed out that if a modern coach had got hold of Furyk years ago, he'd have made significant changes to his swing.
We've seen a number of players over the years who have had success, but then tried to find that extra 10 per cent with another coach and that has backfired for several guys.
But Furyk was taught and mentored by his father from an early age. I have no doubt they might have tried a few things before sticking to the "tried and tested" approach. His swing may be unorthodox to say the least, but he's stuck with what works for him and he's enjoyed a fantastic career.
Furyk has a week off now, but Stricker will be hoping to give Davis Love a reminder of his abilities when he tees off in the John Deere Classic on Thursday. It's an event he won three times in a row, so he'll be confident he can enjoy a strong week.
I'll be in the Sky studio to present live coverage, which begins with the US Senior Open in Ohio. We'll be on air at 7pm on Thursday, see you then.
