United States Ryder Cup team captain Jim Furyk has named Tony Finau as his final wildcard pick ahead of the showdown with Europe later this month (Europe 5/4, Draw 11/1, USA 4/5 – Ryder Cup outright).
The 28-year-old was always the hot favourite to take the final spot but Furyk’s decision was put on hold until after the conclusion of the BMW Championship on Monday.
Keegan Bradley, who is not in the team, won the event where Finau finished tied for eighth to cement his place in the US squad.
Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau where Furyk’s other wildcard picks and the captain says Finau was the obvious choice after what has been a highly consistent season on the Tour.
“He has an unbelievable body of work this year,” Furyk said in a statement. “All those top-10 finishes, the play in big championships and the majors, and then his current form, a second, a fourth and an eighth in the Play-Offs. He checked a lot of boxes and made it impossible not to pick him.”
The eight other players who qualified automatically are US Open and US PGA Championship champion Brooks Koepka, Masters winner Patrick Reed, Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Bubba Watson, Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler and Webb Simpson.
Meanwhile, Europe have been given a boost with the news they will have the new world number one in their ranks after Justin Rose dislodged Dustin Johnson (Rose 9/2 to be top European).
Rose lost the BMW play-off to Bradley, but it was still enough to take him to the top of the standings.
“It’s boyhood dream stuff, something I am incredibly proud of,” Rose said. “It’s been a good stretch of golf. I’ve played solidly over the past year. I’m delighted to get to the top.”
Odds subject to change
