Patrick Reed, Rickie Fowler in hunt at Barclays, target Ryder Cup
FARMINGDALE, N.Y. — Rickie Fowler said his back is against the wall. He added he’s put himself in a corner. If given a little more time, he probably would have declared he’s behind the 8-ball, too.
But that’s where he likes to be.
In front of him is a FedExCup to chase and a Ryder Cup to make. Thus, he is under a lot of stress these days. In addition to the strain of playing the FedExCup Playoffs on four top-flight golf courses with a pot of gold filled with $10 million awaiting at the end of the postseason rainbow, he’s desperately competing to get to don the red, white and blue in the biennial match play tussle with Europe.
“Yeah, I'm thinking about (the Ryder Cup),” Fowler said after Thursday’s opening-round, 4-under-par 67 at Bethpage Black in the first event of the FedExCup Playoffs. “The other guys are thinking about it. … I don't mind it. I've always liked kind of being put up against the wall and having that on me.”
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Right now it’s on a lot of guys. European captain Darren Clarke will finalize his team Aug. 30 with three captain’s picks. USA captain Davis Love III will know his eight automatic qualifiers after this week’s Barclays. He will make three of his four captain’s picks after next week’s Deutsche Bank Championship. He will make his final pick the night of The Tour Championship — and the FedExCup Playoffs — on Sept. 25.
Only five Americans have locked up positions on the team — Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Jimmy Walker and Brooks Koepka. That leaves Fowler (12th in the RC standings) and the likes of Brandt Snedeker (sixth), Zach Johnson (seventh), Patrick Reed (eighth), J.B. Holmes (ninth), and Bubba Watson (10th), Bronze medalist Matt Kuchar (11th), Scott Piercy (13th), Bill Haas (14th) and Mr. 58 Jim Furyk (15th) battling for the remaining spots. At No. 22, Charley Hoffman is the lowest player in the standings with a mathematical chance to make the automatic eight.
Reed bolstered his chances with a 66 to set the Barclays pace alongside Martin Laird. In a group with Fowler one shot back is Holmes. World No. 1 Jason Day shot 68.
Fowler flew from Brazil after playing in the Rio Olympics to the Wyndham Championship in North Carolina to earn some important points (he did with a tie for 22nd) and to show Love his commitment to the Ryder Cup.
“Making the Ryder Cup team was my No. 1 goal this year,” Fowler said. “It would be nice to have a chance to make that team without having to get picked. … I know what I need to do. I need to try and take care of business.”
Holmes said making the team “is always in your head.”
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“At the beginning of the year, that was definitely one of my main goals,” Holmes said. “I’m doing the best I can, and hopefully at the end of the week, that will be good enough.”
Zach Johnson said he was consumed with making the team in 2006. While he did make the team, the run-up wasn’t healthy for him or his game.
He won’t make the same mistake this year.
“You embrace the fact you have to think about it,” said Johnson, who opened with a 73. “But you have to focus on this week. You just have to go and play.”
That’s Reed’s approach, too.
“Of course it's on my mind,” he said. “But really at the end the day, it's just trying to get better and play this tournament. Because if I play well that means those other guys are going to have to play even better to try to catch me.
“Because if I go out and do what I've been doing all year, give myself a chance to win a golf tournament, if I can close one off, then it doesn't matter. It takes care of itself.”
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