Philadelphia, PA …
The official PGA of America press release says it was Captain Jim Furyk who chose Tony Finau as his final USA Team ‘wildcard’ pick.
Finau was on board a flight home from the BMW Championship and to his residence in Salt Lake City when news came through he’d been chosen by Furyk to make his Ryder Cup debut later this month in France.
But it not entirely Furyk’s choice
No, it was members of Furyk’s team who lobbied for Finau to be in the side and this despite Xander Schaufele finishing higher on the final USA Team qualifying points table and also Keegan Bradley capturing the BMW Championship to end a six-year winless drought.
Finau’s selection is evidence of the huge culture change in how the Americans now see the Ryder Cup ever since that moment in the Media Centre at the 2014 Ryder Cup at Gleneagles when Phil Mickelson shocked the sporting world with his comments regarding the captaincy of Tom Watson and also the whole process how the PGA of America went about the selection of the captain, vice-captain and the players.
We saw the results of changes enacted with regards the whole the USA Team selection process when they easily outplayed a hapless Darren Clarke led European Team.
Finau joins Bryson DeChambeau, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods as Furyk’s four Captain’s Selections. Furyk named DeChambeau, Mickelson and Woods to the U.S. Team on Sept. 4.
“He has an unbelievable body of work this year,” said Furyk. “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 playoffs. He checked a lot of boxes and made it impossible not to pick him.”
Although this will be Finau’s first Ryder Cup, he has posted 11 top-10s this season, including three in major-championship play (T-10/Masters, 5th/U.S. Open, T-9/Open Championship).
A consistent presence on Sunday leaderboards throughout the year, Finau’s second-place finish at last month’s Northern Trust was his third runner-up of the season. The 28-year-old (he’ll be 29 when Ryder Cup play begins) ranks third on the PGA Tour with an average driving distance of 316.3 yards. He’s currently No. 17 in the Official World Golf Ranking.
“It’s a dream come true for me,” said Finau. “I got the goosebumps when he told me, and I’m excited to add my skills and talent to the team, a team that’s stacked already. Hopefully I bring something to the team that can help us bring that Cup back.”
The final composition of Furyk’s 2018 U.S. Ryder Cup Team includes three Ryder Cup rookies (DeChambeau, Finau, Thomas), nine major champions (with 31 total major victories) and experience gained in 34 previous Ryder Cups.
