PGA Championship Final Round News & Notes

Golf Betting Lines

08/10/2008 - Bloomfield Hills Township, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The eight automatic spots were awarded for the United States Ryder Cup team after the completion of the final round Sunday.

With Tiger Woods out of consideration due to his leg injury, spots two through nine would automatically qualify for captain Paul Azinger's team in six weeks time.

Stewart Cink, Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyk, Kenny Perry and Anthony Kim had their places wrapped up before the first round of the PGA Championship. Justin Leonard was in sixth and relatively safe, but could've been caught under the right circumstances.

Kim will be the only rookie of that group.

Boo Weekley and Steve Stricker held the final two spots at the start of the week, but one will not be part of the automatic eight.

Ben Curtis' second-place finish at Oakland Hills jumped him into the seventh spot. Weekley fell into eighth and will make his Ryder Cup debut at Valhalla.

"I guess if you're going to finish second and they tell you that you qualify for the Ryder Cup, I think that you'll take it," said Curtis, who will make his Ryder Cup debut next month. "It almost is a victory in itself."

Azinger will have three weeks before he makes his captain's picks. On September 2nd, Azinger will announce his four selections for the team that will try and wrestle the Ryder Cup away from Europe.

Nick Faldo's side has taken the last three Ryder Cups.

Azinger will have some tough choices ahead of him. Woody Austin, former Masters champion Zach Johnson, Brandt Snedeker, Hunter Mahan, D.J. Trahan, J.B. Holmes, Rocco Mediate, Steve Flesch, Sean O'Hair and Stricker will all be under consideration.

"I'm open-minded to anything," said Azinger. "I believe confidence is important. If a guy on a different tour won three times, I might take him."

With what has essentially become a three-week try out, any American that wins in the next three weeks will catch Azinger's eye.

"Guys still have a chance," said Azinger. "The Ryder Cup should be on the back of their mind...way back. One shot at a time."

The European side is not finalized for another three events. Faldo will make his two captain's picks on August 31st. Runner-up Sergio Garcia played his way on this week and German Martin Kaymer fell out of the top 10.

TESTY AGAIN?

When Sergio Garcia lost the playoff to Padraig Harrington last year at Carnoustie, his post-round attitude was somewhat questionable.

He hit the stick in the extra session and rolled 20 feet away. Garcia lamented about how unfortunate things like that happen to him all the time.

"It's funny how some guys hit the pin or hit the pin and go to a foot. Mine hits the pin and goes 20 feet away," Garcia said last year at the Open Championship. "You know what's the saddest thing about it? It's not the first time."

On Sunday, Garcia was a little more contrite after another second in a major.

"I said it before, there's guys that get a little bit fortunate; they get in contention, in a major, and manage to get things going their way, either because they play well or because somebody else comes back. And unfortunately, it hasn't happened to me," said Garcia. "That doesn't mean that I'm not on the right track."

That's not to say there weren't some testy moments.

Garcia rebuked a reporter's question and asked to stay positive and when asked if a good performance at the Ryder Cup would "help wash away a little bit of this disappointment," Garcia responded with this:

"Why are you making this a disappointment? Obviously I was trying to win, but that's it. It's not disappointing. Every time you're out there trying to win a major, you know, what can you do, there can only be one winner. I'm fine."

Finally, when Garcia was asked about Harrington's last month of two majors, Garcia said, "great," and walked away.

* Fredrik Jacobson of Sweden aced the par-three 13th hole with a four-iron. It was the 37th hole-in-one at the PGA Championship since 1970. Jacobson's ace was the first at the PGA since Olin Browne recorded a hole-in-one in 2006 at Medinah.

* Steve Flesch showed the only way to make birdie at the 18th. He holed his third shot from the fairway for a birdie. Flesch shot a one-under 69 to take sixth at plus-two.

* The group of Harrington, Garcia and Charlie Wi were put on the clock Sunday.

* J.B. Holmes went into the final round one off the lead and opened with a disastrous triple-bogey. He never recovered, shot an 11-over 81 and dipped into a tie for 29th at plus-10.

* Next year's PGA Championship will be held at Hazeltine National Golf Club. The last time the course in Minnesota staged a major championship was the 2002 PGA Championship won by Rich Beem.

* The hardest hole for the week was the par-four 18th. Flesch had the only birdie of the final round and the hole played to an average of 4.6608.

* The easiest hole of the Championship was the par-five second, which played to an average of 4.6499. The other par-five, the 12th, was the only other hole to play under par for the week with an average of 4.8074.