U.S. Ryder Cup captain Steve Stricker added Phil Mickelson and Fred Couples to his group of vice captains for this month’s match at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin.
Couples and Mickelson will join fellow Ryder Cup veterans Davis Love III, Zach Johnson and Jim Furyk in Stricker’s back-room team. There is no official place for Tiger Woods, who is still recovering from the multiple leg injuries he sustained in a car crash in February.
Mickelson had hoped to play his way onto the team after winning the PGA Championship but bowed to the inevitable after not posting another top-10 this season. His run of playing in the Ryder Cups since 1995 ends after 12 consecutive appearances.
“I’ve been staying in close contact with both Freddie and Phil, talking about all things Ryder Cup, for a while now,” Stricker said. “They provide honest and impactful feedback and both have such a passion for the Ryder Cup. I’m honored that they are willing to join our team and help put us in the best position to win.”
It is not known if Stricker asked Woods to join in. What is clear is he won’t be part of the team set-up in Wisconsin.
“He’s just not there this time,” Stricker confirmed. “He’s progressing nicely but Whistling Straits is a tough place to get around. He’s already been helping and will continue to do so.”
Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka and Patrick Cantlay have qualified for the U.S. side. Stricker will name his six captain’s picks on Wednesday.
NBC Sports will break new ground when it fields an all-woman broadcast team at next month’s ShopRite LPGA Classic at the Bay Course at Seaview in New Jersey.
The commentary team features Cara Banks handling play-by-play duties alongside analysts Judy Rankin and Paige Mackenzie, and on-course reporters Karen Stupples and Kay Cockerill. Tournament coverage will be produced by veteran Beth Hutter, who recently created another slice of history when she became the first woman to produce the U.S. Women’s Open and women’s golf coverage at the Tokyo Olympics.
“We’re thrilled to assemble this incredibly accomplished group of women for our broadcast of the ShopRite LPGA Classic on Golf Channel,” confirmed Molly Solomon, executive producer for NBC Olympics coverage and for Golf Channel. “Our NBC team features talented women at all levels – both on-camera and behind the scenes – who are essential to making our coverage on every platform.”
Sarah Ingram will captain the U.S. Curtis Cup team for a second time at the 2022 match at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pennsylvania. She led the U.S. side to victory against Great Britain & Ireland last month in Wales.
“It was a highlight of my career to captain a team of such talented and wonderful young ladies who are certainly the future of the game,” she said. “It is an honour and a dream to be asked by the USGA to captain the 2022 team.”
Ingram is a three-time winner of the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship and played in three Curtis Cups (1992, 1994 and 1996). She won the 1990 Canadian Women’s Amateur and was a victorious U.S. team member in the 1994 World Amateur Team Championship at Le Golf National in France.
The 42nd Curtis Cup will be played June 10-12.
The WGC-HSBC Champions event in China was canceled for a second successive year. The event, co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour and the European Tour, was scheduled for Sheshan International Golf Club in Shanghai at the end of October but was shelved because of COVID-19 concerns.
The Bermuda Championship, originally scheduled as an opposite field event on the PGA Tour the same week, has been given elevated status with an increased prize purse and a full allocation of FedEx Cup points.
“Following discussions with HSBC, we can confirm the cancellation of the 2021 WGC-HSBC Champions,” PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said. “Although it’s unfortunate to have to do so, we must ensure that we abide by the epidemic prevention policies of different markets which may cause inconvenience to the players and make tournament operations very challenging.”
TAP-INS
The Great Southern Golf Club in Gulfport, Mississippi, home of the state’s oldest golf courses, has been sold to a Florida-based developer, which plans to build single-family homes on the property (READ MORE). ... Former European Tour player Phil Harrison is named chief executive officer of the Legends Tour senior circuit in Europe (READ MORE). … The Australian Open and the Australian PGA Championship have been postponed from their scheduled 2021 dates to early 2022 (READ MORE). ... The R&A and the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation will stage the 2021 Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific Championship at Abu Dhabi Golf Club in the United Arab Emirates, Nov. 10-13 (READ MORE). ... Mallorca returns as a European Tour stop for the first time since 2011 with the Mallorca Golf Open added to this year’s schedule, to be played Oct. 21-24 at Golf Santa Ponsa. ... The European Tour announces technology provider Slync.io as title sponsor of the Dubai Desert Classic, to be played Jan. 27-30 at the Emirates Golf Club. ... Golf governing bodies in Australia are asking government agencies in the southeastern state of Victoria to reopen courses (READ MORE). ... In a joint venture between the LET and Ladies European Golf Venture Ltd., IMG will assist with strategic planning for future European editions of the Solheim Cup through 2038 (READ MORE).
Staff and Wire Reports