by (AP) — Rickie Fowler plans to give himself an additional chance to impress Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III by playing this week in the Wyndham Championship.
Asked if he was going to play on the PGA Tour last week in Rio, Fowler held up his hand and pulled out his phone. Before a small group of reporters, he put on Twitter, “See you guys next week” at the Wyndham Championship in North Carolina.
The top nine players automatically qualify for the Ryder Cup team in two weeks after The Barclays. Fowler has slipped to No. 12, and while Love gets four captain’s picks, the three guys ahead of him are Matt Kuchar, Brandt Snedeker and Bubba Watson.
Fowler said he had planned after the PGA Championship, where he tied for 33rd, to play the Wyndham, even if he had won the gold medal.
“Main reason, obviously it would be nice to get some more FedEx Cup points,” said Fowler, who is No. 29 on that list. “But my commitment to the Ryder Cup and wanting to be a part of that team … the Ryder Cup and the experiences I’ve had there, it’s the best team event there is in golf. I don’t want to be left off that team, so I want to go there and try and get myself some points.”
Fowler is No. 8 in the world ranking and didn’t imagine being in this position at the start of the year.
He won in Abu Dhabi against the strongest field on the European Tour, and then appeared to have the Phoenix Open won until he gave up a two-shot lead with two holes to play and lost to Hideki Matsuyama in a playoff.
Fowler missed the cut in the Masters, U.S. Open and The Players Championship, and he finished out of the top 30 in the other two majors, worth double points.
He was the first PGA Tour rookie to be picked for the Ryder Cup in 2010, and he played in the 2014 matches at Gleneagles. But he hasn’t shown enough form to be considered a lock to be a pick if he doesn’t make the team.
“I don’t want to assume anything,” Fowler said. “I would want Davis to pick me because he thinks I deserve a pick. I want to go and play well and earn some points. Yeah, I don’t want him to think I’m just assuming I’m getting a pick, and I’m not assuming that I’m getting one, either. I want to go earn my spot.”
Fowler has not won a match in his two Ryder Cup appearances, going 0-1-2 at Wales and 0-2-3 at Gleneagles. He has yet to play a Ryder Cup on home soil. The matches this year start Sept. 30 at Hazeltine in Minnesota.
