Woods picked for the Ryder Cup

NEW YORK - Tiger Woods was a no-brainer as a captain's pick for the Ryder Cup.

Rickie Fowler?

That required a little more than deep thought.

"It just came down to feelings," captain Corey Pavin said. "I had a gut feeling about Rickie."

Fowler, the 21-year-old mop top who turned pro only 11 months ago, made history Tuesday as the first PGA Tour rookie on the American team and the first captain's pick to have never won on tour.

He was the only big mystery when Pavin announced his four picks at the New York Stock Exchange. Pavin also chose a pair of major champions, Stewart Cink and Zach Johnson, both of whom have played in the Ryder Cup on the road.

The matches will be held Oct. 1-3 at Celtic Manor in Wales.

Fowler will be the youngest American to play in the Ryder Cup since Woods in 1997, but only the second-youngest player at Celtic Manor. Rory McIlroy, the 21-year-old from Northern Ireland, earned his way onto the European team.

"I can bring a little bit of color to the team. I can bring some youth to the team and, hopefully, get the guys pumped up a little bit," Fowler said. "But as I said, we're all going over there to win, so we're all going to be getting each other pumped and focusing on our main goal, bringing home the cup."

The Americans won two years ago in Kentucky and will try to win for the first time overseas since 1993 at the Belfry.

This will be the sixth Ryder Cup team for Woods but the first in which he needed to be picked. Woods had finished first in the standings every time, including in 2008 when he spent the second half of the year recovering from knee surgery.

Woods said he is "looking forward to going back and having a great time with the team and, hopefully, bring the Cup back."

The eight Americans who qualified after the PGA Championship were Phil Mickelson, Hunter Mahan, Steve Stricker, Jim Furyk, Matt Kuchar, Bubba Watson, Dustin Johnson, and Jeff Overton.

European captain Colin Montgomerie said Pavin used his four picks "to good effect."

"Like my European team, the American side has an excellent blend of youthful talent alongside some seasoned Ryder Cup campaigners, and I am delighted to see Tiger Woods amongst Corey's selections," he said. "The Ryder Cup is a better event with him in it."

The final selection - and Pavin's most difficult - went to Fowler. Although the former Oklahoma State star has three runner-up finishes as a pro, he still hasn't won, and he has not had a top-10 finish for three months.

Fowler played in the Walker Cup twice and went 7-1, including a 4-0 record at Merion last year.

Europe's team has six Ryder Cup rookies - Italian brothers Francesco and Edoardo Molinari, Peter Hanson, Rory McIlroy, Ross Fisher, and PGA champion Martin Kaymer - along with Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, Padraig Harrington, Luke Donald, Miguel Angel Jimenez, and U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell.

The Ryder Cup matches are Oct. 1-3 at Celtic Manor in Wales. In alphabetical order; c-captain's pick.

Captain: Corey Pavin       Captain: Colin Montgomerie

c-Stewart Cink               c-Luke Donald, England

c-Rickie Fowler             Ross Fisher, England

Jim Furyk                  Peter Hanson, Sweden

Dustin Johnson            c-Padraig Harrington, Ireland

c-Zach Johnson             Miguel Angel Jimenez, Spain

Matt Kuchar                  Martin Kaymer, Germany

Hunter Mahan                Graeme McDowell, N. Ireland

Phil Mickelson                Rory McIlroy, N. Ireland

Jeff Overton               c-Edoardo Molinari, Italy

Steve Stricker               Francesco Molinari, Italy

Bubba Watson               Ian Poulter, England

c-Tiger Woods                Lee Westwood, England

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