Pavin says Tiger is 'high on his list'

MILWAUKEE (AP):

Tiger Woods remained No. 1 in the world ranking yesterday. He was nowhere to be found on two other lists that matter.

Woods failed to qualify for the Ryder Cup for the first time - he had led the standings every other time since 1997 - and now must rely on United States captain Corey Pavin spending one of four wild-card picks on him.

Pavin sat at the head table between two poster boards that listed the eight American qualifiers, with Woods' name nowhere to be found between Phil Mickelson at No. 1 and Matt Kuchar at No. 8.

Pavin would only say that Woods is "high on my list" and will be a "big consideration" when he announces his selections, September 7.

"I'm looking at him in essence like any other player. He isn't ... but he is," Pavin said. "I'm certainly not going to disrespect other players by considering him different from other players. I have to look at the way he's playing, the way he played, and I have to look at his body of work as well. If anyone can turn it around quickly, it's him."

Woods has at least one more tournament to make an impression.

Equally troublesome

While he wound up No. 12 in the Ryder Cup standings, equally troublesome is that Woods is No. 108 in the FedEx Cup standings. The top 125 are eligible for The Barclays next week at Ridgewood Country Club in New Jersey, which kicks off the PGA Tour play-offs. Only the top 100 in the standings advance to the second round of the play-offs at the Deutsche Bank Championship outside Boston.

Woods is so far down in the FedEx Cup standings that he is one spot behind Pavin.

"He's ranked a lot higher on Ryder Cup points," Pavin said with a laugh, "and probably the world ranking, I'm guessing."

Despite the shockingly low numbers next to Woods' name, Pavin came away from the PGA Championship encouraged as much by what he heard from Woods as what he saw from him.

Woods stated plainly at the start of the week that he wants to play in the Ryder Cup and would accept a captain's pick. Even after he closed with a 1-over 73 to tie for 28th at Whistling Straits, he joked that he could still help out in singles. His Ryder Cup record is 10-13-2, including 3-1-2 in singles.

"I feel my game is a lot better than it obviously was last week, and given a little bit more time, it's starting to head in the right direction now, which is good," Woods said. "And I'm looking forward to it. Hopefully, Corey will pick me on the team."

Woods tied for fourth in the Masters and US Open. He missed the cut at Quail Hollow with the highest 36-hole total of his career, and only a week before the final major, he had the worst tournament of his career when he shot 18-over par at Firestone.

Which guy will show up? Is he even worth a pick?

Pavin was asked about the pros and cons of taking Woods, and he could think only of the positives.

"He's the No. 1 player in the world - that's a pretty good 'pro'," Pavin said. "Obviously, I'm considering him highly, no doubt about it. He's playing better. I think we have all seen that. And he wants to play - he wants to be part of the team. But it's going to be my judgment whether I pick him or not. I don't think there are any cons."