Las Vegas golfer could be captain’s pick for Ryder Cup team

A spectacular closing agelong to the PGA Tour play could pb to longtime Las Vegas nonmigratory Kevin Na having his sanction called erstwhile Steve Stricker announces his Ryder Cup captain’s picks connected Wednesday.

Six players qualified for the squad — Collin Morikawa, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas and Patrick Cantley — leaving six further picks for Stricker.

There are a fistful of evident selections — Jordan Spieth, Xander Schauffele, Tony Finau and Harris English volition each get tapped. Daniel Berger is astir apt successful aft 2 wins since the pandemic restart and top-10 finishes successful the U.S. Open, British Open and Players Championship.

That leaves 1 spot, and Na has done the enactment to gain it. He has a triumph successful each of the past 4 years, and successful six events implicit the past 2 months helium has 2 ties for second, a necktie for third, a necktie for eighth and 2 different top-25 finishes.

That third-place decorativeness came implicit the play astatine the Tour Championship, wherever helium really shared the debased people of 14-under for the week but failed to triumph the rubric acknowledgment to the bogus staggered scoring strategy that had him statesman the tourney 8 shots behind.

Na, for one, thinks helium deserves a spot connected his archetypal nationalist squad astatine the property of 37.

“I was trying to triumph that concealed leaderboard wherever everybody started from adjacent par, to get Captain Stricker’s attention, truthful I could get a captain’s pick,” Na said Sunday.

Mission accomplished. Although Cantley walked disconnected with the trophy and the $15 cardinal prize, the Official World Golf Rankings recognized Na and Jon Rahm arsenic winners of the tournament.

“Look, I did the champion I could,” Na said of his late-season push. “I consciousness similar I should beryllium a large information for a pick.”

Na’s main contention for the last spot appears to beryllium Scottie Scheffler, who has zero vocation victories, and Patrick Reed, who is coming disconnected an aggravated infirmary enactment for COVID and bilateral pneumonia.

There whitethorn really beryllium an other prime for Stricker aft Koepka withdrew during the 3rd circular of the Tour Championship with a wrist injury. Koepka has been mum connected the severity of the injury, but helium has conscionable 2 weeks to heal earlier Ryder Cup week arrives.

Heartbreak Kid … again

Three weeks ago, Taylor Montgomery was the unusual antheral retired erstwhile the Korn Ferry Tour regular play ended and the apical 25 players earned their PGA Tour cards. Montgomery dropped to 26th connected the last day.

In the three-week Korn Ferry Tour Finals that wrapped up Sunday, different 25 cards were handed out. Montgomery again finished 26th.

He entered the last lawsuit 14th connected the points list. But aft the worst circular of his nonrecreational vocation connected Friday — an 85 — near him retired of the weekend, his destiny was successful the hands of others.

It yet came down to Justin Lower needing to get up and down for par connected the 72nd hole. The journeyman did it, nabbing the last paper and sending Montgomery backmost to the Korn Ferry Tour adjacent season.

“I’m beauteous happy; I’m not going to lie,” Lower told Golf Channel portion warring tears. “Taylor Montgomery, if you’re listening, I’ve been successful your spot earlier and it’s not immoderate fun, but you’re a heck of a subordinate and conscionable support grinding. Good things volition happen.”

While Montgomery fell conscionable short, 1 of his erstwhile UNLV teammates made it through. Kurt Kitayama finished 23rd to unafraid his archetypal PGA Tour playing privileges. Since leaving UNLV successful 2015, Kitayama has played each implicit the satellite and won doubly connected the European Tour.

Dolan wins elder title

Kim Dolan overcame a five-shot shortage successful the last circular to triumph the PGA Senior Professional Championship successful Phoenix past week.

Dolan, from Siena Golf Club successful Las Vegas, finished astatine 2-under 142 astatine Paradise Valley Country Club for a three-shot triumph implicit Jon Stanley and Paul Trittler

Greg Robertson covers play for the Review-Journal. He tin beryllium reached astatine grobertson@reviewjournal.com .