Trending
The biggest news in the world of golf this week was Wednesday's announcement of the final selections to this year's U.S. Ryder Cup team.
The 12-man squad already had six automatic qualifiers in Collin Morikawa, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas and Patrick Cantlay, so it was up to captain Steve Stricker to hand-pick the last six available spots.
Five of Stricker's captain's picks were pretty straightforward as Daniel Berger, Harris English, Tony Finau, Xander Schauffele and Jordan Spieth were already among the top 12 in points at the end of this season.
The selection, however, that surprised many was Stricker's pick of newcomer Scottie Scheffler, which ended up bypassing past Ryder Cup hero Patrick Reed.
It's been rumored for a long time that Reed has had strained relationships with other U.S. Ryder Cup players, but his career record of 7-3-2 in this international competition is one of the best in the business and definitely worthy of strong consideration.
In fact, Reed's stellar performance in the 2016 Ryder Cup earned him the nickname "Captain America."
In Scheffler, the U.S. team gets a talented but unproven young player with no Ryder Cup experience. In fact, Scheffler has yet to win a single event on the PGA Tour.
Defenders of Stricker's pick will point to Reed's recent bout with pneumonia, which slowed him down a bit, but in my opinion he still should have made the team.
Reed may not have the best personality in the world, and he seems like someone who could definitely get under your skin, but I still think he would give the U.S. a better shot at winning.
We'll see what happens when the Ryder Cup competition begins in a few weeks.
Joke's on you
One of the funniest golf stories I've heard in a long time took place during last week's Tour Championship.
At the beginning of the final round, PGA star Joaquin Niemann was out of contention and set to play by himself with the first tee time on Sunday.
On a whim, Niemann decided to play as fast as he could and was seen jogging between shots throughout the round in order to complete his 18 holes in record time.
After finishing play in a speedy one hour and 53 minutes, Niemann was greeted in the scorer's tent by PGA Tour official Andy Pazder, and according to an account by Golf Magazine the discussion did not start out well.
"Listen, Joaquin, as a professional, you've disrespected the game and you've disrespected the Tour Championship. This is not how professionals act," Pazder told an unsuspecting Niemann. "You've been out here a long time and you should know that and here is a fine for $10,000."
Niemann apparently stood silent for several moments as he processed the admonishment and tried to remain calm.
Before he could speak though, Pazder eventually broke into a smile and told Niemann he was only kidding. I couldn't help but laugh out loud when I first heard the story.
By the way, while running nearly all 18 holes, Niemann was still able to shoot a cool 72.
Young hole-in-one
Congratulations are in order for one of the youngest golfers to ever record a hole-in-one in our area.
While playing with his dad, Greg, 9-year-old Dylan Johnston scored an ace from 130 yards during a recent round at Immergrun in Loretto. Congrats, Dylan!
Additional tourneys
A generation ago, the Greater Altoona Tournament always marked the end of competitive tournaments in our area.
Today, however, there are plenty of top-notch competitions that stretch through the end of October. Here are just a few:
The Central Counties Senior Championship at Iron Masters (Sept. 19), the Iron Masters Senior Fall Classic (Sept. 24), Scotch Valley's Two-Ball Invitational (Sept. 25-26) and the Central Counties Pro-Am at Sinking Valley (Sept. 25-26).
Until then
As in years past, this marks the last week for the weekly golf coverage this year. I am very thankful and appreciative to the Mirror for the opportunity to contribute and for your readership.
Ken Love covers local golf for the Mirror. He can be reached at gltr777@atlanticbb.net.