Rory McIlroy and Rickie Fowler, two 21-year-olds now on countdown to the Ryder Cup, have some important business to take care of first - trying to make it from Chicago to Atlanta.

The US Tour rookies tee off at Cog Hill in Illinois in the third of the four FedEx Cup play-off events, but are not certain yet to be part of the final leg in a fortnight’s time.

Only the top 30 points leaders advance and Fowler is currently 25th, with McIlroy even more precariously placed at 29th.

That promised to be so much better for the young Ulsterman when he began last week’s tournament in Boston with a seven-under-par 64, but he followed it up with a hugely disappointing 76 and finished 37th.

Fowler, the older by nearly five months, might have feared his 41st place had ended his hopes of a Ryder Cup wildcard - but then came a call from Corey Pavin to tell him he was in.

“It just came down to feelings - I had a gut feeling about Rickie,” said America’s captain.

“He has a good Walker Cup record - 7-1. He’s a very good player.

“I think he can handle it and that’s why I picked him.

“I think he’s a very mature young man who has had experience in international play and has got a very steady head on his shoulders.”

McIlroy and Fowler were opponents in the 2007 Walker Cup at Royal County Down near McIlroy’s home, but the only time they met was in the second-day foursomes - with Fowler coming out on top.

Fowler stayed amateur for two more years and played another Walker Cup, while McIlroy turned pro straight afterwards and with wins in Dubai and America is already in the world’s top 10.

Pavin’s entire side is playing in Chicago - including, of course, wildcard Tiger Woods, who probably needs a top-five finish to qualify for the Tour Championship in two weeks - while McIlroy is joined by team-mates Luke Donald and Ian Poulter.

Paul Casey and Justin Rose are also playing and eager to show that Colin Montgomerie might have been wrong to leave them out, as is the case with American Anthony Kim after Pavin decided not to give him any more time to find form again following his thumb surgery in May.

Charley Hoffman says he has no hard feelings towards Corey Pavin about missing out on the Ryder Cup the day after the performance of his life.

“No disappointment,” insisted the 33-year-old, who took the second of the FedEx Cup play-off events by five shots with a closing 62 on Monday and then heard that a wildcard had gone instead to 21-year-old rookie Rickie Fowler, yet to win on the US Tour.

“I had all year to play my way on the team. And when you leave it up to the captain’s pick you can’t be disappointed because you had your chance to earn your spot.

“If I was maybe nine or 10 (on the points list) like Anthony Kim or something like that I might be disappointed, but I wasn’t really even on the radar.

“Obviously I would have been honoured to be picked, but no disappointment there at all.”

Hoffman, up from 132nd to 51st in the world, finished way down in 57th place on the American qualifying table.

What he can do now, of course, is make Pavin question his decision by playing well again in this week’s BMW Championship in Chicago and then the Tour Championship in Atlanta in a fortnight’s time.

A £6.5million prize is the incentive for him to do just that.

Pavin might also secretly be keeping his fingers crossed that Kim does not suddenly recapture form.

The 25-year-old was a star of the last United States team and looked a certainty for this year’s side even when he returned last month from thumb surgery in May.

But he was pushed out of the top eight and, after failing to make a halfway cut since, he lost out to Fowler, Tiger Woods, Stewart Cink and Zach Johnson.

The world number 16 - higher than Johnson, Fowler and Cink - tees off at Cog Hill on Thursday in 34th place on the FedEx Cup overall standings and so needs to climb only four spots to make into the field for the final play-off event.

Cink is one place below Kim, while world number one Woods at 51st probably needs a top-five finish to advance - something he has not managed since the US Open in June.

European captain Colin Montgomerie will be watching with interest too, not only as Luke Donald, Rory McIlroy and Ian Poulter are still involved, but also because Paul Casey and Justin Rose - his two notable wild card omissions - are there too.

Donald’s second-place finish on Monday lifted him to fifth in the FedEx race, just ahead of Scot Martin Laird, while Rose is 10th, Casey 21st, McIlroy 29th and Poulter 44th.

Paul Casey’s rocky relationship with the Ryder Cup was crystallised best by a remark, made off the cuff six years ago, that he “hated” Americans.

The word seemed infelicitous, given that he was going out with an American and had already spent a decade living in Arizona, and it took barely a day for the rednecks’ death threats to pour in.

If Casey genuinely did harbour any antipathy for his adopted land, it was in scant evidence last weekend. As Edoardo Molinari captured a famous victory at Gleneagles to join Europe’s exotic Ryder Cup talent pool, where, pray, was Casey? Nowhere to be seen in the bonnie glens of Perthshire, our all-English hero was instead pacing the fairways at some faceless country club in New Jersey, pursuing not so much the selfless dream of a wild-card pick as a rather large dollar sign.

Cynical? You bet. Golf in the US is governed by the cynicism of corporate imperatives, to which Casey is an unashamed subscriber. The entire season builds towards the hollow horror of the FedEx Cup, whose cachet rests in nothing more elevated than the fact that the winner picks up a tidy £6.5 million. The Ryder Cup, by contrast, should be an emblem for everything that is noble and comradely about the game – and yet its scheduling, five days after the decisive FedEx event in Atlanta, means it is ripe for being regarded as an afterthought by money-hungry players.

So how could Casey possibly “hate” Americans? Their country has made him what he is: an ordinary lad from Surrey stockbroker land, made exceptional on the strength of a golf scholarship at Phoenix. Indeed, his problem in the eyes of European critics who find his personality cocky, abrasive, and who do not mourn his omission from the Ryder Cup team for a second, is that he is perhaps too American.

Casey’s accent is, rather like that of Justin Rose, stranded somewhere over the mid-Atlantic. He also lapses easily into the hideous techno-speak of the US Tour. After he had finished his third round at this year’s Open at St Andrews, where he had a glimpse of being the first Englishman since Nick Faldo to clasp the Claret Jug, he talked less of the burden of history than of his accomplishment in adding 200 revolutions per minute to his spin rate.

Then he began a fascinating excursion into the intricacies of torque, shaft, plus the merits of carrying a 10.5-degree driver…

Still awake? Casey’s idea of a guilty pleasure is practising for an extra hour in the Nike laboratory. It would be difficult to imagine Faldo, when he won at the Old Course in 1990, being in the least bit bothered about whether his ball was spinning at 1,800 or 2,000rpm. There is nothing wrong, of course, with minute attention to detail in the attainment of sporting excellence, but in Casey’s case it only adds to the impression that he goes about his business too scientifically, certainly in relation to his bank account.

His attitude is attuned to the American norm. Take young Hunter Mahan, the blond poster boy of the US Tour, who in 2008 conveyed his perceptions of the Ryder Cup thus: “I think Europe really takes it seriously. The US does, too, but not like Europe. Is it an honour to play? Yes, it is. But time is valuable. This is a business.”

Mahan also had the gall to complain that the players were treated like “slaves” at the competition, purely because they had to don tuxedos and attend the odd formal dinner.

So I am baffled to read arguments that Bubba Watson cares more about winning a Ryder Cup place than losing the play-off in last month’s US PGA, or that the spirt of the American team, rounded out by captain Corey Pavin’s four picks next Tuesday, is irresistible. It takes Mahan’s dim-witted view to show, conclusively, that the Americans care a good deal less about the Ryder Cup than the Europeans. Like most natives of Plano, Texas, he probably thinks Celtic Manor is a haunted house in Scotland.

And no, this does not mean I ‘hate’ Americans. I just believe that on their golfers’ list of self-serving priorities, settling a needle match for patriotic pride in the cold, Welsh October mist comes only slightly higher than the chance to earn FedEx points at the Waste Management Open.

For Edoardo Molinari, suddenly the toast of European golf for his glorious last-minute surge to seal a Ryder Cup place, this week’s pristine Alpine tour stop of Crans-sur-Sierre was where it all began.

Scrabbling about on the Challenge Tour, the Italian secured a surprise invitation to last year’s European Masters but ground out the type of dogged performance that gave him, he believed, the resolve to try to break into Colin Montgomerie’s team.

So it is no surprise to discover him back on the scene in Switzerland, determined to follow up his Ryder Cup call-up by becoming the first of the European players to win three times this season.

The portents would seem auspicious: after all, the Italian has the kudos of being the world’s 15th-ranked player and is paired with no less grand a figure than Greg Norman for Thursday’s first round.

Molinari might wish, though, that the mountains encircling him were Scottish and that it was his younger brother at his side in lieu of Norman.

Intriguingly, both his victories this year, the first in the Scottish Open at Loch Lomond and the second in last weekend’s Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles, were both accomplished with Francesco as his final-round playing companion.

Francesco is resting after the drama of Gleneagles, returning instead for next week’s KLM Open in Holland, but Molinari Snr is convinced he can draw sufficient inspiration from his surrounds to sustain the momentum.

“I was lucky enough to get an invite,” he recalled of last September’s impressive display.

“I was leading the Challenge Tour by a little, but had not played a European Tour event for three or four months.

“I had a decent week [he finished 14th] and that was big for the confidence, because I didn’t know where I was compared to the guys on the European Tour.

“I knew this year that I could play well, although I didn’t imagine that I could make the Ryder Cup. It has been a great 12 months and I hope I’ll keep improving.”

Molinari is the highest-ranked player in Crans, ahead of Open champion Louis Oosthuizen, who partners a jaded Miguel Ángel Jiménez.

“I never miss this tournament,” said the Spaniard, making his 22nd straight appearance in the Swiss Alps.

The 46 year-old had wanted to skip Gleneagles to enjoy a Rioja or two at his nephew’s wedding but turned up there, too, to safeguard his Ryder Cup berth.

European Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie believes it will be almost impossible to choose his three wild cards on Sunday.

The top nine players in the points table after the final round of this week’s Johnnie Walker Championship in Scotland will automatically make the team for the Oct. 1-3 match against the United States at Celtic Manor in Wales.

Montgomerie will then complete his 12-man line-up with three wild card selections and his job has been made more difficult by Padraig Harrington, Luke Donald, Paul Casey and Justin Rose electing to play in the United States this week

“This isn’t difficult, it’s more or less impossible,” Europe’s captain said on Tuesday. “It is most unfortunate I am going to have to leave out world stars.

“I am going to have to leave out players that feel they can help the European Tour cause.”

Triple major winner Harrington, world number nine Casey, 10th-ranked Donald and number 22 Rose are all outside the top nine in the Ryder Cup points table.

“It is a bit like (England soccer manager) Fabio Capello having to leave out (Arsenal winger) Theo Walcott I suppose,” added Montgomerie. “He could only take 23 (to the World Cup in June), I can only take 12.

“I wish I could take 20, I really do, because 20 deserve their spots this year. They have played great, the standard on tour has been the best it’s ever been.

“This has been the hardest team to make of any Ryder Cup team I have been involved with,” said Montgomerie who made the first of eight playing appearances in the biennial team event in 1991. “I cannot please everybody on Sunday night.”

Peter Hanson, who climbed to eighth in the points table after last Sunday’s win at the Czech Open, criticised the Johnnie Walker absentees.

“If you really want to make the team … you should be here and playing,” said the Swede after arriving at Gleneagles.

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They may finally have extinguished the flames that were burning out Tiger Woods’s career. The world’s most famous sportsman is now divorced nine months after he crashed his Cadillac in the small hours of a late November morning.

It has been crash and burn ever since, but on Monday someone finally got the dented fire hydrant to work again.

It was curious that Woods and his former wife should choose to release the news on Tiger’s website

It was also telling that the “joint statement” was released under the names of “Elin Nordegren and Tiger Woods”. Elin comes first these days. She’s the one who has been wearing the plus fours in that relationship ever since that doomed night.

The statement read: “We are sad that our marriage is over and we wish each other the very best for the future. While we are no longer married, we are the parents of two wonderful children and their happiness has been, and will always be, of paramount importance to both of us.

“The weeks and months ahead will not be easy for them as we adjust to a new family situation, which is why our privacy must be a principal concern.”

The privacy mantra has been oft repeated these past nine months and has been as effective as hitting a cut-up wedge into a force 9 wind. The Americans love to use the word ‘closure’, but we are probably still a fair few months away from that.

It has been previously reported that the divorce will cost Woods £500 million. In return he gets shared parenting of the two children, Sam and Charlie, and Elin’s silence. That should at least bring Woods some peace of mind.

When I asked Woods in June, on the stated basis that our professional lives are inevitably affected by our personal lives, if he had any resolution with Elin, Woods replied with a snarl: “That’s none of your business.”

By posting this news on the website Woods has finally recognised that this is our business. Or as one fan put it: “You made it our business.”

That at least is some sort of progress, but it is unlikely that he has yet matured enough to finally utter Elin’s name in public again. The last time most of us can remember Woods putting that four-letter word together was back at the Masters in April.

Elin’s name may remain unutterable, but Woods should no longer be ruined by the strain of sorting out his divorce. He is likely to have more time for practice and more space in his head again.

Woods may even win a major next year, although there are some who think that the collapse of Woods’s reputation has broken his supremacy for ever.

In the short term it makes it even easier for Corey Pavin to pick Woods for the forthcoming Ryder Cup.

Woods had initially been reluctant to play but, conscious that a refusal to represent his country would only further damage his reputation, Woods suddenly showed willing. Maybe he had finally ascertained that his divorce was imminent.

There is also the mischievous thought that now Woods is single again, the rest of America’s Ryder Cup wives will be more willing to accept him.

Europe’s captain Colin Montgomerie had anticipated hostility, because many of the wives had previously been friendly with Elin. But this divorce may now allow Woods to find a measure of sympathy.

Many players have spoken of how their form was devastated by personal troubles. Monty himself, Paul Casey and Graeme McDowell have all recently articulated slumps brought on by unhappiness.

But top golfers, by nature and necessity are selfish creatures, and each one managed to recover. Woods is now likely to be able to do the same.

But he may never find the old powers.

In nine months Woods has been ridiculed by images of an avenging wife; he has had his considerable sexual exploits revealed; pole dancers have put on a Tiger show as they follow him from major to major; he has been associated with a doctor accused of supplying illegal drugs and been questioned by the feds.

Perhaps worst of all for a man of Woods’s pride, for a man with his meaning in life, he has shanked it all over the golf course. He may never fully forget that humiliation, but he may now at last be able to move on.

Woods may finally be on the first tee to recovery.

Thirteen players are separated by only two shots at the halfway stage of the Czech Open — and they include two of the men chasing a Ryder Cup place.

Peter Hanson, 15th on the points table, shares the lead on seven under par with fellow Swede Fredrik Widmark. England’s Simon Dyson, one spot below Hanson in the cup race with only one more week to come, is on five under as he also seeks the win which would take him into the all-important top nine at the expense of Paul Casey.

Hanson, who received an invitation to the event on Monday, added a 70 to his opening 67 and said: “I left four or five shots out there, but I’m feeling good about my game.”

Widmark is a lowly 1,354th — joint last — on the world rankings after having shoulder surgery and then breaking his wrist falling off a roof.

But the 34-year-old not only made his first halfway cut of the season on the European Tour, but caught Hanson by grabbing three birdies in his last four holes for a 67.

One behind are Ireland’s Peter Lawrie, who in contrast bogeyed two of the last four, Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts, Argentina’s Clodomiro Carranza and another Swede, Fredrik Andersson Hed.

Dyson returned a 69 and commented: “It’s weird because I kind of expected there to be double figures (under par) by now, but there isn’t and that stands me in good stead.”

The incentive for him and Hanson is that Casey, Padraig Harrington and Luke Donald, all of whom could have qualified, are missing next week’s Johnnie Walker Championship, opening the door to the chasing pack.

Ireland’s Shane Lowry is alongside him after a best-of-the-day 64 and Welshman Bradley Dredge would have been as well but for arriving for his round 20 seconds late and being penalised two shots.

“I thought I was 12.20 and it was 12.10,” he said after having to sign for a 67 rather than 65. “I wasn’t too happy, but it’s my fault for not getting it right.”

Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez, eighth in the cup standings and another who is not entered for next week, is also three under and English pair Ross McGowan and Oliver Wilson made the cut on level par to keep their fading cup hopes alive.

Virginie Lagoutte-Clement ended her four-year wait for a title with a final-round 71 to win the Aberdeen Ladies Scottish Open at Archerfield Links.

The 31 year-old from France came from four shots behind the overnight leader Jeehae Lee to finish on one over par and claim a one-stroke victory ahead of South Africa’s Lee-Anne Pace and English pair Sophie Walker and Trish Johnson as windy conditions took their toll on the scoring.

South Korean Lee finished two shots off the pace, tied with Scotland’s Vikki Laing and Stefania Croce of Italy, after she could only manage a closing-round 77.

Lagoutte-Clement began her final round in impressive fashion, an eagle at the par-five sixth moving her to four under par for the day. And that start proved crucial as she made three straight bogeys from the 14th, her final total just proving enough.

Lagoutte-Clement, who won her last title at the 2006 Finnair Masters in Finland, said: “I’ve been waiting for this for a long time. I’m so happy I don’t have the words to explain.

“Normally I play badly on links. I’m happy to have battled my demons with the links.”

Johnson finished with a 75, three bogeys in her final four holes ending her hopes of victory.

Pace, who won the S4C Wales Women’s Championship of Europe last weekend, finished with a 70, with five birdies in her final nine holes.

Walker, like Johnson, bogeyed the 18th to finish with a 73.

Ireland’s Rebecca Coakley, who had held a two stroke lead on three-under par after 14 holes, finished three shots back after taking an eight on the par-four 15th, dropping two more shots at the 16th and bogeying the 17th, resulting in a 75.

In normal circumstances, Paul Casey would not be paying close attention to what was happening at the Czech Open.

Nor would Padraig Harrington, Justin Rose or Luke Donald. But these are not normal circumstances.

A tournament featuring only two of the world’s top 50 – Spain’s Miguel Angel Jimenez and Sweden’s Peter Hanson – might have a big part to play in Europe’s Ryder Cup race.

And it could leave Casey, Harrington, Rose and Donald knowing that at least one of them will not be playing against the Americans at Celtic Manor in October.

While they controversially stay away from the final two counting events, England’s Ross McGowan and Simon Dyson have joined Hanson in a bid to oust Casey from the ninth and last automatic qualifying spot.

McGowan, whose hopes of making a first appearance in the Ryder Cup have suffered through wrist and shoulder problems this summer, needs a top-four finish at the Prosper Resort in Celadna on Sunday.

Dyson, who finished joint 12th with Casey in the US PGA Championship at the weekend, and Hanson need to win. Should the trio fall short, they still have next week’s Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles to come.

The race is not over yet either for Oliver Wilson, the Mansfield golfer who earned his first cap under Nick Faldo in Louisville two years ago.

Wilson has still to achieve his first European Tour victory, but a first or second place now would put him in with a chance of retaining his place as he travels on to Scotland.

US Ryder Cup captain Corey Pavin has said that Tiger Woods is “high on my list” of possible captain’s picks, but still would not say for certain the world No 1 would be chosen

Speaking a day after Woods finished tied for 28th at the PGA Championship, Pavin praised Woods but would not commit to adding him as one of four picks he has to complete a 12-man roster after eight players qualified on points Sunday.

Woods has not won since a sex scandal exploded around him last November, leading to a five-month golf layoff and the destruction of an iconic image that made him the first billion-dollar sportsman.

After firing the worst 72-hole score of his 14-year professional career and his first over-par four rounds at any event since 2003 the week before at a World Golf Championships event, Woods improved his form at the last 2010 major.

“He played better last week,” Pavin said. “He’s working on some things that seem to be improving his game. So I was obviously pleased to see that happen.”

Woods said he wants to play on the US Ryder Cup team that will defend the trophy against Europe on October 1-3 in Wales.

“He wants to play and he wants to be on the team,” Pavin said. “Again, he’s high on my list. He’s certainly a big consideration, no doubt.”

Among the other US players hoping for a Ryder Cup captain’s pick are 2009 US Open winner Lucas Glover, 2009 British Open champion Stewart Cink, Anthony Kim, Zach Johnson, Bo Van Pelt, Ben Crane, Nick Watney, Sean O’Hair and Rick Barnes.

Woods, who finished nine strokes behind German winner Martin Kaymer at the PGA, has now matched the longest major win drought of his career at 10, the most recent of his 14 major titles coming at the 2008 US Open.

Woods, still chasing the record 18 majors won by Jack Nicklaus, is expected by many to be on the US squad despite a losing record in foursomes and four-ball matches in Ryder Cup play.

But Pavin made it clear that the public will not know until the four captain’s choices are revealed on September 7.

“Come September 7, I will let you guys know who those four are going to be,” Pavin said. “But (Woods) and a lot of other guys are up on my list and probably that list will grow in the next three weeks.”

World number two Phil Mickelson, Hunter Mahan, Bubba Watson, Jim Furyk, Steve Stricker, Dustin Johnson, Jeff Overton and Matt Kuchar all seized Ryder Cup spots based on a two-year American qualifying system.

Overton is the first US Ryder Cup player to have never won a PGA event and he along with Watson, Kuchar and Johnson are newcomers to the Ryder Cup squad.

Colin Montgomerie is fighting to retain his credibility as Europe’s Ryder Cup captain as speculation about his personal life swirls round the US PGA Championship.

He said that the mockery he was being subjected to did not extend to players in his team, but looked very uncomfortable as he faced questions from the media.

On Tuesday Montgomerie’s old adversary, David Feherty, had referred on American radio to an apparent injunction served against a British newspaper.

Montgomerie said on Wednesday: “Obviously I listened to that radio show and I know a lot of you are having a lot of fun right now at my expense.

“Let me clear this up, though, I can categorically say that there’s no injunction against the News of the World.

“I’m really not going to discuss this any further.

“I apologise for this, that you have to bring this up, but at the same time no further comments from myself on that matter.”

Asked if potential European team members might also be having fun at his expense, Monty said: “None at all. None at all. I’ve spoken to a number of the players, and there’s no issue here at all. Nothing at all.

“I’m here to talk about The Ryder Cup, OK. So please, no further questions on that or any other subject regarding my private life. By definition, that is private.”

At this point the United States captain, Corey Pavin, intervened and said: “I agree with Colin, actually. Let’s stick to golf subjects here. We’d appreciate that. Thank you.”

Montgomerie will be hugely relieved that this year’s Ryder Cup is not in America, because he would have been slaughtered by the home fans. Even at Celtic Manor there may be a few personal taunts. One or two members of the American team have already been sniggering at Montgomerie’s troubles on the practice ground.

Montgomerie’s problems began in May when a newspaper published details of an affair with Jo Baldwin, a previous girlfriend.

Asked if that might affect his captaincy Montgomerie said at the time: “Not at all, not one bit, not at all. It is up to [his wife] Gaynor and I to work things out and we are doing. We look forward to welcoming everybody here to Wales in October with a win.”

It is not that simple any more. Montgomerie has become the butt of many a joke this week and that is a difficult position for any leader. England’s football captain, John Terry, was brought down by scandal and the team became split at the World Cup. There is a worry that Montgomerie may become similarly vulnerable, although he said last week that he had not even considered resigning.

Sadly his authority is being constantly undermined at the moment. There was a hugely embarrassing moment here in Kohler, Wisconsin, when a journalist asked Pavin if Tiger Woods would be accepted by the American wives. Montgomerie turned away, took a swig of water and looked down at the desk. He glistened under the lights.

Earlier this year Montgomerie had written in Telegraph Sport: “Turning up at Celtic Manor could be one of the hardest things Tiger ever does. He will worry about how the wives of the other players will react to him. Some of them might find it hard to welcome Tiger back into the group.”

That comment is now being used to tease Montgomerie.

Pavin said: “I think it’s a non-issue, really. I think it has nothing to do with the Ryder Cup at all. I don’t think anything needs to be done. I think whoever is on the team is going to be welcomed.”

Can Montgomerie be so certain that he will be as welcome in the European team. He dealt with all the awkward questions as well as could be expected, but there are some who think he may not survive until October.

Paul McGinley would be the likely replacement if Montgomerie fell, but the Scot is one of life’s most tenacious survivors. If he can get through the next week, he may still make it to Celtic Manor as Europe’s captain.