Maybe.
If there is one thing U.S. Ryder Cup Captain Paul Azinger has repeated time and time again, it's that he wants desperately to select hot golfers with his unprecedented four Captain's picks. He has even suggested aloud that he would consider other Tours. Virtually all of us assumed that he was referring to the Nationwide Tour and some of those young upcoming stars IF they were dominating. But what of the older set? Certainly we witnessed in the Open Championship at Birkdale that a hot senior golfer in his 50s can still give the flatbellies a go.
So I'm telling you now that after last week's domination of the field at the Jeld-Wen Tradition, Fred Funk is in the unlikely position of potentially making a run at being in the U.S. side. Make that very unlikely. But if he were to win again this week or next on the Champions Tour, he's certainly worth a look. Everybody knows his game is well-suited to match play when he is on form. Not only does he hit more fairways than anyone since Calvin Peete, he seldom misses greens as well. What an asset in match play to be always in the fairway and then, by virtue of being shorter off the tee than your opponent, on the green first.
There was a terrific post tournament quote from Funk on his three-shot victory: "If you're in a fight, I want to kick them again. I learned that when I used to be a boxer. You don't want this guy coming back. So when he's down, kick him again." Sounds like an attitude in which recent U.S. teams – Tiger Woods excluded - have been woefully short.
