US captain Furyk to pick three Ryder Cup wild cards

US Ryder Cup captain Jim Furyk will name his first three wild cards today and appears to have a far more straightforward decision than European counterpart Thomas Bjorn.

While Bjorn could have as many as 10 contenders from which to select his four wild cards on Wednesday, Furyk looks set to opt for Bryson DeChambeau, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods, the players who finished ninth, 10th and 11th in qualifying.

It is only the identity of his final wild card, to be named after the third FedEx Cup playoff event on September 10, which will be causing a headache with names such as Xander Schauffele, Matt Kuchar, Tony Finau, Kevin Kisner and Zach Johnson in contention.

Woods underwent spinal fusion surgery in April last year and was arrested on suspicion when he was found asleep at the wheel of his car. The 42 year old, who had five prescription drugs in his system, later pleaded guilty to reckless driving and will spend a year on probation and undergo a diversion programme.

Woods only returned to competitive golf in November but has been impressive since, recording five top-10 finishes and missing just two halfway cuts, with sixth place in the Open at Carnoustie and second in the US PGA removing any lingering doubts about his place on team.

The 14-time major winner will be replaced as a vice captain when selected and will look to improve on his poor record in the event, which has seen him win 13, lose 17 and halve three of his 33 matches.

Mickelson’s record does not make for any better reading, the five-time major winner winning 18, losing 20 and halving seven of his 45 matches. Only Furyk has lost as many matches.

Mickelson, 48, is having to rely on a wild card for the first time in his career after his chances of qualifying ended with a missed cut in the US PGA, although the left-hander did win his first title since the 2013 Open in the WGC-Mexico Championship earlier this season.

As for DeChambeau, he also missed the cut in the US PGA when he had a chance to overhaul Webb Simpson in the automatic places, but on his next start he won for the second time this season with the first FedEx Cup play-off title.

DeChambeau also went into the final round of the Dell Technologies Championship just a shot off the lead, while his friendship with Woods could see the pair teaming up at Le Golf National.