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Woods’ Ryder Cup chances depend on 3 tournaments

By WTOP Staff

DOUG FERGUSON
AP Golf Writer

SOUTHPORT, England (AP) — Ryder Cup captain Tom Watson says that Tiger Woods will be on the U.S. team if he’s healthy and playing well.

But what if he’s healthy and not playing at all?

Woods is at No. 209 in the FedEx Cup and needs to get to No. 125 to qualify for the playoffs. This next month of three tournaments — the British Open, Bridgestone Invitational and PGA Championship — ultimately will decide if he’s in Gleneagles for the Ryder Cup the last weekend in September.

“He’ll be considered less of a pick then if he didn’t have a track record going into the Ryder Cup,” Watson said last week. “He’d be the first to tell you, ‘I haven’t been playing.’ How he’s been playing and if he’s healthy, those are the two factors that I’ll weigh in choosing him. That’s just common sense, in my opinion.”

Here’s a common-sense way to look at the next month:

–If Woods qualifies for the FedEx Cup playoffs, he’s on the team. He’ll have played good golf to get there.

–Even if he comes close to the playoffs, Watson might consider that reasonable form to be one of three picks.

–If he doesn’t feature in any of the three tournaments, and doesn’t come close to making the playoffs, Woods will have two weeks out of golf (unless he chooses to play a Web.com Tour event) before Watson has to make his picks.

“I’ll be watching Tiger as he plays,” Watson said. “He’ll be playing at The Open Championship. Hope to get together with him there and tell him my feelings. … Right now, he’s way down the list as far as points. But who wouldn’t pick Tiger Woods to be on your Ryder Cup team? That is the question to everybody. Who wouldn’t pick him?”

Fred Couples reached that conclusion three years ago for the Presidents Cup, except the timetable was different. Woods missed two majors in 2011 because of injuries and didn’t qualifying for the playoffs. Couples declared him to be on the team a month before making his picks.

“There is no reason for me to wait,” Couples said. “He’s the best player in the world forever.”

Those matches, however, were not played until November. Watson might not have that luxury.

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STACY’S MEMENTO: Stacy Lewis keeps most of her old golf clubs in the garage at home in Florida, except for three special clubs that are upstairs in a Solheim Cup bag.

One is her 5-iron that she hit into the 17th hole at St. Andrews last year, the signature shot of her victory in the Ricoh Women’s British Open. The other two are putters that produced wins — except one of those putters wasn’t meant to be there.

The first putter is what she used to win the Kraft Nabisco Championship for her first major, and then she eventually changed putters.

As for the other?

“And then the one I had most my wins — all of my wins — in 2012, I decided to bend,” she said. “I was able to bend it back, but it was not quite right.”

The smile suggested there was more to the story, and there was.

The putter was not bent for technical reasons.

“This was an ‘accident’ bend,” she said.

Toward the end of last year at the Lorena Ochoa Invitational, Lewis was going through a spell of mediocre putting when she walked off the fourth green and slammed her putter against the bag.

On the next hole, she noticed it was bent and she could no longer use a damaged club. She went to a sand wedge to putt with the leading edge, eventually switched to a pitching wedge and even made a couple of 20-footers. She went to a pro shop and found an Odyssey putter — the Callaway staff estimated it to be 8 years old — and had it prepared to her specifications. Lewis went on to tie for second.

She learned to putt with a wedge in an emergency. She has not slammed her putter against the bag since. And while she was sentimental toward that bent putter, the new one is working out OK. Lewis already has won three times this year and is No. 1 in the world.

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OPEN PRIZE MONEY: The British Open will have the largest purse in major championship history, a record that will last for all of three weeks.

Part of that is because of a strong exchange rate in the UK, which currently is about $1.71 per British sterling.

The Open has increased its prize fund to 5.4 million pounds, which is about $9.24 million and nearly $250,000 higher than the U.S. Open and Masters this year ($9 million each). That will be topped at the PGA Championship, which this year features a $10 million purse.

The winner of The Open will receive 975,000, or about $1.67 million.

___

RYO IN THE CLUTCH: Ryo Ishikawa won last week on the Japan Golf Tour for the first time in 20 months, and timing could not have been better.

By defeating Koumei Oda in a playoff, Ishikawa moved up to No. 76 in the world ranking.

The ranking this week is used as the alternate list for the British Open, and when Steve Stricker withdrew Tuesday, Ishikawa took his spot at Royal Liverpool.

Ross Fisher is the next alternate, followed by David Hearn of Canada, Daniel Summerhays and Seung-yul Noh of South Korea.

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LEHMAN & SONS: Tom Lehman has played the British Open every year since winning in 1996 at Royal Lytham & St. Annes. That streak ends this year so Lehman can spend time with his family — specifically his two sons, and he’ll be plenty involved with golf.

Lehman’s two sons, Thomas and Sean, are both playing competitive golf this summer and have two tournaments during the British Open at Hoylake and the Senior British Open in Wales. Lehman has withdrawn from both championships to support his sons in their tournaments.

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DIVOTS: Baltusrol has been selected to host the U.S. Junior Amateur in 2018, the 16th time the New Jersey course will have staged a USGA championship. That matches the second-highest number of USGA championships by any club. Merion has hosted 18 USGA events. Baltusrol, The Country Club and Oakmont are next at 16. Oakmont gets its 16th when its hosts the U.S. Open in 2016. … The R&A has appointed Mark Lawrie as its director in Latin America, where he will be involved with the Latin America Amateur Championship. He previously was head of the Argentina Golf Association. The Latin America Amateur is run by the R&A, Augusta National and the USGA. … Brendon Todd has five top 10s in his last six tournaments, starting with his win at the Bryon Nelson Championship. The exception was a tie for 17th in the U.S. Open.

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STAT OF THE WEEK: The last three British Open champions played in the Scottish Open the previous week.

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FINAL WORD: “I felt like a doughnut fresh out of the fryer, rolling around in the sugar.” — Michelle Wie, on winning the U.S. Women’s Open.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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