HERTFORDSHIRE, England (AP) -- The caddie for Phil Mickelson saw this coming.
Mickelson and David Howell were paired together in the third round of the Memorial this year when everything went wrong for the Englishman, from shots landing underneath trees to taking wicked hops in to the bunker. Howell shot 83 that day.
In the middle of the carnage, Mickelson's caddie shook his head in disbelief. Anything that could so wrong went worse.
One reporter noted that he had never seen so many bad breaks.
"Yeah, but just watch," Jim "Bones" Mackay said with a laugh. "He'll make everything at the Ryder Cup."
Howell played Brett Wetterich in singles at the Ryder Cup and finished with four straight birdies for a 5 & 4 victory.
WORLD CUP: Stewart Cink and J.J. Henry became close friends through the Ryder Cup and halved both their fourball matches at The K Club. Their partnership will be resurrected again in Barbados at the World Cup.
Cink and Henry will represent the United States on Dec. 7-10, the sixth different team the Americans have used. They will be among 24 two-man teams playing at the Country Club Course in what might be the final World Cup.
Six other players who competed in the Ryder Cup will play -- Luke Donald and David Howell of England, Padraig Harrington and Paul McGinley of Ireland, Colin Montgomerie (and Marc Warren) of Scotland, and Henrik Stenson (and Carl Pettersson) of Sweden.
There was speculation Tiger Woods might play because he is close friends with the owners of Sandy Lane, and they let him use the posh resort to get married two years ago. Woods has not played in the World Cup since he and David Duval lost in a playoff in Japan in 2001.
KIM'S DEBUT: Anthony Kim left the Oklahoma Sooners early to turn pro, and he can't argue with the immediate results.
Using his first sponsor's exemption at the Texas Open -- and with help from a seasoned caddie -- Kim closed with a 65 to tie for second and earned nearly $300,000. In also got him a spot in the Southern Farm Bureau Classic.
"I feel if I play well, I can play with anybody," Kim said. "My problem was maybe my course management wasn't where it needed to be, and with an experienced guy like 'Bambi' on the bag, it was a lot easier to play golf."
"Bambi" would be Ron Levin, the caddie for Todd Hamilton. The former British Open champion took the week off, so Levin helped navigate Kim around the LaCantera course in San Antonio.
DIVOTS: Ireland hasn't seen the last of match play. The European Tour is taking the Seve Trophy to the Heritage Golf & Spa Resort, about 30 miles away from The K Club, in 2007 and 2009. The Seve Trophy is matches between Great Britain & Ireland and continental Europe. ... Perhaps the most biting comment at the Ryder Cup came on Sunday, when Sergio Garcia said Europe's victory hopefully would end questions whether the Nationwide Tour was the second-best tour in golf. "Behind Europe," Luke Donald added. ... Eric Axley's victory in the Texas Open was the eighth by a left-hander on the PGA Tour. ... Davis Love III pulled out of the WGC-American Express Championship to spend time with his family after two high school friends of his daughter were involved in a car accident Sunday night.
STAT OF THE WEEK: Stuart Appleby is the only player to compete in every World Golf Championship that counts toward official money since they began in 1999.
FINAL WORDS: "Second-guessing is a waste of time." Tom Lehman, after his U.S. team was beaten 18 1/2 to 9 1/2 at the Ryder Cup.
Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
