Welcome to Petty Season

Welcome to the heart of Petty Season, the name I’ve given to the stretch of the year between captain’s picks and the start of the Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup. This is the part of the calendar where aggrieved players have the platform to prove why they shouldn’t have been left off their respective roster. 

In what has sneakily become a compelling tournament on primetime in America, the Procore Championship boasts a strong field this week in Napa, California. Ten of the 12 American Ryder Cuppers have turned up for a tuning session in Wine Country. Bryson DeChambeau (ineligible since he plays on LIV)  and Xander Schauffele (recent childbirth) are the only Americans who won’t be teeing it up at the Silverado Resort. Unfortunately, there are not many opportunities for pettiness at the Procore, though I suppose a Maverick McNealy win would be kind of fun. It is truly a shame that Keegan Bradley isn’t in the field this week. 

Across the pond, potential pettiness abounds at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth. Aaron Rai, Marco Penge, Harry Hall, and Matt Wallace are all in the field alongside 11 members of the European Ryder Cup team. Sepp Straka is the lone European not playing in the event. Personally, I am rooting hard for a Penge victory, ideally in a final pairing with a Team Europe captain’s pick. 

For those who like to read the tee leaves, the following European teammates are paired together for the first two rounds of the BMW PGA: Tommy Fleetwood and Justin Rose, Ludvig Aberg and Matt Fitzpatrick, Viktor Hovland and Rasmus Hojgaard, Robert MacIntyre and Tyrrell Hatton, plus a threesome of Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, and Shane Lowry. Take that information with a grain of salt, but many of the 2023 groupings materialized into Ryder Cup pairings in Italy.

Likewise on the American front at the Procore, Ryder Cuppers are paired with one another and vice captains. Scottie Scheffler, J.J. Spaun, and Russell Henley are grouped together. Same with Cameron Young, Ben Griffin, and Justin Thomas. Sam Burns is playing with Patrick Cantlay. And Harris English and Collin Morikawa will also be acclimating to each other’s presence.

Maybe it’s nothing, but the groupings do align with practice round sessions, as well.