Did Hoffman's win just put him on Pavin's Ryder Cup squad?

NORTON, Mass. -- Talk about prophectic.

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Charley Hoffman had been joking with Paul Godyos earlier in the week, and he asked the assistant Ryder Cup captain if he had any input into the four picks Corey Pavin was to make on Tuesday.

"Put in a good word for me," Hoffman remembers saying.

"Well, you go out and win, and you're going to be on the short list," Goydos replied.

Consider it done. And don't think that Hoffman, who closed with a career-low 62 on Monday to take a five-stroke victory at the Deutsche Bank Championship, would be such a far-fetched pick.

After all, Pavin wants players who are playing well, and while Hoffman may have ended up 57th in the Ryder Cup standings, he's had four top-10s in his last six starts. Not to mention, Hoffman tied the tournament record on a challenging course and ended up winning going away.

That said -- and his conversation with Goydos notwithstanding, Hoffman knows he wasn't on the Ryder Cup radar screen until Monday. And even after the lopsided victory, Hoffman understands Pavin would be going out on a limb to put him on the team but the dream remains.

"Let's put it this way: Would I be honored to play on the Ryder Cup team? There's no question," Hoffman said. "I'd love to play. I think I'd help that team.

"If I don't get picked, there's not a bad pick. All these players who are going to play for the U.S. Team are great players and they're going to show up there and they're going to be a great team if I'm on it or off it."

Truth be told, Pavin really has just three picks, too.

Although both were coy last month, the captain had to save one for arguably the greatest player the game has ever seen when after a turbulent and truncated season, Tiger Woods came up short of the eight automatic qualifiers at the end the PGA.

Woods, who put together three rounds in the 60s at TPC Boston for the first time since last year's TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola, said he planned to call Pavin on Monday afternoon. And the world No. 1 is in a far different frame of mind than when he finished next to last in the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational last month.

Asked that Sunday in Akron whether he even wanted to play in the Ryder Cup, Woods had been blunt.

"Not playing like this, definitely not, not playing like this," he said. "I wouldn't help the team if I'm playing like this. No one would help the team if they're shooting 18-over par.

Seconds later, though, Woods had allowed that "I think I can turn it around." And that's exactly what he did -- working with swing guru Sean Foley at the PGA, where Woods tied for 28th, and back home in Orlando before The Barclays, where he led the field in fairways hit and tied for 12th.

"I missed the last (Ryder Cup) because I was hurt, and it would be nice to be on the team," said Woods, who tied for 11th at TPC Boston. "I enjoy playing in the Ryder Cup and going out there against those guys with my teammates and see if we can get it done."

Beyond Woods, though, Pavin has some interesting decisions. With four rookies among his eight automatic qualifiers, veterans like Stewart Cink and Zach Johnson likely appear very attractive. Cink, who has tied for 18th, 15th and 18th (at the Deutsche Bank Championship) in his last three starts is bidding to play on his fifth Ryder Cup.

"I certainly have to claim experience as one of my pro-Stewart Cink factors," the 2009 British Open champion said. "... I'm leaning on experience. ... "I'm honored to be included in the mix. Hopefully, Corey will call and tell me I need to get measured."

Johnson tied for third at the PGA Championship -- which is one of just two top-10s recorded in the last four weeks by Ryder Cup prospects ranked between ninth and 20th in the final team standings. The other came from Lucas Glover, who finished solo seventh at the Wyndham Championship but has missed two cuts and tied for a distant 65th on Sunday.

Johnson, who ranked 11th in the Ryder Cup standings, also has a win in 2010 to recommend him, as do No. 15 Ben Crane and No. 9 Anthony Kim, who once appeared to be a lock. Kim, though, has missed his last three cuts after May surgery to reattach a ligament at the base of his left thumb -- which ironically was timed so that he'd be ready for the Ryder Cup.

J.B. Holmes, who tied for 11th at TPC Boston, would bring length and an improved short game to the mix. Potential rookies like Sean O'Hair, Rickie Fowler and Nick Watney, who squandered a three-shot lead in the final round of the PGA Championship, have had their moments but haven't stepped up of late.

And you thought Colin Montgomerie had a tough decision eight days ago.