By Brian Wacker, PGATOUR.COM

KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. -- We won’t know for another month who will be the captains’ picks for this year’s U.S. and European Ryder Cup teams, but Davis Love III and Jose Maria Olazabal offered at least some insight on Wednesday.

“We'll be plugging holes, matching pairings,” Love said. “Obviously if Steve Stricker was on the outside, we have a guy that likes to play with him that's a lock.”

Tiger Woods is that lock as he’s the only player on either side to have mathematically secured a spot.

As Love indicated, Woods has had success alongside Stricker. The two compiled a 6-2 record when paired together in the last three international team competitions (2-1 in the 2010 Ryder Cup, 0-1 and 4-0 in each of the last two Presidents Cups).

Stricker is currently 10th in the standings. Only the top eight players after this week’s PGA Championship will automatically make the U.S. team, however. Love will then make four captain’s picks Sept. 4.

Others on the outside looking in include Hunter Mahan, who has won twice this season, at No. 9, and Jim Furyk, who had leads late into the U.S. Open and last week’s World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, at No. 11. Furyk also finished second in Tampa, losing a playoff Luke Donald.

Rickie Fowler, who won earlier this year at Quail Hollow, is No. 12, while Brandt Snedeker, Dustin Johnson and Bo Van Pelt round out the top 15.

But as we saw with Keegan Bradley, a player can make a big leap in the standings with a win -- particularly this week with double points being awarded (players receive two points for every $1,000 in prize money earned). That means everyone down to Matt Every at No. 37 has a chance to earn an automatic spot with a victory at the PGA Championship.

“It just shows you that we are strong and all of the guys at the top are taking turns playing well,” Love said.  “There's a lot of golf to be watched. Fifty-one days (until the Ryder Cup), there's three tournaments after this week. I would think somebody can get really hot that we are not even looking at.”

One player Love will be looking at is an ice cold Phil Mickelson, who is on the bubble of earning one of those automatic spots at No. 8 in the standings.

Mickelson, who won at Pebble Beach earlier this year, has just one finish inside the top 25 on the PGA TOUR since April. At one point during that span, he failed to break par in nine consecutive rounds -- the longest such streak of his career. He’s also missed the cut in two of his last three starts, including at the British Open, and admitted to being “lethargic” the last two months.

If Mickelson were to struggle again this week, he could drop in the standings and that might force Love to use one of his picks on the veteran of eight Ryder Cups and nine Presidents Cups.

“I think he and Steve and a lot of guys are trying really hard to make the team, and that might be hurting them a little bit,” Love said. “We have all been there; the last few weeks, you press a little bit, you try a little too hard.”

Olazabal is facing a similar dilemma with Sergio Garcia and Padraig Harrington, who have played in five and six Ryder Cups, respectively. They are 12th and 29th in the current standings, though Europe’s top 10 players won’t become final until the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles later this month.

Europe’s team will be comprised of the top five players from the Ryder Cup European points list and the top five not otherwise qualified from the world points list. Olazabal will add two captain’s picks the day after Europe’s top 10 spots become final.

“He's a great team player,” Olazabal said of Garcia. “His spirit is always really good, and in that regard I think he's a great asset to the team. It's true that at the moment his game is a little bit off. Pairing-wise, he's proved the last few Ryder Cups he can play with anybody, and he's done well. I think that's very important. If you are looking at the players to be on your team, Sergio would certainly be one of them for sure.”

Harrington’s chances seem far more tenuous.

“He has to do really extraordinary well,” Olazabal said. “He's well down the list. He's a very methodical player. From tee-to-green, his game has been fairly good, but I think his putting has let him down this year so far. If he really does extraordinarily well, he can have a great chance of making the team still, but it's going to be up to him.”

Whoever Olazabal and Love pick, both men will lean on their assistant captains, among others, when it comes to making their selections.

Love added that he doesn’t yet have a hard list of player’s he’s considering when it comes to his picks. But he does have an idea of what characteristics he’s looking for.

“You want some hot putters,” Love said. “You might want another long'-ball hitter.

“This week is important, because it ends the points. But it's just as important as any of the guys who play at Greensboro or who plays well at Barclays. I would like to catch somebody that's hot this week and the next two tournaments they play.”

By Brian Wacker, PGAOTUR.COM

BETHESDA, Md. -- Davis Love III confirmed on Wednesday perhaps the worst-kept secret in golf: That Fred Couples will be one of his assistant captains at the Ryder Cup Sept. 28-30 at Medinah Country Club.

Joining Couples as an assistant is Mike Hulbert.

“I've talked to Fred a lot since he's done so well the last couple years with the Presidents Cup team,” said Love, who has yet to name his other assistants. “I talked to him a lot, gotten a lot of advice from him, been surprised at his level of detail and his commitment to the Presidents Cup. And I know that's why the guys are lobbying for him to do it over and over again, because he really has put a lot into it.”

Couples has captained the last two Presidents Cup teams -- and is the captain for 2013, too -- and led the U.S. to victory both times.

“People see Freddie, he makes it look so easy and he's got this nice swing and he's always smiling and waving,” Love continued. “But what's going on in his head, I think, is completely different. He really has a lot of pride in his game. It doesn't show, but he tries very, very hard.”

As for Hulbert, he came with a pretty impressive recommendation of sorts.

One of the first calls Love received after he was named captain was from Curtis Strange, who told love that Hulbert was “the best assistant captain in the history of the Ryder Cup.”

Hulbert was an assistant captain under Strange in 2002. He has also long been one of Love’s closest friends, even before Love played his first round on the PGA TOUR as an amateur and was paired with Hulbert.

“He knows a lot of guys out here and a lot of guys know him,” Love said. “He's one of those kind of the favorite hang guys around the TOUR.”

As for Couples’ other two assistants?

”Those two were my natural choices,” Love said. “My next two are going to be harder.”

By Bill Cooney, PGATOUR.COM There is no question Davis Love III has the Ryder Cup on his mind. But the U.S. captain isn't only thinking about riding around in a golf cart and rooting on the team. No, Love has definitely entertained the idea of playing in the event -- something that may not be that far-fetched considering his recent play. The U.S. captain is in line for his best finish on the PGA TOUR this season after carding a 2-under 68 in the third round of the FedEx St. Jude Classic on Saturday to take a share of the 54-hole lead at 6 under in Memphis, Tenn. "I might just pick myself today and get it over with," Love, a 20-time PGA TOUR winner, told CBS after his round. "No, I’m excited about the way I’m playing. I am trying to make the team. Trying to work my way back up." Love, ranked 63rd in Ryder Cup points, would be the first captain to play in the Ryder Cup since Arnold Palmer in 1963. He was tied with John Merrick (69) and Nick O'Hern (67), both of whom he is grouped with for a 8:54 a.m. local tee time. Golfers are teeing off earlier because of the threat of inclement weather in the afternoon. CBS will broadcast the event from 3 to 6 p.m. Eastern Time. Second-round leader Rory McIlroy carded a 2-over 72, struggling to keep his momentum in windy conditions while still ironing out the kinks of some swing changes that he's been working on. But McIlroy was within striking distance, making a birdie on the 18th hole to put himself one shot back with Dustin Johnson (67), Robert Allenby (67), Kevin Kisner (70), Chad Campbell (70) and Kevin Stadler (71). "It was a day where for me I took one step forward and two steps back," McIlroy said. "Every time I made a birdie, I followed it up with a bogey, felt like. It was testing out there, tough conditions and the wind was sort of swirling all over the place and made things tricky. I'm so happy to get back a birdie at the last and one off the lead going into tomorrow." The leaderboard was so crowded that 20 golfers were within four shots of the leaders. Merrick, the first-round leader, and O'Hern are both looking for their first PGA TOUR win. They are also looking to place in the top 25 for the first time this season. They'll be attempting to hold off players such as Johnson, McIlroy and J.B. Holmes (72) -- who was only two shots back and is more than capable of going low at TPC Southwind. The big-hitting Holmes carded a 6-under 29 on the front nine on Friday. For Love, 48, a victory this week would mean a lot. For starters, he hasn't won since 2008. It would also be an incredible accomplishment during an up-and-down season. After a decent start in 2012, Love suffered a torn rib muscle at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard and was forced to withdraw. He didn't return until THE PLAYERS Championship and likely wasn't at full strength until last week, when he tied for 16th at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide Insurance. Then Love earned a spot in next week's U.S. Open -- which will be his 23rd appearance in the event -- by going through 36 holes of sectional qualifying on Monday. It sounds like a busy schedule. But as Love said, it beats sitting home on the couch with an injury and not being able to play at all. "(It would) be a lot of Ryder Cup points and get me back going, you know," Love said of a potential victory on Sunday. "Like I said, I started off the year ready to go and excited about the way I was playing and got knocked back a couple times with injuries. And the work has paid off, and I'm still hitting it far enough. I putted really well at Memorial and then the qualifier, so ... I know that I can, you know, I can still do it."

UPPER ARLINGTON, Ohio -- U.S. captain Davis Love III won't have to watch potential Ryder Cup players on television at the U.S. Open on television. He'll be playing alongside them. Love qualified for the U.S. Open for the third time in the last six years with a 2-under 139 at Scioto Country Club and Ohio State's Scarlet Course. Love, who finished tied for 16th at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide Insurance on Sunday, said it never crossed his mind to just bag it and go home rather than extend an already long week by playing 36 more holes. "No. Like last year, statistically I hit the ball well enough at the U.S. and the British to win," he said. "I definitely want to play." The 48-year-old Love has won 20 tournaments around the world, including the 1997 PGA Championship. He continues to play well, despite fighting off injuries, family obligations and an entire generation of younger players. He was among 16 players to qualify from the biggest of the 11 sectional qualifying sites across the country on Monday. One of them won't even get started until Tuesday. There was so much rain in Memphis, Tenn., that no one played more than a few minutes. USGA officials hope the course is dry enough to squeeze in 36 holes. The U.S. Open is June 14-17 at The Olympic Club in San Francisco, and the 48-year-old Love will be making his 23rd appearance in his national open. Others who qualified from Scioto and Scarlet included medalist Charlie Wi, Kevin Streelman, D.A. Points, Rod Pampling and Steve Marino, who only last week returned from a four-month break to recovery from a bad shoulder. Love still hasn't forgotten the details from a year ago, however, when he three-putted the last hole he played at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial that cost him an automatic spot in the Open at Congressional. He had to go through qualifying to get in the field. "I seem to play well in the qualifying because I don't have a scoreboard to look at," he said. "You just play." Love has been in captain mode off and on since being selected for the matches this fall. He has been assessing potential players for the American side and has played with several. One of them, former British Open champ Ben Curtis, was in his threesome on Monday, although Curtis faded on his second 18 and failed to make the Open field. Perhaps the biggest cheer of the day came as darkness was falling at Scioto Country Club. On the fourth playoff hole to decide the last qualifiers, 42-year-old Youngstown, Ohio, teaching pro Dennis Miller's 20-foot putt from the fringe stopped on the lip of the cup. After the gallery of a few hundred groaned and Miller slowly started to walk to his ball, if fell -- touching off a huge celebration. Now Miller, a third alternate whose name did not even appear on the tee sheet, will be playing in his first U.S. Open -- and will likely have to get someone to fill in for him back at the course at Mill Creek Metroparks in Youngstown. "I can't believe what just happened," Miller said. "That was pretty incredible." Most of the rest of the field in the qualifier in suburban Columbus, Ohio, was filled with PGA TOUR pros who had just competed in the nearby Memorial. Among those who did not qualify were two of the contenders at Jack Nicklaus' tournament. Rory Sabbatini had the lead with four holes left on Sunday but was overtaken when Tiger Woods birdied three holes, including the 16th on an improbable 50-foot chip-in from thick grass behind the green. Spencer Levin led going into the final round at Muirfield Village and was still atop the leaderboard with nine holes left but fell apart on the back nine with three bogeys and a double-bogey in a 75. Sabbatini shot a 70 in his first 18 at Scarlet, but sagged to a 76 in the afternoon to fall short. Levin, who could have earned an automatic berth in the Open had he finished in the top two instead of tying for fourth at the Memorial, followed a 72 at Scioto with a 74 at Scarlet. Levin still has a chance to make the U.S. Open if he can crack the top 60 in the world after this week. Wi was the medalist by three strokes. He opened with a 7-under-par 65 at Scarlet and followed up with a 67 at Scioto. "This is only my second one. It's not easy to get in," said Wi, a California native whose only previous appearance was at Bethpage Black three years ago. "I always flew home Sunday night because if I missed (in the qualifier) I was already home. This worked out better. I took the strategy that if I missed I'd be home for two weeks. That's probably not a good strategy." But it worked out fine.

The pairings have been unveiled for this week’s PGA TOUR Matchups Game on Facebook. You can check out the Matchups for the THE PLAYERS Championship below, or on the PGA TOUR’s Facebook page.

Participants have until 6 a.m. ET Thursday to make their picks. Log on to the PGA TOUR Facebook page and click the Matchups link to make your picks for this week, or to sign up.

GO TO FACEBOOK PAGE TO PLAY MATCHUPS GAME

Tiger Woods vs. Phil Mickelson	In dozens of starts, have just one PLAYERS win each
Rory McIlroy vs. Rickie Fowler	Rematch of last week's epic playoff at Wells Fargo
K.J. Choi vs. Sergio Garcia	Two former champs each won title in a playoff
Hunter Mahan vs. Ben Crane	Close friends both have game for TPC Sawgrass
Vijay Singh vs. Davis Love III	Love III has two titles here. Singh looking for first.

Tuesday, May 8 Rory McIlroy: 10 a.m. ET Tiger Woods: 2 p.m. ET K.J. Choi: 2:45 p.m. ET Phil Mickelson: 3 p.m. ET Hunter Mahan: 3:30 p.m. ET Rickie Fowler: 4 p.m. ET Wednesday, May 9 Luke Donald, 9 a.m. ET David Toms, 1 p.m. ET PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem, 2:30 p.m. ET Davis Love III, TBD  

All press conferences will be streamed live on PGA TOUR.COM. Wednesday, May 2 10:30 a.m. ET: Rory McIlroy Noon ET: Lee Westwood 1 p.m. ET: Phil Mickelson 1:30 p.m. ET: Bill Haas 2 p.m. ET: Hunter Mahan

U.S. Ryder Cup Captain Davis Love III has withdrawn from the Shell Houston Open.

The development was not entirely unexpected. Love withdrew prior to the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard after hurting his rib on Friday “swinging too hard at buried lies,” he later tweeted. Love said he was having a bone scan on Monday.

Late Monday evening Love tweeted congratulations to Tiger Woods for breaking a 30-month victory drought at Bay Hill and his long-time friend Fred Couples, who won on the Champions Tour Sunday.

“And I am out with a cracked rib, hopefully not too long,” Love tweeted.

Marco Dawson replaced Love in the field at Redstone Golf Club.

ORLANDO – U.S. Ryder Cup Captain Davis Love III has withdrawn from the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard.

Love, who shot 74 on Saturday, cited a rib injury for his early exit. About an hour before he was scheduled to tee off with Camilo Villegas on Sunday, Love tweeted: “Had to withdraw, hurt rib Friday swinging too hard at buried lies! Bone scan tomorrow...”