Ogilvy edges Senden in Cup race

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John Senden finished second in the BMW Championship, but just missed out on a ticket to the Presidents Cup.

John Senden finished in second place in Sunday’s BMW Champion showdown, but it wasn’t enough to earn him an automatic ticket into the Presidents Cup.

Fellow Australian Geoff Ogilvy had accumulated enough points in the standings to edge out Senden and claim the 10th and last place in the team, despite finishing behind Senden in third place at Cog Hill.

But it was no real surprise.

The day had began with Ogilvy needing only a top 20 finish to sneak into the team, but Senden requiring nothing less than a victory to have any hope of securing a place in Greg Norman’s Presidents Cup International team to play against the USA at the Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Australia in November.

Ten of the 12 places on both the International and United States teams were automatically decided on points following Sunday’s final round leaving Norman and the American captain, Fred Couples, to each name two wild cards to complete their squads on September 27.

The International team is chosen from the world’s best players outside of Britain and Europe.

In the case of the USA, Couples has already indicated that one of his two wild card picks will go to Tiger Woods.

“It would be lovely to get a surprise pick,” said Senden, who will now have to rely on Norman’s goodwill for a place on the squad.

“There’s a lot of good Australian players that are just outside the mark, as well.

“But you never know. I would be proud to represent the Presidents Cup team if I make it.”

Norman will have plenty of choice for his two picks, for along with Senden, fellow other US-based Australians Robert Allenby and Aaron Baddeley are expected to get serious consideration.

Fiji’s Vijay Singh, who has not yet missed a Presidents Cup event, 2010 British Open champion Louis Oosthuizen, fellow South African Rory Sabbatini and Colombian Camilo Villegas are other strong contenders on Norman’s short list.

The two squads which have already qualified are as follows:

The United States:

Matt Kuchar, Steve Stricker, Dustin Johnson, Webb Simpson, Nick Watney, Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson, David Toms, Hunter Mahan, Jim Furyk

The Internationals

Jason Day (Australia), Adam Scott (Australia), Charl Schwartzel (South Africa), K.J. Choi (South Korea), Kyung-tae Kim (South Korea), Retief Goosen (South Africa), Ernie Els (South Africa), Yang Yong-eun (South Korea), Ryo Ishikawa (Japan), Geoff Ogilvy (Australia).

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