Pavin's nearing decision on captain's picks

U.S. Ryder Cup captain Corey Pavin is close to deciding his four captain's picks, according to multiple media outlets.

Pavin is expected to announce who will play with Team USA at the Ryder Cup held at Celtic Manor in Wales at the end of Labor Day weekend.

European captain Colin Montgomerie already chose his captain's picks when he tabbed three-time major winner Padraig Harrington, Luke Donald and Edoardo Molinari.

The Harrington selection, despite the multiple majors on his resume, was at Paul Casey's expense.

Casey looked like the better option due to his past match play record, performances in the British Open (tie-third) and PGA Championship (tie-12th) this year and his world ranking (No. 9).

That's in contrast to Harrington, who has played poorly in the two previous Ryder Cups and failed to make the cut in three majors in 2010.

So, when Pavin does make his choices known, there'll be plenty of second-guessing over who was chosen and who was snubbed.

The big decision for Pavin is whether Tiger Woods makes the team or not.

Woods is still No. 1 in the world and despite his poor form since returning to the PGA Tour after a layoff following the fallout from his marriage woes, he still boasts a record that Pavin would have a hard time overlooking.