NEW YORK - Those who believe in cause and effect will find a connection between the New York Stock Exchange serving as the site for the announcement of the U.S. Ryder Cup wild cards on Tuesday and the Dow Jones average subsequently falling 107 points.

Tiger Woods futures? Sell short.

That team captain Corey Pavin made Woods one of his four selections was a given, Jim Gray or no Jim Gray. The American squad literally wasn't going anywhere, meaning to Wales to play the Europe/Great Britain team in the beginning of October, without Tiger.

He means too much to U.S. golf. Too much to NBC, which will be televising the matches. Too much to people who believe in contrition and forgiveness.

Whether the team figuratively can go somewhere, upsetting a much stronger Euro roster playing in effect a home game, at Celtic Manor in Wales, may be dependent on Woods, who finally is showing signs of life. And signs, and words, of enthusiasm.

The other years, when Woods led the automatic qualifiers for the U.S. team, he seemed out of sorts, as if playing golf for his country was an obligation instead of an opportunity.

Maybe it was because the biennial matches were in the fall, the end of a long season. Maybe it was because his focus had been on what he could achieve as an individual.

When someone occasionally would confront Woods with his Ryder Cup record, which is 10 wins, 13 losses and 2 ties, and of course involves much more competition paired with a teammate, either best-ball or alternate shot, than individual, he had a ready response.

"What was Jack Nicklaus' Ryder Cup record?'' Woods might ask, and when not a person in a crowded media room had a clue, he would add with smile, "And how many majors did Jack Nicklaus win?'' Indeed, breathes there an individual who couldn't answer, "18.''

To which, Woods might follow, "See what I mean.''

We did. But what we see this year of 2010, when Woods hasn't won any tournament much less a major, when he expressed a desire to be picked for the Ryder Cup team, when after the womanizing and divorce and loss of sponsors he is attempting to regain our respect and his status, is a new Tiger.

A Tiger who can prove he both gives a damn and is capable of playing as expected.

The top eight qualifiers on points in tournaments since the last Ryder Cup, in 2008, a Ryder Cup which Tiger missed because he was recovering from knee surgery, automatically make the team.

Those eight in order were Phil Mickelson, Hunter Mahan, Steve Stricker, Jim Furyk, Matt Kuchar, Bubba Watson, Dustin Johnson and Jeff Overton.

Tiger was 12th in points, and all things considering, since the team is 12 players, a legitimate pick. As were Pavin's other three selections, Zach Johnson, who's been spectacular the last few months, Stewart Cink and Rickie Fowler.

According to Pavin, Fowler, the guy in the oversized hat apparently designed by a rap artist, was a guy who struck him the right way, even though sometimes he strikes a ball the wrong way.

At 21, and a native Southern Californian, as is Pavin, Fowler, a one-time dirt-bike racer, brings a certain style not normally found in walnut-paneled locker rooms.
He also brings a 7-1 match play record from the Walker Cup, which is an amateur version of the Ryder Cup, except the golfers are only from the United States and Great Britain/Ireland.

"It just came down to feelings,'' Pavin said in his announcement. "I had a gut feeling about Rickie.''

That method of choice may become the illogical edge America is seeking when it crosses the Atlantic. Despite all the great players of the past 15 years or so, Tiger and Phil, Fred Couples and Davis Love, David Duval and Jim Furyk, the U.S. has lost the last three Ryder Cups played in Europe.

It could be that Fowler, who's never won anything as a pro, who wears outfits of colors associated with popsicles not clothing, might turn out to be the magic addition.

The Euros could take one look and wonder, "What's he doing here?'' Except they already saw him at St. Andrews and expressed the same thought.

American golfers tend to get rattled when the crowd is partisan and cheers every time Mickelson or Furyk misses two-footer. That's not golf, they say. But in the Ryder Cup it is.

"On the road it's very different,'' agreed Woods, sounding like a Lakers player heading to Boston to face the Celtics. "You get booed a lot. You get jeered, and people say things they probably shouldn't say. I've had that experience and understand how to deal with it and make it a positive thing."

Rickie Fowler hasn't had the experience, but what Corey Pavin is thinking is the Euros haven't had to deal with Rickie Fowler.

He's been given the opportunity. So has Tiger Woods. What each does with it will reflect on their history and Corey Pavin's intuition.