Phil Mickelson secures spot on U.S. Ryder Cup team

KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. — For the first time in memory, nobody played their way onto the U.S. Ryder Cup roster with a strong PGA Championship performance.

Steve Stricker came the closest to bumping Phil Mickelson from the eighth and final automatic berth. His closing 71, though, left him two strokes short of earning enough points to make the jump from No.10.

Bo Van Pelt also had a chance, but needed a second-place finish and had those chances fade with three late bogeys.

Mickelson instead nailed down a record ninth consecutive U.S. appearance. He’ll be joined by Tiger Woods, Masters champion Bubba Watson, U.S. Open winner Webb Simpson, Jason Dufner, Keegan Bradley, Zach Johnson and Matt Kuchar.

U.S. captain Davis Love III has three weeks to decide on his four wild-card selections, to be selected Sept. 4 after the Deutsche Bank Championship.

Europe’s entire Ryder Cup roster will be set in two weeks, with five automatics from a European Tour points list and five from a list based on world ranking points. Captain Jose Maria Olazabal will select his two wild cards the next day.

Loose leaves

Carl Pettersson dug himself an inadvertent hole at the outset of his final round, dinged two shots at No. 1 for moving a loose impediment in after his first drive came to rest in a lateral water hazard.

Though the Swede’s ball was safe, he had to be careful not to ground his club or move anything not attached to the ground. Pettersson’s club brushed the grass during his backswing, not a violation, but also caught a leaf.

“I don’t think it affected the outcome of the shot,” said Pettersson, whose even-par 72 left him tied for third. “It’s just one of those things. We have a lot of stupid rules in golf.”

Without the penalty strokes, Pettersson would have leapfrogged David Lynn for second. As it was, he birdied three consecutive holes after being informed of the penalty.

“I’ve got to take it on the chin, obviously,” Pettersson said. “I didn’t even realize I’d moved [the leaf], because I’m looking at the ball.”

Got them, too

Joost Luiten docked himself a one-stroke penalty after completion of his third round when he made contact twice on a tap-in putt.

The Dutch pro inadvertently scuffed the ground while making a one-handed tap-in at No. 16, causing the toe of his putter to tap the ball a second time. That’s a violation of Rule 14-4, which requires both taps to be counted.

Luiten called an inquiry on himself, asking for an opportunity to review video evidence of the stroke. The second contact was confirmed on video, prompting Luiten to add a stroke to his card for a third-round score of 75.

Johnson also penalized himself in the final round when his ball moved on the 18th green as he was starting the backswing of a putt. Though a video review was inconclusive, Johnson was convinced the ball had moved before contact.

Tap-ins

John Daly, two shots off the lead after the first day, claimed his best PGA finish since winning the 1991 title with a tie for 18th. This year, in fact, marked only the fifth time he made the cut since that weekend at Crooked Stick. … Graeme McDowell tied for 11th after two weekend 71s, giving him finishes of no lower than 12th in all four majors. All that was lacking was a victory.

jshain@orlandosentinel.com