CARMEL, Ind. -- The journey started in Rio de Janeiro, where Rickie Fowler played for the United States in the mens Olympic golf tournament. From there, he went to Greensboro, New York, Boston and Indianapolis in search of FedEx points and brownie points.He didnt earn enough of the former to secure a place in Atlanta in two weeks for the PGA Tours season-ending, 30-man field at the Tour Championship.Whether he got enough of the latter will be determined Monday -- or perhaps not until Sept. 25 -- when captain Davis Love III makes his at-large selections for the U.S. Ryder Cup team.Playing in his fifth straight week, Fowler admitted he was running out of energy. The result was a lackluster performance at the BMW Championship, in which he tied for 59th and was forced to watch the wildly fluctuating projections that had him in and out of the top 30 all afternoon.As it turned out, when J.B. Holmes parred the final hole to shoot 2-over-par 74 -- making a testy 3-footer -- he secured the 28th position. Fowler was bumped to 31st, just behind Charl Schwartzel,?who shot a final-round 64 to move into a tie for fourth and jump up from 43rd in FedEx Cup points.Theres nothing I can do, Fowler said after finishing with an even-par 72; he was long gone when those on the golf course determined his fate. Im not going to go heckle the ones that I need to miss or anything like that. I want to see guys play well, and theyre all my buddies. You never root against anyone.And like I said, all I can do is go play golf today and Im done. So whatever happens, happens.Fowler can point to a nine-tournament stretch that began at the Players Championship that led to his inability to qualify for the Tour Championship.Starting at the PGA Tours flagship tournament, Fowler missed three straight cuts and had just one finish inside the top 10. While competing at the mens Olympic golf tournament, in which he finished tied for 37th, Fowler decided to add the Wyndham Championship to his schedule in an effort to make the U.S. Ryder Cup team on points.The following weeks Barclays was the last qualifying event, and Fowler was in good shape to make the team, only to falter on the last day and tie for seventh after holding the 54-hole lead. That tournament ultimately cost him his spot at East Lake; had he finished one place higher, he would have easily advanced.Now he may or may not have put his place on the U.S. Ryder Cup team in jeopardy.There are arguments for and against Fowler, to be sure. He is ranked ninth in the world and has played in two Ryder Cups with a 0-3-5 record; but he did little over the past six months in which he could have easily wrapped up a spot.Ive done basically everything I can do as far as schedule and playing, and obviously it would have been nice to play better to make the pick a lot easier on him, but whether he has his mind made up or is still thinking, thats up to him, Fowler said. Im just looking forward to having an off week at home this coming week.Hell have the week of the Tour Championship off as well, but Fowler can take solace in knowing that others being considered for a pick didnt exactly distinguish themselves, either.Holmes tied for fourth, but it came after a five-tournament stretch in which he missed three cuts; Bubba Watson tied for 20th and has just two worldwide top-10s going back to March; Ryan Moore won the John Deere Classic last month, then had two top-10s in the playoffs, only to tie for 64th at Crooked Stick this week.There are arguments for and against just about every player who is in the running for one of the four picks.As for the Tour Championship, it will play on without Open champion Henrik Stenson, who was bumped out of the top 30 because he took this week off to rest his ailing knee. Sergio Garcia didnt make it to East Lake, either, leaving Rory McIlroy as the only European Ryder Cup team member to play in Atlanta.BMW championship winner Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Jordan Spieth, Jimmy Walker, Brandt Snedeker and Phil Mickelson are the U.S. team members who will be in Atlanta, as will several of the potential at-large picks in the field, including Justin Thomas, Moore, Matt Kuchar, Watson, Daniel Berger and Holmes. In his weekly column, Sky Sports Spanish football expert Guillem Balague looks ahead to Arsenal’s Champions League tie with Barcelona and answers your questions on Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Cristiano Ronaldo and Gary Neville... The cover of Mondays edition of Sport said it all. A picture of a crestfallen Cristiano Ronaldo on the ground with the caption The End underneath. It appears Real Madrids season is over, in La Liga at least.Madrids draw at Malaga could inadvertently help the Spanish sides focus their attention on the Champions League, with Barcelona seemingly out of reach and Real and Atletico not involved in the latter stages of the Copa del Rey. When the likes of Gerard Pique and Sergio Busquets are missing for Barca, as they were against Las Palmas, the team doesnt play well, but it still has a dynamism up front to make up for it. That was the case in Gran Canaria and well have to keep an eye on the progression of the team, both physically and mentally, as the big challenges continue to come thick and fast.Despite this, you have to say Barca are favourites in every competition this season. Bayern Munich, and even Real Madrid, will be in contention in Europe too but Barca quite clearly have ability to win playing well and, crucially, when playing badly.Looking at the stats ahead of Tuesdays game at the Emirates, Arsene Wenger has only beaten Barcelona once during his managerial spells at Arsenal and Monaco - a 2-1 last-16 victory in 2011. Two Lionel Messi goals in the Camp Nou secured a 3-1 second-leg triumph for Pep Guardiolas side as they progressed into the quarter-finals, before going on to win the trophy at Wembley later that year. Nicklas Bendtner and Andrey Arshavin celebrate scoring the winner against Barcelona in 2011 Barcelona will happily play possession football against teams that allow them to do so, teams that are not constructed to defend collectively or fail to defend with the same passion, commitment or aggression with which Barca attack. If teams simply challenge Barcelona to break them down - which I suspect Arsenal may do - they will overcome that passive defensive style.Ultimately, though, the game will boil down to how effective the front three of Messi, Suarez and Neymar are. Arsenal have never been renowned for defending well enough collectively, especially in the higher reaches of Europes elite-club competition, so it will be interesting to see how they set up. Can Arsenal subdue Barcas formidable attacking trio? In my opinion there are two ways to beat Barcelona. The first is to employ a high press in certain phases of the game, while the second would be to pressurise very deep, killing the spaces and hoping, praying that the front three are not effective. At the moment I think Arsenal are going to employ something in between those two, and that could hurt them.Arsenal are not used to being on top of a team defensively so, for that reason, I fear Barca will prevail over the two legs, even if Arsenal make an impact in the first leg. Arsene Wenger insists Arsenal are prepared to face Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar when they play Barcelona in the Champions League In Spain, people have got the impression that Arsenal are a team that is very similar to Barcelona - a team that enjoys possession and a positional game. In reality, they are actually not similar. In the first round of this seasons Champions League, Arsenal are 10th in the passing percentage charts and 13th in the overall possessiion standings.ddddddddddddI would say Arsenal have become a team that prefers to counter attack with pace as they are not that comfortable in possession as they once were. Nevertheless, I am looking forward to an intriguing game, a game which Barca head into as clear favourites.Guillem answers your questionsPierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been revealed his desire for Real Madrid. Will it happen this summer? @Shantanu3196 Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang staying at Dortmund, says Guillem It is almost impossible for this deal to happen in the summer. He is under contract at Dortmund until 2020 and the Bundesliga club have no intention of letting him go.Do you think Real can/will lure Neymar? @AfraLaffar Neymar will not go to Real Madrid, but that doesnt mean theyll give up trying to sign him! They have tried through different channels to try and get him but its a fruitless task.Can Real realistically challenge Barcelona with Ronaldo staying until the end of contract? @FDC_CoachPeter Cristiano Ronaldo sits on the field during the game with Malaga I completely agree, Real Madrid needs to move on the Cristiano Ronaldo era. The stories surfacing at the moment suggest that Real and Ronaldo have tried to look for a way out this summer. The FIFA-imposed transfer ban leaves Real in a dilemma. If they decide to keep Ronaldo until the summer, the ban could see him stay for another year, so its either get rid of him now or in two years. I must stress, though, at this particular time nobody is willing to pay what it would take to sign Ronaldo, which currently stands at 25m euros (£19.5m) net in wages, a long contract, and in excess of 60m euros (£46.7m) to Real Madrid.Is there any way you see Gary Neville staying or going somewhere else in management after this season? @RicardohhhhIf the team keep improving then Gary Neville could seriously consider staying at Valencia. A decision will be taken at the end of March. If they continue their recent form, he may well have a full pre-season and season at the Mestalla.Why is Unai Emery not seen as being in the mix for the Chelsea job? @AnupS9 Unai Emery has won back-to-back Europa League titles at Sevilla Unai Emery is not in the mix for the Chelsea job because Im not sure what Chelsea actually want! Im not sure Chelsea have decided what they want. Of course, they want to win, but if you compared Sir Alex Ferguson, Jose Mourinho, Pep Guardiola or Luis Enrique then there arent any similarities between successful managers. First and foremost, Chelsea have to decide what kind of club they want to be on the pitch, something which they havent got at the moment.What do you make of Zidanes managerial style so far, looks like players want to play for him? @0tryPlayers love to play with a manager they admire, a manager that doesnt put many tactical demands on the players and has got a good relationship with everybody. That, however, doesnt guarantee you victories and, in fact, the league has gone now and that is partly down to Zidanes managerial style.Who will Atleti look to sign in the summer to replace Jackson Martinez? @Asif__14 Atletico Madrid want to re-sign Diego Costa The plan is to get Diego Costa back to the Vicente Calderon.How much do you think Raul Albentosa is worth & any chance well see him in France this summer? @Walsall_RamMalaga want to keep him, I think hell only cost them around 1.5m euros (£1.2m). He may be worth more in the future but he wont be in France this summer. Get Sky Sports Alerts Breaking news, line ups and goal alerts from your football club - direct to your mobile Also See: Wenger: Lets go for it What happened to Arshavin? Arsenal must stop Busquets Iniesta: Sanchez unpredictable Cheap NFL JerseysCheap NFL Jerseys ChinaCheap Jerseys From ChinaCheap NFL Jerseys AuthenticWholesale Jerseys ChinaCheap NFL Jerseys ChinaNFL Cheap JerseysCheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '
