The 43rd Ryder Cup Matches are being held next month at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin. The top six players in the U.S. Ryder Cup standings automatically make the Steve Stricker-led team.
Collin Morikawa and Dustin Johnson have clinched two of the six spots, so there are four available.
The current top six in the U.S. Ryder Cup standings are as follows:
1. Collin Morikawa (18,853)
2. Dustin Johnson (17,563)
3. Bryson DeChambeau (15,756)
4. Brooks Koepka (15,202)
5. Justin Thomas (14,528)
6. Xander Schauffele (12,476)
For those who fail to finish in the top six in Ryder Cup points, they could still make the team as a captain’s pick of the aforementioned Stricker.
If Stricker were to strictly go by points (he most likely won’t), the next six are as follows:
7. Jordan Spieth (12,359)
8. Harris English (11,422)
9. Patrick Reed (10,932)
10. Daniel Berger (10,765)
11. Patrick Cantlay (10,521)
12. Tony Finau (10,156)
Having more Ryder Cup points is considered a large advantage in landing as a Captain’s pick, but Stricker could use any criteria he chooses to make the team (experience, chemistry, recent play, etc).
The winners of both The Northern Trust and BMW Championship will receive 2,565 points each (($1,710,000/1,000) * 1.5).
Notables outside the top 12 include No. 13 Webb Simpson (9,498), No. 14 Scottie Scheffler (9,104), No. 18 Kevin Kisner (7,474) and Phil Mickelson (6,863).
Mickelson’s case is especially interesting since he has played on a record 12 Ryder Cup teams. It would help his case tremendously if he is able to play well enough to make it to the Tour Championship. He is currently 54th, with the brunt of his points coming from his historic victory at May’s PGA Championship.
The U.S. Ryder Cup team (top six) will be finalized after next week’s BMW Championship with the six captain’s picks announced following the Tour Championship a week later.
