Last week, we provided an update on the U.S. Ryder Cup standings heading into the PGA Championship, discussing how double points and a jam-packed race could cause some serious shake-up in the standings, as spots 5 through 13 had less than 1000 points separating them.
And shake-up they did.
Only the top-8 automatically qualify, and Bubba Watson and Matt Kuchar, who were just inside the bubble at 7 and 8, respectively, now find themselves on the outside looking in thanks to poor performances at the PGA. JB Holmes and Brandt Snedeker are now sitting in that bubble after dropping from the 5 and 6 spots.
Jimmy Walker took full advantage of the double points with his win, vaulting from the 29th position all the way to 4. Brooks Koepka had a T4, and despite missing some time with a right ankle injury, finds himself in the 5 spot after being in 9th heading into the PGA Championship.
This week’s purse at the Travelers is $6.6 million, with the winner receiving $1.18 million. That would equate to about 1180 Ryder Cup points. The standings are still crowded, with less than 1000 points separating 5 through 12. Bubba Watson, Matt Kuchar, and Patrick Reed could theoretically get inside the top-8 with a little over 100 points, but a win would go a long way towards securing their spot going forward.
Here’s a full list of players who could earn themselves a spot on the Ryder Cup team.
DUSTIN JOHNSON* – 11,860.361
JORDAN SPIETH* – 11,179.143
PHIL MICKELSON – 5,764.936
JIMMY WALKER – 5,337.662
BROOKS KOEPKA – 4,688.830
ZACH JOHNSON – 4,297.160
J.B. HOLMES – 4,149.716
BRANDT SNEDEKER – 4,086.115
Bubba WATSON – 4,008.084
Patrick REED – 3,999.405
Matt KUCHAR – 3,933.965
Rickie FOWLER – 3,768.946
Scott PIERCY – 3,272.359
Bill HAAS – 3,194.090
William MCGIRT – 2,959.897
Kevin CHAPPELL – 2,888.237
Jason DUFNER – 2,829.519
Daniel BERGER – 2,767.218
Charley HOFFMAN – 2,671.383
Daniel SUMMERHAYS – 2,637.358
Jim FURYK – 2,636.877
Kevin NA – 2,593.462
Kevin KISNER – 2,424.523
Harris ENGLISH – 2,043.972
Webb SIMPSON – 2,015.330
Steve STRICKER – 1,944.306
Gary WOODLAND – 1,876.171
Justin THOMAS – 1,872.805