We now know the 24 players who will compete at Whistling Straits
Here are the Ryder Cup standings for both the American and visiting European teams. The postponed event will take place at Whistling Straits 24-26.
Team USA Ryder Cup standings
The USA Ryder Cup standings are based on a single list made up from a points system. Six players qualified from this, with the qualifying period ending following the BMW Championship on August 29:
- Collin Morikawa
- Dustin Johnson
- Bryson DeChambeau
- Justin Thomas
- Brooks Koepka
- Patrick Cantlay
Captain Steve Stricker then announced his six wildcard picks on September 8:
- Daniel Berger
- Harris English
- Tony Finau
- Scottie Scheffler
- Xander Schauffele
- Jordan Spieth
It’s a new dawn for the US Ryder Cup team – with six rookies and no one named either Mickelson or Woods on the team for the first time in nearly 30 years.
But though the inclusion of players like Harris English may well have been expected when Steve Stricker named his six wildcard selections, the omission of one will raise a few eyebrows.
Patrick Reed’s recent bout of pneumonia makes the decision understandable but it was still a surprise to many when Captain America didn’t make the lineup.
The talisman of the US teams in 2014 and 2016, Reed will not be at Whistling Straits and Stricker admitted it had not been an easy decision to leave him out.
“That was a very, very difficult call,” he said. “Kind of lost sleep over that one. He’s a tremendous competitor. He brings a lot to match-play golf.
“His record here at the Ryder Cup is pretty darned good. It was a very difficult call. It wasn’t an easy one. It was just the uncertainty of his health and really the lack of play that led to our decision down the stretch. I apologised many times to him and just wanted to make sure that he knew it was a very difficult decision.”
Reed won eight points in three Ryder Cups but courted controversy following the US defeat at Le Golf National three years ago when criticising captain Jim Furyk and the decision to split his partnership with Jordan Spieth.
Team European Ryder Cup standings
The European Ryder Cup standings are based on two lists – the European Points list and the World Points list – and ended after the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.
The top four players from the European Points list along with the top five players in the World Points list who were not already in on the European Points list are heading to Whistling Straits.
The four qualifiers in the European Points list are:
- Jon Rahm
- Tommy Fleetwood
- Tyrrell Hatton
- Bernd Wiesberger
And the five qualifiers from the World Points list are:
- Rory McIlroy
- Viktor Hovland
- Paul Casey
- Matthew Fitzpatrick
- Lee Westwood
Padraig Harrington was left with his worst nightmare, when he had to choose three from Sergio Garcia, Shane Lowry, Ian Poulter, and Justin Rose.
In the end it was the latter missed out, and Harrington’s captain’s picks are:
- Sergio Garcia
- Shane Lowry
- Ian Poulter
Who’d be Ryder Cup skipper, eh?
- RELATED: Did Padraig Harrington make the right choices?
- RELATED: Is this the strongest European team ever?
