This year's Ryder Cup will be at a New York state park on Long Island in September, with players chosen among the PGA Tour's best.
The Ryder Cup is contested every two years between teams of professional golfers representing the United States, who have won the competition 27 times, and pro golfers from Europe, who have won it 12 times.
The competition is friendly but heated, or about as heated as golf can get, with superstars like Rory McIlroy, Bryson DeChambeau, and Scottie Scheffler relishing the team aspect of the event, since golf is usually a solitary endeavor. This year’s competition, at Bethpage State Park in Farmingdale, New York, has the usual spice but also some additional intrigue, since the USA captain, Keegan Bradley, could become the first playing captain since Arnold Palmer in 1963.
Six automatic qualifiers will be determined by a points system after this weekend’s BMW Championship in Owings Mills, Maryland. Six more captain’s picks will be made after next weekend’s Tour Championship in Atlanta. Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, and J.J. Spaun have already qualified for the US, along with McIlroy, Justin Rose, and Tommy Fleetwood for Europe.
That means that the BMW Championship and Tour Championship are tryouts for the tournament that every pro golfer wants in on.
“I was lucky enough to play well last year and sort of secure my spot in the team, making up points, and be somewhat secure,” Schauffele said in response to questions from Robb Report, before hastening to add that he’s solely focused on the BMW Championship this weekend. After that, he’ll be solely focused on the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. Then, he might start thinking about the Ryder Cup.
That is, in short, the life of an elite athlete: There is only time for the present, for the next round, the next tournament. Still, Schauffele said that he thinks that this being a Ryder Cup year adds a little more to the end-of-the-year Tour events.
“I think for a lot of guys, it does,” Schauffele said.
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Schauffele, pictured here at the FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis last weekend, finished tied for 22nd in the event at six-under par. He was 43rd in FedEx Cup playoff points going into the BMW Championship, where only the top 50 golfers by points play. The Top 30 golfers after the BMW Championship will then move on to the Tour Championship at East Lake, where they will compete for a prize of $10 million for first place, $5 million for second, and other millions for lesser places.
J.J. Spaun, pictured here at the FedEx St. Jude Championship with his caddie, lost to Justin Rose in a playoff at the St. Jude, and will be in the field at the BMW Championship and Tour Championship as well. He’s one of three players who automatically qualified for the Ryder Cup team on the strength of his performances the past two years, including winning his first major, the U.S. Open, at Oakmont Country Club in June.
Scottie Scheffler, pictured here with the FedEx Cup Trophy last year, is the world’s number-one ranked golfer and an automatic selection for any USA Ryder Cup team. Scheffler has won four majors, including two times at the Masters, and this year might have finished his career Grand Slam — winning each of the Masters, U.S. Open, British Open, and PGA Championship — if not for Spaun.
Bryson DeChambeau, seen here at the BMW Championship in 2021, is a LIV golfer who Bradley has already said will be on the USA’s Ryder Cup team. Players like DeChambeau, who left for the LIV, a competing pro tour, have had their Ryder Cup eligibility imperiled, but DeChambeau’s play this year in the majors has been undeniable, in addition to his passion for the Ryder Cup itself.
Before the BMW Championship, DeChambeau was fifth in the Ryder Cup points’ standings, anyway, meaning he was on track to automatically qualify, along with Russell Henley, who was fourth, and Harris English, who was sixth.
After that, there is Justin Thomas and Collin Morikawa, both former major winners who will likely be captain’s picks. After that there a bunch of guys in the mix, including Maverick McNealy, Ben Griffin, Andrew Novak, Brian Harman — and Bradley.
The smart money is still probably on Bradley not picking himself to play, though he’s had one of his best years on the PGA Tour ever and has put in a credible performance at the BMW. It also will depend on how the other guys do, especially at the Tour Championship, where there will be millions of dollars on the line and, for many, a place of pride in the Ryder Cup team as well.
At stake is also Ryder Cup glory for the USA or Europe, and plenty of second-guessing for Bradley if the decision he makes doesn’t pan out. The added layer of drama will make the Tour Championship even more watchable than usual.
Category: General Sports
