Scottie Scheffler won the BMW Championship on Sunday (of course he did) which means that the Tour Championship at East Lake is all that separates us from getting set for the Ryder Cup.
The moment that Scheffler sank his tournament-winning putt on 18 at Caves Valley was significant as it relates to the American side of the Ryder Cup, though. We now officially know which six United States players have automatically qualified to play for Keegan Bradley’s team: Scheffler, J.J. Spaun, Harris English, Xander Schauffele, Bryson DeChambeau and Russell Henley.
The Ryder Cup format is such that players qualify based on points earned from tournaments around the world. Major championships carry significant weight (obviously) and since the last Ryder Cup was played eight of them have taken place.
Scheffler won the 2024 Masters, Schauffele won both the PGA Championship and Open Championship in 2024 and DeChambeau won the year’s U.S. Open which Spaun took home this year. Oh, and Scottie Scheffler won both the PGA Championship and Open Championship this year as well!
You are not miscounting. 7 of the last 8 majors have been won by American players with the only exception being this year’s Masters which European Rory McIlroy won to give him the career grand slam. Needless to say things should be rather epic at Bethpage Black next month.
While the automatic qualifiers are set there will still be six selections made by Captain Keegan Bradley to round out the full United States team. Whether or not he selects himself is a matter of great intrigue and what the world of golf will be waiting to see. Captain Bradley is set to announce his selections on Wednesday, August 27th.
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