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Paolo Uggetti, ESPN
HOYLAKE, England — The last major tournament of the year has come and gone, but many questions remain regarding the composition of both the US and European Ryder Cup teams.
Nearly two months after the event, the Open Championship served as the appropriate stage for many players to come up with compelling reasons for their candidacy. For others, that leaves more doubters about whether they should join their respective teams in September.
Here are the players who backed their case for Rome this week and those who didn’t:
USA
Brian Harman: Reserved
Harman should keep his passport ready as he is likely going to Rome. Scores and world rankings aside, there’s no way Harman should be dropped from the team after taking home the Claret Jug and jumping up to 10th in the Official World Golf Rankings. The Georgia-born player finished 20th in the week’s Ryder Cup standings, and now he is sure to take a significant leap and become a permanent member of the team in September, when Marco Simone Golf Club matches his eye and his game.
“I love playing the game,” Harman said Sunday while turning down the chance to be on his team. “I’ve done well in all the fighting tournaments I’ve been in. There’s a very good record at the junior level and an amateur record in fighting. I like head-to-head matches.”
Max Homa: Reserved
One could argue that what Homa did at the Presidents Cup last year (four wins in four games) was enough to secure him a spot on the US Ryder Cup team. But heading into the week at Hoylake, Homa struggled to excel at the majors, most notably missing out on the US Open.
Homa showed up this week at Royal Liverpool Golf Club without much attention, liberated and ready to play his game. It shows. He shot a 68 in the opening round but then a disappointing 73. Then on Saturday, he was paired with Rory McIlroy and battled with a pro-McIlroy atmosphere to make it 70. On Sunday, Homa took the lead to a 10th-place tie, giving him his best ever at a major and more motivation towards a Ryder Cup spot.
Tony Finau: Stock down
Here are Finau’s past seven starts: T-23, T-72, missed cut, T-32, T-45, missed cut, missed cut. Although Finau won the Mexican Open in April, his streak of bad results also includes three major tournaments where his best record is the T-32 at the US Open — not really ideal for someone who is likely to be a solid pick as the new year begins.
Justin Thomas: Unclear securities
All the results, statistics and logic say that Thomas should not be in this year’s Ryder Cup team. He has missed four cuts in his previous six starts and has shot two of the worst innings of his career in the past two major championships. However, no one seems to be too worried about him. Captain Zach Johnsonwho was in the same room with Thomas this week at The Open, did not hint at whether Thomas’s performance would cause him to leave the team, calling him an “event stalwart” and saying he’s not worried about him in the long run as it’s only a matter of time before he finds it.
Thomas must find it soon. He is sitting outside the top 70 in the FedEx Cup playoff picture (75th) and will have to compete in the 3M Open and Wyndham Championship to try to make it to the designated events next year. If Thomas doesn’t make it to the knockout stages, it’s hard to see how reasonable Johnson would be to pick him.
Collin Morikawa: Stock down
Morikawa hasn’t been the same since January, when Jon Rahm tracked him down after 9 shots on the last day of the Sentry Champions League. Breaking into the top 10 at the Masters seemed like a positive sign he was on the right track, but since then, Morikawa has missed five cuts, including this week at The Open.
The 26-year-old pulled out of the Memorial due to a back injury, and although he says he’s fit enough to compete in the US Open, it’s fair to wonder if he needs an extra break that could jeopardize his pick for Rome.
Rickie Fowler And Jordan Spieth: Neutral securities
Spieth and Fowler weren’t their best golf in Hoylake, but they weren’t the worst either. Both finished with an even score after being paired together on Sunday. Their performance this season, in Fowler’s case, and their previous experience at team events, in Spieth’s case, should be good enough to bring them both into the team.
Young Cameron: Reserved
Despite a disappointing finish in the final group on Sunday, Young showed he’s back in shape after consecutively finishing in the top 10 (sixth at the John Deere Classic, tied for eighth at The Open). Young has struggled for the past three months, he missed a spot at the PGA Championship and his best record was a 32nd-place draw at the US Open. But Hoylake has shown he’s turned his game around and the next month or so could be enough time for him to prove he deserves a spot on the US team.
Europe
Sepp Straka: Reserved
Without his colleague Georgia Bulldog Harman, the Austrian could have won this year’s Open Championship and take home his first major title as well as a guaranteed spot on the European team. Despite that, Straka is likely to join after his recent stint, which now includes a runner-up finish at a major tournament. Four top 10 finishes this season, a top five finish at The Open and a win at the John Deere Classic are more than enough for him to qualify for one of the six top spots or become one Luke Donald6 captain options.
Robert MacIntyre: Reserved
As of this weekend, MacIntyre is third in the European Ryder Cup standings, which means he will automatically be eligible to join the team if the season ends on Sunday. Despite finishing T-71 at The Open, thanks to a second place finish in the Scottish Open, MacIntyre has put himself in a great position to be on the team.
Alex Noren: Reserved
The 67th-ranked player in the world is often not mentioned among the contenders for a place in the Ryder Cup. But after a strong week at The Open where he finished at par, Noren could be considered for one of the team’s final spots based on his experience. Noren won 2-1-0 on his Ryder Cup debut at Le Golf National in France and beat Bryson DeChambeau in his singles match, which eliminated the American. If Donald decides to go the more experienced route for his captain choice instead of youth and potential, such as Ludvig Abergexpect to see Noren receive some substantial consideration.
Adrian Meronk: Reserved
Meronk’s performance at this year’s major championships still has a lot to look forward to. Coming to The Open, Meronk had failed to qualify for all three previous major tournaments. But he already has a win on the European tour this season, as well as a win at the Italian Open at Marco Simone Golf Club, which alone could put him in a guaranteed spot on the team.
The 30-year-old Poland international helped himself this week by putting in an impressive display at Royal Liverpool, finishing level and drawing in 23rd place – the best of his career to date at a major championship. Not only would that potentially boost his overall score in the Ryder Cup standings (currently fifth), but it would also make it easier for Donald to pick him if he falls out of the auto position.
Rasmus Højgaard: Goods down in price; Nikolai Højgaard: Reserved
The Hojgaard twins had very different starts at Hoylake as Rasmus fell to 7 points and missed the cut, while Nicolai finished even and drew in 23rd. The role reversal made things a bit more complicated for Donald, as if either was picked, it would seem that Rasmus was the favorite of the week. While Rasmus is sixth on the Ryder Cup standings, Nicolai is 38th. It will be interesting to see how Donald approaches the two of them and whether he decides to include both of them (unlikely), one of them (most likely).
Victor Perez And Yannik Paul: Stock down
It wasn’t the best week for Paul or Perez. Paul entered the week in fourth place in the Ryder Cup standings but missed the group stage, while Perez – who finished seventh in the standings – made it to the group stage but finished in 41st place. For now, it looks like both are still likely to participate, but they will have to continue to perform well on their European tour over the next few weeks to claim their spot. Like Noren, both will hope that their age and experience will be seen as an asset when filling the team, not as an excuse to ignore young, rising players like Aberg, the Hojgaard twins or even Adrien Dumont de Chassart.
