Thomas clinches Ryder Cup spot; Tiger still in 20th place

Justin Thomas moved into third place in the United States team points race and clinched his Ryder Cup spot on Monday, the day after winning the World Golf Championships – Bridgestone Invitational by four shots.

The victory also moved Thomas past England’s Justin Rose to No. 2 in the official world golf rankings. Dustin Johnson remained in the No. 1 spot.

Thomas vaulted past Masters champion Patrick Reed in the Ryder Cup standings. However, Reed also as secured his spot on the US team along with the topranked Johnson and No. 2 Brooks Koepka. The other four automatic spots currently would go to Bubba Watson, Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler and Webb Simpson.

Bryson DeChambeau is at No. 9, followed by Phil Mickelson, Xander Schauffele, Matt Kuchar and Tony Finau. Tiger Woods remained at No. 20 following his tie for 31st. He’s 63 points behind Zach Johnson and also dropped one spot to No. 51 in the world.

The final four automatic spots on the US Ryder Cup team will be determined after this week’s PGA Championship. Three additional spots will be named by captain Jim Furyk on September 3, with the final spot set to be announced after the BMW Championship, slated to be completed on September 9.

The four majors in 2018 are weighted heavily in the US Ryder Cup team points race, with winners receiving two points per $ 1,000 earned at the Masters, US Open, Open Championship and PGA Championship, and all other players receiving 1.5 points per $ 1,000 earned. That’s compared to one point per every $ 1,000 earned in regular PGA Tour events in 2018 until the August 12 cutoff.

The 42nd Ryder Cup will be held at Le Golf National in Paris this September.

( Reuters)