Battle on for last 3 automatic spots on US Ryder Cup team
puma (COL/BMC) at 0:15, 3. Benjamin King (USA/CAN) 0:15, 4. Andrej Zeits (KAZ/AST) 0:19, 5. Nathan Haas (AUS/ DDT) 0:23, 6. Enrico Battaglin (ITA/ LNL) 0:24, 7. Pierre Rolland (FRA/ CAN) 0:33, 8. Chad Haga (USA/GIA) 0:37, 9. Jaime Roson (ESP/CJR) 0:40, 10. Cesare Benedetti (ITA/BOA) 0:42 Selected others: 20. Alejandro Valverde (ESP/MOV) 2:06, 21. Esteban Chaves (COL/ORI) 2:06, 22. Chris Froome (GBR/SKY) 2:06, 23. Alberto Contador (ESP/TIN) 2:06, 24. Nairo Quintana (COL/MOV) 2:06 Overall standings: 1. Darwin Atapuma (COL/BMC) 13hr 23min 10sec, 2. Alejandro Valverde (ESP/MOV) at 0:29, 3. Chris Froome (GBR/SKY) 0:33, 4. Esteban Chaves (COL/ORI) 0:39, 5. Nairo Quintana (COL/MOV) 0:39, 6. Samuel Sanchez (ESP/BMC) 1:08, 7. Ruben Fernandez (ESP/MOV) 1:11, 8. Leopold Konig (CZE/SKY) 1:13, 9. Peter Kennaugh (IDM/SKY) 1:15, 10. Gianluca Brambilla (ITA/ETI) 1:23 Selected others: 13. Alberto Contador (ESP/TIN) 1:53 NEW YORK, Aug 23, (RTRS): With the Ryder Cup just over a month away, the teams are shaping up, with this week’s Barclays tournament at Bethpage determining the last three automatic spots on a United States team desperate to end Europe’s recent domination.
US Open champion Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth, Phil Mickelson, PGA Championship winner Jimmy Walker and Ryder rookie Brooks Koepka are set for the trip to Hazeltine outside Minneapolis for the biennial matches starting on Sept 30.
Eight players automatically qualify from the US points list, creating a scramble for the last three on offer from candidates such as (number six) Brandt Snedeker, Zach Johnson, Patrick Reed, Bubba Watson, Olympic bronze medallist Matt Kuchar and Rickie Fowler.
US captain Davis Love III will add four other players as captain’s picks to a team who have lost the last three match play competitions to Europe.
Europe have already assembled their first nine in a group featuring Rory McIlroy, British Open winner Henrik Stenson, Olympic champion Justin Rose and cup veteran Sergio Garcia, plus five rookies including Masters winner Danny Willett.
Joining Willett on the Europe side are fellow British first-timers Chris Wood, Andy Sullivan and Matthew Fitzpatrick, and Spain’s Rafael Cabrera-Bello.
Europe captain Darren Clarke has three wild-card choices to announce on Aug 30 and said at last month’s PGA Championship he would probably seek to balance his rookie contingent with players with Ryder Cup experience.
Clarke indicated that his frequent Ryder Cup playing partner Lee Westwood, who narrowly missed qualifying, was a likely pick when he is expected to name his selections, also on Aug 30.
“He’s been my partner in many, many Ryder Cups,” Clarke said at Baltusrol.
“I know what Lee Westwood brings to the table, and I know what he brings to the back room, and there’s not many guys you’d prefer to go shoulder to shoulder with.”
GOLF