T.J.'s Team USA Weekly Analysis: May 3-10

The 38th Ryder Cup will be held Oct. 1-3, 2010, at The Celtic Manor Resort in City of Newport, Wales. Each week leading up to the matches, PGA.com Interactive Producer T.J. Auclair will provide analysis of the top 20 U.S. players in the latest standings. Go to the bottom of the page to learn how the U.S. Ryder Cup team is determined.

Player	Points	This Week	Last Week
Phil Mickelson	4,901.24900	1	1

Player	Points	This Week	Last Week
Anthony Kim	3,062.34500	2	2

T.J.'s Take: As predicted in this very space last week (patting self on back), AK decided it was time to step away to have surgery on his injured left thumb. He withdrew from the Players and will likely miss the next 10-12 weeks which means no U.S. Open and probably no Open Championship. All of this is in an effort to be healthy in time for the Ryder Cup. There's no denying the fact that AK's priorities lie with the Red, White and Blue. Now he just has to hope his standing doesn't free fall. That, however, is out of his hands until he returns.

Player	Points	This Week	Last Week
Jim Furyk	2,875.78200	3	3

T.J.'s Take: TPC Sawgrass is Furyk's home course. Because of that, I was hoping to see him muster a lot more than his tie for 47th, which turned out to be his second worst finish of the season. On Friday and Saturday, he shot 1-over 73. On Sunday, he made a double bogey on the final hole for - you guessed it - his third straight 73. The final tally was disappointing, but there's no need to worry about Furyk. He'll be just fine.

Player	Points	This Week	Last Week
Lucas Glover	2,836.80900	4	6

T.J.'s Take: Now there's the Lucas Glover we saw win the U.S. Open last summer! Glover finished third at the Players for, by far, his best finish of the season. That helped him jump two spots in the standings this week to No. 4. As good as it was, Glover can leave Ponte Vedra Beach with two very different thoughts: 1. What could have been? On Sunday, after a par at the first hole, he made bogey on four of his next five; or 2. That was one heck of a come back! After those four bogeys, Glover made six birdies to finish 2 under for the day. Let's hope he opts for the latter.

Player	Points	This Week	Last Week
Hunter Mahan	2,493.01000	5	5

T.J.'s Take: Mahan is known for his ability to go low and make birdies in bunches, which makes Sunday's final round at TPC Sawgrass so difficult to comprehend. Hunter carded 18 consecutive pars for an even-par 72 and a tie for 17th. In contrast, Mahan had no less than four birdies in each of his previous three rounds last week. Regardless, it was another solid week for one of the young guys who has already proven his worth in a Ryder Cup setting.

Player	Points	This Week	Last Week
Steve Stricker	2,416.80743	6	4

T.J.'s Take: Citing a sore right shoulder, Stricker withdrew from the Players and dropped two spots this week. 

Player	Points	This Week	Last Week
Dustin Johnson	2,185.86500	7	7

T.J.'s Take: Johnson tied for 34th at the Players. He took a double-bogey 6 at the daunting, par-3 17th for a back-nine, 2-over 38 on Sunday, which led to a 1-over 73.

Player	Points	This Week	Last Week
Matt Kuchar	1,978.68800	8	10

T.J.'s Take: I love how this guy is playing lately. He's staying away from the big numbers and it's yielding results. After missing the cut at Quail Hollow - just his second MC of the season - Kuchar bounced back to tie for 13th at the Players. That helped him jump two spots to No. 8 in the latest standings.

Player	Points	This Week	Last Week
Stewart Cink	1,959.06700	9	8

T.J.'s Take: For the fourth time in six starts, Cink missed the cut at 1 under to drop one spot this week.

Player	Points	This Week	Last Week
Tiger Woods	1,946.16300	10	9

T.J.'s Take: When it comes to Tiger these days, strange just gets stranger, doesn't it? On the seventh hole Sunday, Woods withdrew from the Players citing a neck injury. At the time, he was 2 over for the day and a non-factor in the tournament. Just to recap the Tiger comeback: a tie for fourth at the Masters; a miserable missed cut at Quail Hollow; a WD at the Players. What's next? Because of the neck injury, we don't know.

Player	Points	This Week	Last Week
Ben Crane	1,803.53900	11	15

T.J.'s Take: Displaying the form that carried him to a win at Torrey Pines earlier this season, Crane put together four great rounds at TPC Sawgrass last week to tie for fourth at the Players. Sunday's even-par 72 was his worst score of the week by three shots. When your worst score is even par and it's three shots higher than your previous worst score it's safe to say things are going well. And they were for Crane, who jumped four spots in this week's standings.

Player	Points	This Week	Last Week
Nick Watney	1,655.2400	12	13

T.J.'s Take: Watney has been consistently good in 2010. That's a trend that continued with his tie for 17th in the Players. The lone gripe Watney could possibly take away from Sawgrass was his 1-over 73 in the final round. In all fairness, however, the course played a lot tougher on Sunday. All around, it was another good week for Watney, who moved up one spot this week.

Player	Points	This Week	Last Week
Jason Bohn	1,567.36600	13	12

T.J.'s Take: On Sunday at TPC Sawgrass, Bohn did not look like the same player who deftly won at Quail Hollow two weeks ago. First off, he was Tiger's playing partner for seven holes. Before Tiger left, Bohn was 2 over for the day with two birdies and two double bogeys. After Tiger left, Bohn had one bogey, another double bogey and a frustrating triple-bogey (on the final hole) for an 8-over 80. A rather forgettable Sunday. Bohn dropped one spot this week.

Player	Points	This Week	Last Week
Ricky Barnes	1,552.17700	14	11

T.J.'s Take: Let's be honest - Ricky Barnes was due for an off week. He's been playing out of his mind recently, so his weekend off at the Players should be viewed more as an excused absence than a missed cut. But don't tell Ricky that. I'm sure it won't make him feel any better and it also won't change the fact that he backed up three spots in this week's standings.

Player	Points	This Week	Last Week
Bill Haas	1,521.58100	15	14

T.J.'s Take: Bill got to play practice rounds with father, Jay, before the two became the first father-son duo to compete in the Players in the same year. All around, it was a great week for Bill… until Sunday. Haas was tied for 11th after 54 holes, but finished in a tie for 39th after a bummer of an 8-over 79 on Sunday. He was 5 over after four holes and closed out the round with a double bogey on No. 18. This week, he drops one spot in the standings.

Player	Points	This Week	Last Week
J.B. Holmes	1,514.38000	16	16

T.J.'s Take: After missing his very first cut of the 2010 season at Quail Hollow, Holmes rebounded nicely with a tie for 13th at the Players. Four solid rounds - none of them worse than par - led Holmes to his 8 under finish.

Player	Points	This Week	Last Week
Bo Van Pelt	1,326.59200	17	N/A

T.J.'s Take: Ladies and gentlemen, do not be surprised to see Bo Van Pelt hoisting some hardware at a PGA Tour event near you soon. Van Pelt logged his third straight top-5 finish on Sunday with a tie for fourth at the Players. Because of his recent work, Van Pelt finds himself inside this week's top 20, holding down the No. 17 spot.

Player	Points	This Week	Last Week
Rickie Fowler	1,309.90100	18	17

T.J.'s Take: Anyone you ask will tell you - experience is essential at TPC Sawgrass. Since this was Fowler's first Players Championship, I guess it isn't much of a surprise then that he missed the cut to drop a spot in this week's standings.

Player	Points	This Week	Last Week
Kenny Perry	1,294.17900	19	19

T.J.'s Take: This was a step in the right direction for Perry. His tie for 22nd at the Players was his best finish since a tie for sixth at the season-opening SBS Championship at Kapalua. He maintained his position at No. 19 this week.

Player	Points	This Week	Last Week
Steve Marino	1,264.44800	20	18

T.J.'s Take: Here's another guy who's been playing plenty of solid golf in 2010. Marino's tie for 32nd might not sound great, but consider what he did to earn that position. Marino was in danger of missing the cut after a 1-over 73 on Thursday. It was a day when everyone seemed to be going low and anything par or worse meant you were losing serious ground. Marino buckled down on Friday to card a 5-under 67, made the cut and shot matching rounds of even-par 72 on the weekend. Even still, he dropped two spots in this week's standings.

Team USA Qualifying Process

The United States points system will determine the top eight players for the 2010 United States Ryder Cup Team on August 15. In addition, Captain Corey Pavin selects four players on Sept. 7, 2010, to complete the United States Team. Points are based upon the following:

Click for complete Team USA Standings