T.J.'s Team USA Weekly Analysis: June 2-8

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	5,120.24900	1	1

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

T.J.'s Take: Did not play.

Player	Points	This Week	Last Week
Jim Furyk	3,031.78200	3	3

T.J.'s Take: Because of the dreadful weather, which included six delays for the week, the lift, clean and place rule was in effect at the Memorial, which typically sets the tone for a scorer's paradise. Furyk earned a tie for 10th, but only because he wasn't able to get much done in the way of scoring on the weekend. Following rounds of 68-67 in the first two rounds, Furyk was only able to manage matching even-par 72s on the weekend.

Player	Points	This Week	Last Week
Lucas Glover	2,855.55400	4	4

T.J.'s Take: As we've written in this space before, the 2010 season has been feast or famine for Glover. That trend continued at the Memorial, but unfortunately for the former Clemson standout, this time it was of the famine variety. Glover missed the cut with rounds of 76-74.

Player	Points	This Week	Last Week
Steve Stricker	2,535.84700	5	6

T.J.'s Take: Looks like it's safe to say that Stricker is fully recovered from the injury/discomfort that forced him to take some time off recently. At least that's what it seems like based on his results. In just his second tournament since the Masters, Stricker tied for 17th at the Memorial to keep his streak of no missed cuts in 2010 alive. Furthermore, Stricker was resilient on the weekend. He shot a pair of 1-under 71s in the final two rounds. Each of those rounds included four birdies to cancel out three bogeys. Thanks to his play, Stricker moves up one spot this week and into the top 5.

Player	Points	This Week	Last Week
Hunter Mahan	2,509.43300	6	5

T.J.'s Take: Mahan seems to be in a bit of a slump lately. His last three tournaments look like this: a tie for 50th at the HP Byron Nelson Championship; a missed cut at Colonial (although he did shoot a 67 in the second round there); and a missed cut last week at Memorial with rounds of 75-72. Furthermore, Mahan - who is typically a birdie-making machine - has only four rounds in the 60s in 26 competitive rounds dating all the way back to the Arnold Palmer Invitational. He drops one spot this week.

Player	Points	This Week	Last Week
Dustin Johnson	2,405.3900	7	7

T.J.'s Take: Johnson has been a consistently solid performer throughout the season and that's evident when you take a look at his results: just two missed cuts in 14 starts. His tie for 33rd at the Memorial wasn't his greatest finish this season, but it was far from his worst. Bottom line here is that Johnson just keeps making cuts and racking up Ryder Cup points.

Player	Points	This Week	Last Week
Ben Crane	2,352.28900	8	8

Player	Points	This Week	Last Week
Stewart Cink	2,266.18700	9	9

T.J.'s Take: The reigning Open Champion has spent much of the year trying to find something in his game that would translate to consistency. He might be on to something now. A tie for eighth at the Memorial equaled Cink's third consecutive top-25 finish and he seems to be coming into form at just the right time, as the meat of the major championship schedule lies ahead.

Player	Points	This Week	Last Week
Matt Kuchar	2,172.70000	10	10

T.J.'s Take: Here we go again. Remember last week when it seemed pretty much everyone in the top 20 played well and either stayed where they were, or even backed up in the standings? It's happening to Kuchar this week. The Georgia Tech product fired four straight rounds under par at the Memorial to finish in a tie for 10th. It was his fifth top-10 finish of 2010 and he continues to hold the No. 10 spot in this week's standings.

Player	Points	This Week	Last Week
Ricky Barnes	2,100.12700	11	14

T.J.'s Take: Say this about Ricky Barnes - he's a player who's really coming into his own on the PGA Tour even if it is a lot later than many thought for the former U.S. Amateur who seemed to ooze promise. Barnes moves up three positions this week after a tie for third at the Memorial. The final round wasn't pretty. He shot a 1-over 73, which included two heartbreaking double bogeys. But, give the guy credit. He finished his final five holes in 2 under thanks to an eagle on the par-5 15th hole. The tie for third was his best finish this season. What's that old saying? "If you put yourself in position to win enough times, eventually you're going to win." Pretty much sums up Ricky Barnes.

Player	Points	This Week	Last Week
Tiger Woods	2,021.46300	12	11

T.J.'s Take: In his only other complete tournament this season since a tie for fourth at the Masters, Tiger tied for 19th at the Memorial, where he was the defending champ and a four-time winner. Woods is still trying to piece together things both on and off the course. Fact remains, however, no matter how mediocre he's been on the course it would surprise no one to see him turn it around and win in his next start… which in this case happens to be the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach - otherwise known as the venue where he won the 2000 U.S. Open by an incredible, record 15 shots. Woods dropped one spot in this week's standings.

Player	Points	This Week	Last Week
Rickie Fowler	1,983.94100	13	21

T.J.'s Take: Through 11 holes in the final round of the Memorial on Sunday, the 21-year-old Fowler looked poised to become the youngest winner of the Memorial since Tiger Woods turned the trick in 1999. Then came the par-3 12th hole. After a long wait on the tee, Fowler proceeded to push his tee shot into the water. After a drop, a wedge and two putts, he walked off the green with a round-shattering double bogey. Don't worry about Fowler, though. He's going to have himself in contention for weeks, months and years to come. Chalk up Sunday's final-round, 1-over 73 as a small learning experience on what looks to be a career we'll be telling our grandkids about. Fowler finished alone in second and made the biggest move this week, jumping eight spots.

Player	Points	This Week	Last Week
Jeff Overton	1,957.36900	14	13

Player	Points	This Week	Last Week
Zach Johnson	1,906.23000	15	12

Player	Points	This Week	Last Week
Bo Van Pelt	1,873.81700	16	19

Player	Points	This Week	Last Week
Nick Watney	1,698.33000	17	15

T.J.'s Take: It was an ugly Memorial for the otherwise consistent Watney. In just his second missed cut of the season, Watney shot rounds of 74-82. The 82 in the second round included three birdies, six bogeys, a triple bogey and a quadruple bogey. Chalk it up to a bad week and cut the guy some slack. He slips two spots this week.

Player	Points	This Week	Last Week
J.B. Holmes	1,692.95500	18	17

T.J.'s Take: Holmes was steady at the Memorial and that resulted in a tie for 28th. Nothing spectacular and no round killers. He dropped one position in this week's standings.

Player	Points	This Week	Last Week
Jason Bohn	1,667.25500	19	16

Player	Points	This Week	Last Week
Bill Haas	1,643.07000	20	18

T.J.'s Take: Haas had bookend rounds of 1-over 73 to finish in a tie for 41st at the Memorial to drop two spots this week.

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