The 39th Ryder Cup will be held Sept. 28-30, 2012, at Medinah Country Club in Medinah, Ill.
T.J.'s Team USA Weekly Analysis: July 9
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.
| PLAYER | POINTS | THIS WEEK | LAST WEEK |
|---|---|---|---|
 Bubba Watson |
5,326.395 | 1 | 1 |
T.J.'s take: : Watson did not play in the Greenbrier Classic, but held on to his No. 1 spot this week.
| PLAYER | POINTS | THIS WEEK | LAST WEEK |
|---|---|---|---|
 Jason Dufner |
5,289.254 | 2 | 2 |
T.J.'s take: : Dufner did not play in the Greenbrier Classic, but stayed at No. 2 this week.
| PLAYER | POINTS | THIS WEEK | LAST WEEK |
|---|---|---|---|
 Tiger Woods |
4,669.413 | 3 | 3 |
T.J.'s take: : One week after winning at Congressional -- his Tour-leading third victory of the season -- Tiger missed the cut in his Greenbrier Classic debut with rounds of 71-69. So what was the issue, exactly? It was a lot of things for Woods, but mostly the putts that have fallen in his three wins just weren't falling in West Virginia. Now he has a week to prepare for the British Open at Royal Lytham & St. Annes. Tiger remained at No. 3 this week.
| PLAYER | POINTS | THIS WEEK | LAST WEEK |
|---|---|---|---|
 Webb Simpson |
4,635.500 | 4 | 4 |
T.J.'s take: : The U.S. Open champ seemed on top of his game at the Greenbrier. Paired with Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker in the first two rounds, Simpson was certainly the standout player with rounds of 65-66. In the third round, he fired another 5-under 65 to take a two-shot lead into Sunday. Things were going along beautifully for Simpson until he hit Greenbrier's back nine. After going an amazing 50 holes without a bogey (No. 15 in the first round), Simpson made bogey on the par-5 12th hole Sunday, setting off a string of four bogeys in five holes for a back-nine, 4-over 40, and a final-round score of 3-over 73. He finished in a tie for seventh at 11 under, five shots out of a playoff. Don't read too deeply into this collapse of sorts for Simpson -- he's less than a month removed from winning a major. Simpson probably won't, but the rest of the golfing world can chalk the Greenbrier performance up to being his six top-10 in 16 starts this season. That's not bad at all. He held on to the No. 4 position this week.
| PLAYER | POINTS | THIS WEEK | LAST WEEK |
|---|---|---|---|
 Phil Mickelson |
4,107.108 | 5 | 5 |
T.J.'s take: : It was bizarro world at the Greenbrier. It's always special when Tiger and Phil are in the same tournament and it's a non-major. You always expect at least one of the two to contend. What you'd never expect is for the game's two biggest draws to miss the cut. However -- for the first time in their professional careers -- that's exactly what happened at the Greenbrier. Mickelson was 2 over through 36 holes to miss out on the weekend. He stayed at No. 5 this week.
| PLAYER | POINTS | THIS WEEK | LAST WEEK |
|---|---|---|---|
 Matt Kuchar |
4,043.426 | 6 | 6 |
T.J.'s take: : Kuchar did not start at the Greenbrier, but stayed at No. 6 this week.
| PLAYER | POINTS | THIS WEEK | LAST WEEK |
|---|---|---|---|
 Hunter Mahan |
3,864.370 | 7 | 7 |
T.J.'s take: : Following a tie for eighth at the AT&T National, Mahan took last week off and stayed at No. 7 in the standings.
| PLAYER | POINTS | THIS WEEK | LAST WEEK |
|---|---|---|---|
 Zach Johnson |
3,325.858 | 8 | 8 |
T.J.'s take: : Johnson did not play in the Greenbrier Classic and stayed at No. 8 this week.
| PLAYER | POINTS | THIS WEEK | LAST WEEK |
|---|---|---|---|
 Keegan Bradley |
3,300.977 | 9 | 9 |
T.J.'s take: : Bradley seemed no worse for wear at the Greenbrier Classic, traveling back to the U.S. after teeing it up in Northern Ireland the week before. Through three rounds at Greenbrier, Bradley was positioned beautifully with rounds of 68-68-66. However, Sunday was a much different story. Perhaps the jet-lag caught up to him. Maybe it was the fact that Ray Allen left Bradley's beloved Boston Celtics to join James, Wade and Bosh in Miami. Whatever it was, Bradley couldn't get anything going Sunday, posting a 4-over 74 in a round that included seven bogeys and three birdies. Bradley plummeted 35 spots down the leaderboard Sunday, to finish in a tie for 46th. He stayed at No. 9 this week.
| PLAYER | POINTS | THIS WEEK | LAST WEEK |
|---|---|---|---|
 Rickie Fowler |
3,174.590 | 10 | 10 |
T.J.'s take: : Fowler did not play in the Greenbrier Classic. He stayed at No. 10 this week.
| PLAYER | POINTS | THIS WEEK | LAST WEEK |
|---|---|---|---|
 Dustin Johnson |
2,672.084 | 11 | 12 |
T.J.'s take: : Well, it took a while this week, but we finally have some movement in the top 20. Johnson tied for 33rd at the Greenbrier Classic, picking up just enough Ryder Cup points to gain one spot this week from No. 12 to No. 11. With a 1-over 71 in the first round, Johnson had some work to do Friday to make the cut. He did just that with a 3-under 67 and kept the momentum going with a pair of 68s on the weekend.
| PLAYER | POINTS | THIS WEEK | LAST WEEK |
|---|---|---|---|
 Bo Van Pelt |
2,662.165 | 12 | 11 |
T.J.'s take: : Van Pelt did not play at the Greenbrier. He dropped one spot this week.
| PLAYER | POINTS | THIS WEEK | LAST WEEK |
|---|---|---|---|
 Steve Stricker |
2,603.181 | 13 | 14 |
T.J.'s take: : With a tie for 22nd at the Greenbrier last week, Stricker climbed one position in this week's standings from No. 14 to No. 13. Expect him to make big noise this week, as he heads to East Moline, Ill., for the John Deere Classic, where he is the three-time defending champion. There's just something about TPC Deere Run that Stricker absolutely loves.
| PLAYER | POINTS | THIS WEEK | LAST WEEK |
|---|---|---|---|
 Jim Furyk |
2,571.887 | 14 | 13 |
T.J.'s take: : Furyk fell one spot in this week's standings from No. 13 to No. 14 after a missed cut at the Greenbrier Classic. Furyk -- like Tiger -- shot rounds of 71-69 to miss the cut by a single shot. It was Furyk's second missed cut of the season.
| PLAYER | POINTS | THIS WEEK | LAST WEEK |
|---|---|---|---|
 Kevin Na |
2,088.773 | 15 | 20 |
T.J.'s take: : The biggest mover in this week's standings, Na climbed five spots from No. 20 to No. 15 with a tie for seventh at the Greenbrier Classic. Na was in the 60s all four rounds, but none was better than his 5-under 65 in the final round, which sent him 19 spots up the leaderboard on Sunday. It was Na's sixth top-10 finish this season.
| PLAYER | POINTS | THIS WEEK | LAST WEEK |
|---|---|---|---|
 Bill Haas |
2,220.214 | 16 | 15 |
T.J.'s take: : Haas was in line for a great finish at the Greenbrier until he became undone in the final round with a 2-over 72 to finish in a tie for 33rd to drop one spot in this week's standings from No. 15 to No. 16.
| PLAYER | POINTS | THIS WEEK | LAST WEEK |
|---|---|---|---|
 Ben Curtis |
2,170.713 | 17 | 16 |
T.J.'s take: : Curtis made the cut at Greenbrier, but couldn't get a whole lot going with his game in West Virginia. Curtis tied for 56th and dropped one spot in this week's standings from No. 16 to No. 17.
| PLAYER | POINTS | THIS WEEK | LAST WEEK |
|---|---|---|---|
 Brandt Snedeker |
2,170.257 | 18 | 17 |
T.J.'s take: : Snedeker, after opening the Greenbrier Classic with a 1-over 71, fired rounds of 68-69-67 to close out the tournament. He finished in a tie for 38th, but still dropped one spot from No. 17 to No. 18 in this week's standings.
| PLAYER | POINTS | THIS WEEK | LAST WEEK |
|---|---|---|---|
 Johnson Wagner |
2,126.552 | 19 | 19 |
T.J.'s take: : Wagner tied for 64th at the Greenbrier to stay at No. 19 this week. The finish, however, was extremely disappointing. Wagner started the final round in a tie for 26th at 6 under, but suffered a 6-over 76 in the final round. It wasn't a couple of holes that did Wagner in on Sunday. He had seven bogeys and -- finally -- at the par-3 18th, he made his only birdie of the day.
| PLAYER | POINTS | THIS WEEK | LAST WEEK |
|---|---|---|---|
 Kyle Stanley |
2,122.484 | 20 | 18 |
T.J.'s take: : Stanley did not play in the Greenbrier Classic. He dropped two spots from No. 18 to No. 20 this week.
Team USA Qualifying Process
The United States points system will determine the top eight players for the 2012 United States Ryder Cup Team on August 13. In addition, Captain Davis Love III will select four players to complete the United States Team. Points are based upon the following:
• Prize money earned in the 2011 major championships (Masters, U.S. Open, British Open and PGA Championship): One point is awarded for every $1,000 earned; all U.S. players making the cut will earn points.
• Prize money earned in 2012 "Official" events from Jan. 1 through Aug. 12: One point is awarded for every $1,000 earned, excluding the major championships, events played opposite major championships and events played opposite World Golf Championships; all U.S. players making the cut will earn points.
• Prize money earned for the 2012 major championships: (Masters, U.S. Open, British Open, and the PGA Championship). Two points are awarded for every $1,000 earned; all U.S. players making the cut will earn points.
• Prize money earned in 2012 events played opposite the major championships and opposite World Golf Championships events between Jan. 1 and the PGA Championship, which concludes Aug. 12 -- one-half point will be awarded for every $1,000 earned; all U.S. players making the cut will earn points.
