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Ryder Cup Bubble Watch: Wyndham Championship
By Max Schreiber On August 2, 2023 1:24 UTC
The Wyndham Championship is here, marking the end of the regular season.
Players are looking to either squeeze into the FedExCup playoffs or improve their standing heading into the postseason. However, with just three events left until U.S. Ryder Cup qualifying ends and four until six captain’s picks are made, a strong performance at Sedgefield Country Club may make or break a player’s hopes to join the U.S. Team in Rome. One point is available for every $1,000 earned this week, but if a player’s season ends prematurely, their Ryder Cup bid will take a hit.
Here are four players on the bubble who need a big week at the Tour’s regular-season finale to keep their Ryder Cup dreams alive:
Sam Burns
Current rank in Ryder Cup Rankings: 13
Current FedExCup rank: 19
The 27-year-old won the WGC-Match Play in March, but finds himself on the outside looking in for the most famed match play competition — the Ryder Cup — with only one top-10 since his victory. The five-time Tour winner is looking to follow up his maiden Presidents Cup appearance, in which he posted a 0-3-2 record, by making his first Ryder Cup team. Searching to regain his dominant form for the playoffs, Burns hopes to ride his putter (eighth on Tour this season in strokes gained: putting) at Wyndham and through the postseason en route to booking a trip to Rome. That quest begins this week at an event in which he has one previous start, a T-13 in 2020.
Justin Thomas
Current rank in Ryder Cup Rankings: 14
Current FedExCup rank: 79
The two-time major champion knows a thing or two about pressure. He’s emerged victorious in some of the game’s most prestigious events, but is now in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time in his career. Thomas sits 79th in the FedExCup standings (nine spots out of the final playoff berth) after five missed cuts in his last seven starts.
The Wyndham Championship, where Thomas made the cut in his Tour debut as a 16-year-old in 2009 on a sponsor exemption, is his last chance to sneak into the playoffs. Thomas needs a minimum finish of 18th and a lot of help from the field, or a solo third or better without any help, to keep his playoff dreams alive. If the 30-year-old can secure a tee time next week and then show flashes of his old self in the playoffs, it might be enough for him to earn a spot on the U.S. Team in Rome, considering he boasts a 6-2-1 record in his two previous Ryder Cup appearances.
And though Thomas’ season hasn’t gone as planned, the world No. 26 (his lowest ranking since 2016) is confident he can overcome the pressure of missing the playoffs and turn it around.
“I'm excited,” he said Tuesday at Sedgefield. “I feel like I'm going to play well this week.”
Denny McCarthy
Current rank in Ryder Cup Rankings: 15
Current FedExCup rank: 25
It usually takes a little magic with the flatstick to win at Sedgefield. The past five Wyndham winners have all ranked within the top 25 in strokes gained: putting for the week — and that should be music to McCarthy’s ears, as he’s ranked third on Tour this year in that same stat.
The 30-year-old fell short of notching his maiden Tour win at The Memorial in June, losing in a playoff; however, he has another two top-10s in four events since. If he can get that elusive first victory this week at an event in which he has three top-25s in five starts, it may be hard to leave McCarthy and his putter off the Ryder Cup squad.
Harris English
Current rank in Ryder Cup Rankings: 18
Current FedExCup rank: 43
The 34-year-old would love a repeat of 2021, when he helped the U.S. to a dominant victory in his first Ryder Cup. Now, a year after he missed significant time with a hip injury, the four-time Tour winner has put together a stellar season with four top-10s. A win would vastly improve English’s case for a second-straight Ryder Cup berth, and though he’s safely inside the top-70 playoff threshold, he’s given himself an extra chance to improve his Ryder Cup standing by adding the Wyndham to his schedule, where he’s made eight starts with one top-10, two more top-25s and has only one missed cut.