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With Memphis win, DJ in top form heading into U.S. Open

By T.J. Auclair On June 11, 2018 4:23 UTC

The 2018 Ryder Cup at Le Golf National Paris is quickly approaching.

With roughly three months left for American-born players to collect points, there's still a lot of time for hopefuls to automatically qualify for Ryder Cup USA.

But one thing is for sure when looking at the current standings -- Captain Jim Furyk nailed the point-getting formula he established for 2018. The biggest names and those players who are playing the best are the ones occupying the top spots in the standings.

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We'll frequently be taking a look at the top 10 in the Ryder Cup USA standings and analyzing there current form.

Here's a look at how the top 10 is performing through the FedEx St. Jude Classic.


Current Ryder Cup rank: 1
Last week's rank: 1
Best PGA Tour finish in 2018: Won the Masters
Ryder Cup appearances: 2 (2014, 2016)
Notes: Reed did not play in Memphis last week, but he's been solid since his Masters win with two top-10 finishes in four starts. This week's U.S. Open will be his first major start since becoming a major champion.


Current Ryder Cup rank: 2
Last week's rank: 2
Best PGA Tour finish in 2018: Won THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES, The Honda Classic
Ryder Cup appearances: 0
Notes: Thomas did not play in the FedEx St. Jude Classic and, as a result, dropped to No. 2 in the Official World Golf Ranking when Dustin Johnson won in Memphis. Thomas had been No. 1 since the week after the Players Championship. While it surely would have been nice to enter his first major championship as World No. 1, Thomas probably isn't worried much about dropping to No. 2 in an idle week. He's headed to Shinny after a T11 in the Players and a T8 in the Memorial. He tied for ninth in the 2017 U.S. Open at Erin Hills.


Current Ryder Cup rank: 3
Last week's rank: 3
Best PGA Tour finish in 2018: Won Sentry Tournament of Champions, FedEx St. Jude Classic
Ryder Cup appearances: 3 (2010, 2012, 2016)
Notes: A tie for eighth at Memorial. A dominating six-stroke win, that included a final-hole eagle hole-out in Memphis to reassume the No. 1 spot in the Official World Golf Ranking. Yeah, it's safe to say that Johnson is ready for this week's U.S. Open. Johnson won the 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont. His last missed cut in a major or non-major? That was at Erin Hills last year in the U.S. Open. The No. 1 player in the world is playing like it with the year's second major upon us.


Current Ryder Cup rank: 4
Last week's rank: 4
Best PGA Tour finish in 2018: Third at the Masters
Ryder Cup appearances: 2 (2014, 2016)
Notes: Nothing has changed for Spieth since sitting out last week's tournament in Memphis. Since finishing third at the Houston Open and the Masters in consecutive weeks, his finishes look like this: missed cut in New Orleans; T41 at the Players; T21 at Byron Nelson; T32 at Fort Worth and a missed cut at Memorial. That isn't exactly the type of streak the three-time major champ wants to be carrying into the U.S. Open. The putter -- which has always been his biggest strength -- seems to be betraying Spieth right now. Can he find some magic at Shinnecock?


Current Ryder Cup rank: 5
Last week's rank: 5
Best PGA Tour finish in 2018: T2 WGC-HSBC Champions
Ryder Cup appearances: 1 (2016)
Notes: Until Sunday, Koepka was enjoying a nice week in Memphis. He fired rounds of 66-66-69 for the first three days of the FedEx St. Jude Classic, but Sunday was a struggle. Koepka had a rare birdie-free round at TPC Southwind and carded a 3-over 73 to finish in a tie for 30th, 20 spots higher than where he began the final round. Consider it a small blip on the radar. Koepka will be extra jacked this week, as he'll have a chance to defend his first major title.


Current Ryder Cup rank: 6
Last week's rank: 7
Best PGA Tour finish in 2018: Second at the OHL Classic, the Masters
Ryder Cup appearances: 3 (2010, 2014, 2016)
Notes: Last week was a big one for Fowler and it had absolutely nothing to do with golf. Instead, he got engaged! For that reason, Fowler will be flying into Shinecock floating on cloud 9. Will that be the recipe for a first career major win? We'll see. He's knocked on the door at majors enough times that it's about time he finally kicks one in.


Current Ryder Cup rank: 7
Last week's rank: 6
Best PGA Tour finish in 2018: Won the Genesis Open, WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play Championship
Ryder Cup appearances: 3 (2010, 2012, 2014)
Notes: Early reports suggest that Shinnecock is set up for the bombers. If that is in fact the case, Watson has got to be licking his chops. It's already been a great season for Bubba with two early victories. A major win would be icing on the cake and another Ryder Cup appearance would be the cherry on top.


Current Ryder Cup rank: 8
Last week's rank: 9
Best PGA Tour finish in 2018: Won WGC-Mexico Championship
Ryder Cup appearances: 11 (1995, 1997, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016)
Notes: Tiger Woods winning the 2018 U.S. Open would be a monster story... but there's one that could be even bigger than that. A win by Phil Mickelson -- bridesmaid a record six times in the U.S. Open -- would complete a career grand slam. And the last time the U.S. Open was held at Shinnecock, Mickelson was runner up to Retief Goosen. This would be the sweetest redemption you could possibly imagine... and following a final-round 65 at Memphis to tie for 12th, you can be sure Lefty is fired up for the opportunity.


Current Ryder Cup rank: 9
Last week's rank: 8
Best PGA Tour finish in 2018: Won the Memorial
Ryder Cup appearances: 0
Notes: Understandably and deservedly, DeChambeau took a week off from tournament play following his victory at Memorial. He'll be refreshed and ready to hit the ground running at Shinnecock, as he looks for his first major win. DeChambeau's best finish in a major was a T15 at the 2016 U.S. Open.


Current Ryder Cup rank: 10
Last week's rank: 9
Best PGA Tour finish in 2018: Won the Players Championship
Ryder Cup appearances: 2 (2012, 2014)
Notes: Simpson has just one start -- a missed cut in Fort Worth -- since his impressive victory at TPC Sawgrass. We already knows he has the game to win a U.S. Open -- he did so at Olympic Club in 2012. What game will he bring to Shinnecock.


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