PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland – The U.S. Ryder Cup team is taking shape with major championship season now complete. Sunday’s final round at The Open effectively locked in several automatic qualifying spots ahead of the August 17 cutoff date.
Bryson DeChambeau has all but secured his place on the team. He entered the week fifth on the U.S. points list, where the top 6 automatically qualify, then strengthened his position with weekend rounds of 68-64 to secure just his second career top-10 finish at The Open. Captain Keegan Bradley will select the remaining six players after the Tour Championship.
DeChambeau became emotional discussing his interactions with Bradley this week. “I talked with him briefly, and then he put something in our lockers that was pretty inspirational,” he said. “It’s a personal message.”
Bradley has intensified his captaincy efforts recently, focusing on motivating potential team members. He’s currently ninth on the points list and could become a playing captain at Bethpage later this year.
“It was a picture of Justin Leonard, sort of an inspirational look from Brookline [1999 Ryder Cup], an inspirational photo that’s important to me. I wrote a little message to the boys on there,” Bradley told GolfChannel.com.
Bradley added that he personalized messages for players roughly in the top 15 of the current standings.
“It meant a lot,” DeChambeau said. “This year’s no joke. We’re tired of it. We’re tired of losing.”
