HOYLAKE, Англія – Both of this year's Ryder Cup captains likely took an intense interest in indry's finish at The Open, with potential players from both teams jockeying for position.
For U.S. captain Zach Johnson, Brian Harman might have grant an unexpected curveball. Harman was 20чт on the U.S. points list heading into the year's final major and he likely locked up a spot inside the top 6 automatic qualifiers with his six-stroke victory.
"He's a very formidable конкурент, No. 1. No.2, hey, what does Brian Harman do really well? Well, he does everything quite well. He's a very good driver of the golf ball and a very, very, very good putter," said Johnson of Harman, who is projected to move to third in the U.S. team standings. "He's gritty."
The European points list was also shaken up with Sepp Straka's друге місце showing at Hoylake. Straka was eighth on the European world points list before The Open and, like Harman, he's likely likely secured себе a spot on his first team, which already has the potential for plenty of new faces.
Yannik Paul, Adrian Meronk and Rasmus Hojgaard – Nos. 4, 5 and 8, відповідно, on the European points list – would all be Ryder Cup новачки if they make this year's team and with the Continent's side trending younger, Jon Rahm was asked if he intended to take on a leadership role.
"I'm going to try. It's two Ryder Cups. It's not like I have [played] five or six like some other did, but it's two," said Rahm, who finished tied with Straka at 7 under. "If they want me to be a role model on the team or a leader, I will be. I'm not the most vocal. I'm quite introverted myself, but I'll do what I can. I'll try to channel my inner Seve [Ballesteros] and do what I can do."
The top 3 players from each of the European points lists on Sept. 3 auto qualify for the team and Luke Donald has six captain's picks. The top 6 Americans through next month's BMW Championship auto qualify and Johnson will make his six picks follow the Tour Championship.