Team USA qualifiers locked in for Ryder Cup with Scottie Scheffler leading the way, but Brooks Koepka misses out

The six qualifiers for the Ryder Cup team in the US are locked in after a pair of last-minute moves in the BMW Championship.

Scottie Scheffler may have missed European Viktor Hovland and his final round of 61 Sunday, but the American needn’t have worried, he was always a lock-in for Zach Johnson’s side for Rome.

However, other big names will be left sweating as they wait on the phone to find out if they got the call from Johnson to take on the Europeans after missing out on the automatic qualifying spots.

Xander Schauffele did enough to squeeze into the automatic qualifying spots, despite a bogey on the last hole of the BMW Championship. He finished with a two-under 68 at Olympia Fields to finish tied for eighth, earning him the sixth and final automatic spot on the Ryder Cup team.

Schauffele’s gain, however, was Brooks Koepka’s loss—and a big one, too.

Scottie Scheffler was never a doubt for the American team taking on the Europeans

But Brooks Koepka missed out on a qualifying spot for Rome and dropped to number 7

The PGA Championship winner went from a remarkable feat of getting into the six automatic spots as a LIV Golf Rebel to needing a call from Johnson.

Koepka left the PGA Tour for Saudi-backed LIV Golf last June, only accessing Ryder Cup points in the majors. He was runner-up at the Masters and won the PGA Championship, with points counting double for major winners.

Koepka fell from No. 5 to No. 7, finishing 29 points behind Schauffele. Max Homa was in last spot and shot 68 to reach fifth place.

Schauffele finished with 9,450 points in 26 qualifying tournaments. Koepka had 9,421 points in 10 counting events.

Any other player who finished just out of qualifying, had won five majors and was 6-5-1 in his three Ryder Cup appearances would appear to be a lock. The wild card is that Koepka is part of LIV Golf and its 48-man fields over 54 holes.

Since winning the PGA Championship, Koepka has tied for 17th in the US Open and tied for 64th in the British Open. At LIV Golf, he had only one top 10 finish in five events, and he was near the bottom of the pack in the last two.

Xander Schauffele did enough on Sunday to squeeze into the automatic qualifying places

The last American to finish just outside automatic qualifiers and not be chosen was Bubba Watson for the 2016 games in Hazeltine.

In any case, Schauffele does not have to wait for a phone call. He was bypassed in the standings in favor of Tony Finau for the 2018 games in France.

“You don’t really want to sit around waiting for the call,” said Schauffele. ‘Been on both sides. … I remember getting a call saying ‘No’ and a phone call saying ‘Yes’. It’s nice to automatically qualify.’

Schauffele had no reason to worry. Captains usually take those who finish just short of the automatic spots, mainly because of his performance and natural partnership with Cantlay.

Most of the focus is on Justin Thomas, who failed to qualify for the FedEx Cup playoffs

“I would hope that I would be selected. I think I’ve proven enough in those events, in the team rooms and with my golf that I can play in these team events and help a team win,” said Schauffele. ‘But you never know. Like I said, it’s nice to qualify automatically.’

Jordan Spieth, who has played in every Ryder Cup since 2014, narrowly made it to the Tour Championship. He finished at number 8, followed by Cameron Young, Collin Morikawa, Keegan Bradley and Sam Burns.

Rickie Fowler, who won the Rocket Mortgage this summer for his first win in five years, is number 13. Most of the attention is on Justin Thomas, who is number 15 and failed to qualify for the FedEx Cup playoffs (top 70) for the first time in his career. He also has a 6-2-1 record in the two Ryder Cups he has played.

Of the potential captains, seven will be in East Lake for a final audition. So is Lucas Glover, who had won his previous two starts to reach No. 5 in the FedEx Cup. Glover finished number 16 in the Ryder Cup standings.