This week marks the final stretch for players hoping to automatically qualify for The Presidents Cup 2013, as the Deutsche Bank Championship which ends on Monday, September 2 is the last event in which players can improve their positions on the U.S. and International Team standings. The Presidents Cup comes to Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, October 1-6. The two team captains, Fred Couples for the U.S. Team and Nick Price for the International Team, will each make two captain s selections on Wednesday, September 4 to round out their 12-man teams. U.S. Team The top of the U.S. Team standings includes the four players who have won multiple events on the PGA TOUR this season with Tiger Woods (No. 1), Brandt Snedeker (No. 2), Phil Mickelson (No. 3) and Matt Kuchar (No. 4). Following those are Keegan Bradley (No. 5), PGA Championship winner Jason Dufner (No. 6), Bill Haas (No. 7) and Hunter Mahan (No. 8). For the U.S. Team, every dollar earned in 2013 counts as double points (points have been accruing since the 2011 TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola). With an $8 million purse at the Deutsche Bank Championship and $1.44 million awarded to the winner, players as far down the rankings as No. 19 Nick Watney still have a mathematical chance at playing their way onto the team by winning and earning 2.88 million points. Last-place money at the Deutsche Bank Championship is $16,000 = 32,000 points. Here is a quick look at what players likely need to do at the Deutsche Bank Championship to pass current No. 10 Zach Johnson although Johnson s play would obviously affect the standings as well. Furthermore, if several players on this list post strong finishes this week, then much will be required to secure a spot on the U.S. Team. 8. Hunter Mahan – 9,712,188 9. Webb Simpson – 9,137,636 10. Zach Johnson – 9,078,762 11. Steve Stricker – 8,703,084 12. Dustin Johnson – 8,681,908 13. Jim Furyk – 8,579,663 14. Bubba Watson – 8,136,908 15. Billy Horschel* – 6,956,635 16. Kevin Streelman* – 6,836,697 17. Rickie Fowler* – 6,634,176 18. D.A. Points* – 6,557,015 19. Nick Watney – 6,455,102 *player who would be competing in event for first time International Team The International Team top 10 is based on the Official World Golf Ranking. The current top five consists of two Aussies in Adam Scott (No. 1) and Jason Day (No. 4) and three South African players in Ernie Els (No. 2), Charl Schwartzel (No. 3) and Louis Oosthuizen (No. 5). Japan s Hideki Matsuyama and South Africans Branden Grace and Richard Sterne make up the No. 6, No. 7 and No. 8 spots, respectively. Argentina s Angel Cabrera is ninth in the standings. With his T2 finish at The Barclays, Canadian Graham DeLaet moved from No. 14 in the standings to No. 10, bumping Tim Clark from the final automatic position. Using a projected Official World Golf Ranking for next week, here is a quick look at what players likely need to do at the Deutsche Bank Championship in order to pass DeLaet and take over the No. 10 position in the final standings although DeLaet s play would obviously affect the standings as well. 9. Angel Cabrera – 2.51 10. Graham DeLaet* – 2.48 11. Tim Clark – 2.3 12. Thongchai Jaidee* – 2.23 13. Marc Leishman* – 2.12 14. George Coetzee* – 1.94 15. Brendon de Jonge* – 1.88 20. Geoff Ogilvy – 1.71 21. John Senden* – 1.70 22. Bae Sang-moon* – 1.65 23. K.J. Choi – 1.56 24. Brendan Jones* – 1.55 25. Matt Jones* – 1.54 30. David Hearn* – 1.32 32. Rory Sabbatini – 1.26 34. Greg Chalmers* – 1.20 *player who would be competing in event for first time
Author: Presidents Cup