Halfway through the BMW Championship, the Ryder Cup picture is starting to become clearer.
Following the Championship at Olympia Fields this week, the top six in the U.S. Ryder Cup Rankings will automatically qualify for the U.S. Team (Scottie Scheffler and Wyndham Clark already claimed the first two spots). And so far, many players who entered the BMW on the Ryder Cup bubble have made strides toward earning a trip to Rome.
Let’s take a look at several players who are vying for a spot on the U.S. Team, and what they need to do for the next 36 holes at Olympia Fields to qualify.
Max Homa
BMW Championship position: Solo leader (10 under)
Ryder Cup Ranking: 6
Result needed to guarantee a spot in the top 6: Runner-up (any ties)
At last week’s FedEx St. Jude Championship, Homa moved into an automatic qualification spot by placing T-6, his best result since The Players Championship. It appears he might stay there after setting Olympia Fields’ course record with a second-round 62 that included 10 birdies. If the 32-year-old can hold on for his third win of the season, or stay close to the top of the leaderboard, he’ll be headed to his first Ryder Cup.
And that would fulfill a pledge he’s had with U.S. Captain Zach Johnson.
“I told Zach last year I was kissing up to him, but then he also said, ‘Well, I'd like to not have to pick you, and I said, ‘All right, there's my promise,’” Homa said Friday.
“I'll try to get an automatic. That would be really cool. That's been kind of my goal since these playoffs started, to get into that top 6. All that obviously takes some great golf. You're playing against a lot of great players. It has been fun keeping that goal, though, in mind because you're competing against the best Americans, which is a tall task.”
Chris Kirk
BMW Championship standing: Solo second (8 under)
Ryder Cup Ranking: 24
Minimum result needed: Win
Kirk wouldn’t jump into the top six with a victory, however, if he were to claim his second win of the year this week, he could very well nab one of the six captain’s picks that will be made after next week’s Tour Championship. At the Honda Classic, Kirk ended a 2,836-day winless drought, but has only one top-10 since. If he can continue to ride his iron play (ranked first in Strokes Gained: Approach so far this week) to a win, he could possibly send himself to Rome, regardless of not being able to claim a spot in the top six.
Brian Harman
BMW Championship position: T-3 (7 under)
Ryder Cup Ranking: 4
Minimum result needed: Top 20
By virtue of his maiden major win last month at The Open Championship, Harman is currently inside the top 6. However, there’s a few scenarios in which he could drop out. He could finish outside the top 20; if there’s a two-way tie for second between Homa and Schauffele; or if Jordan Spieth, Cam Young, Collin Morikawa, Keegan Bradley, Sam Burns or Rickie Fowler win. Luckily for Harman, he’s controlling his own destiny, sitting three strokes off the lead the as 36-year-old tries to lock up a spot on his first Ryder Cup team.
Rickie Fowler
BMW Championship position: T-5 (5 under)
Ryder Cup Ranking: 13
Minimum result needed to enter top six: Solo second
After ending a 1,610-day winless drought at July’s Rocket Mortgage Classic — Fowler has finished T-42-T-23-T-28. It seems he’s turned a corner this week, but still five strokes off the lead, Fowler will need to come from behind for the win. However, if the victory doesn’t come, a strong finish — which the four-time Ryder Cupper is currently projecting — could still go a long way with for one of Johnson’s six captain’s picks.
Xander Schauffele
BMW Championship position: T-10 (4 under)
Ryder Cup Ranking: 7
Minimum result needed to enter top six: Two-way T-43
It would be a shock if the 2020 Olympic gold medalist isn’t in Rome despite the fact that he’s winless a year after he won three times. He is fifth on Tour this season in top-10s (nine) and in a prime position through 36 holes to nab his tenth this week. He only needs to slide up one spot in the U.S. Rankings to solidify his Ryder Cup berth a week early. And if he can manage a solo second at Olympia Fields, he’ll be locked into the top 6 without any help.
Collin Morikawa
BMW Championship position: T-13 (3 under)
Ryder Cup Ranking: 10
Minimum result needed to enter top six: Three-way T-2
Olympia Fields is a ball-strikers golf course, which is why he’s in the mix to notch his first win since the 2021 Open Championship. The two-time major champion fell four spots on the leaderboard by following up an opening 67 with a second-round 70. But Morikawa excels on difficult golf courses against the world’s best players — and if he can ball-strike his way back up the leaderboard this weekend, he can eliminate any doubt that he will be teeing it up in Rome come September.
Lucas Glover
BMW Championship position: T-13 (3 under)
Ryder Cup Ranking: 16
Minimum result needed to enter top six: Win
The player everyone has their eyes on. It will take some heavy lifting this weekend to notch his third win in as many weeks, but Glover is still in contention — and second in the field in Strokes Gained: Approach — further proving he’s worthy of a spot on the U.S. Team. The past week, many in the golf world have been advocating for the 43-year-old to earn a spot on his first Ryder Cup team, and if he can use his second-round 67 (his 22nd round in the 60s in his last 24 Tour starts) as momentum heading into the final two rounds, it will be hard for Johnson to leave Glover off the U.S. Team — even if he doesn’t chase down the leaders in the next two days.
Jordan Spieth
BMW Championship position: T-21 (2 under)
Ryder Cup Ranking: 8
Minimum result needed to enter top six: Three-way T-4
Considering he has collected 9.5 points in 18 matches for the U.S. in the last four Ryder Cups, it’s practically a sure thing he’ll be playing for Johnson’s squad. A T-6 last week in Memphis inched him closer to an automatic qualifying spot, which he can guarantee with a solo second at the BMW, but a second-round 70 dropped him nine spots down the BMW leaderboard. A good weekend could end any anxiety he may have about wanting to officially be named to the team, but if he doesn’t go low, it’ll likely be only another week before he’s set to play in his fifth straight Ryder Cup.
Keegan Bradley
BMW Championship position: T-26 (1 under)
Ryder Cup Ranking: 11
Minimum result needed to enter top six: Three-way T-2
The 37-year-old, who won the Travelers Championship in June, revealed Wednesday that he thinks about making the Ryder Cup every moment he’s awake. His third win of the season would turn his dream into a reality, but nine strokes back of the lead, he has his work cut out for him this weekend. Moving up the leaderboard would strengthen his case for a captain’s pick, as the two-time Ryder Cupper hopes to make his first U.S. Team since 2014.
