Get ready golf fans, because we’re just a few days away from turning the calendar to a Ryder Cup year.
The pandemic forced the postponement of the 43rd biennial battle between the United States and Europe, originally scheduled for Sept. 25-27 at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin. Twelve of the best American and European male golfers will now play Sept. 24-26, 2021, still at Whistling Straits.
In August, Team USA changed its selection criteria for the 2021 event. All points earned by U.S. players since qualification began in 2019 will be recognized, and the time to accrue points was extended through the 2021 BMW Championship (Aug. 26-29). The top six players on the points list will qualify, with U.S. captain Steve Stricker making the final six picks following the 2021 Tour Championship (Sept. 2-5).
Team Europe will take the top four players on its European Points List, as well as the top five players on its World Points List who didn’t qualify from the European list. Captain Padraig Harrington will make his three final picks the week of Monday, Sept. 13, 2021.
Here’s how the teams currently stand entering 2021.
- Woods has loads of experience as a player in the Ryder Cup, competing in 37 matches across eight different events dating back to 1997. He was also a vice captain in 2018 under Jim Fuyrk, although.
- Qualifying for the Ryder Cup has resumed with Padraig Harrington warning that older European stars could miss out because of the year-long delay to his team's trophy defence.
More:Future Ryder Cup sites through 2037
Team USA
The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is contested every two years with the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe. The Ryder Cup is named after the English businessman Samuel Ryder who donated the trophy.
1. Dustin Johnson
2. Bryson Dechambeau
3. Justin Thomas
4. Brooks Koepka
5. Collin Morikawa
6. Xander Schauffele
Full rankings here.
Team Europe
1. Tommy Fleetwood (European points)
2. Jon Rahm (European points)
3. Rory McIlroy (European points)
4. Victor Perez (European points)
5. Tyrrell Hatton (World points)
6. Danny Willett (World points)
Who Is On The Ryder Cup Team This Year 2019
7. Matthew Fitzpatrick (World points)
8. Lee Westwood (World points)
9. Bernd Wiesberger (World points)
European points here. World points here.
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Steve Stricker wore red and black in honor of Tiger Woods on Sunday at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and said he hopes to have his longtime friend at the Ryder Cup this fall 'in one way, shape or form.'
But the U.S. Ryder Cup captain would not go so far as to say this early that Woods would be a vice captain when the United States Ryder Cup team takes on Europe at Whistling Straits in September.
Woods is recovering from multiple serious injuries suffered in a single-vehicle crash in Southern California on Feb. 23.
'I'm not going to go down that road now,' Stricker said. 'Obviously we're all pulling for him. We're thankful that he's alive. I don't know who said it, but that his kids continue to have a father. Something even more tragic could have come from that.
'I'd love to have him around [at the Ryder Cup]. I'm hoping in one way, shape or form. But it's too early to kind of commit to anything.'
Stricker has two vice captain openings after having already named Jim Furyk, Davis Love III and Zach Johnson to those roles.
Stricker was an assistant captain to Woods at the last team competition played in 2019, the Presidents Cup won by the U.S. team in Australia. A year earlier, Stricker assisted Furyk at the 2018 Ryder Cup, where Woods played on the losing side.
And in 2017, when Stricker was the Presidents Cup captain, Woods was an assistant for the U.S. team that won at Liberty National. Woods also assisted Love at the 2016 Ryder Cup, won by the Americans.
Woods missed nearly all of the 2016 and 2017 seasons due to back issues. He was a playing captain at the 2019 Presidents Cup and went 3-0 as a player.
Who Is On The Ryder Cup Team This Year 2020
Stricker noted that before the accident, he was hoping Woods would put together the kind of season that would allow him to be part of the team as a player.
During Sunday's final round, Stricker joked that wearing red and black 'didn't do me s---; I didn't make a birdie. But obviously he's a friend of mine. I'm trying to keep up on what's going on with him. I haven't heard too much lately.'
There have been no public updates on Woods' condition since March 1.
Stricker, 54, shot 77 on Sunday. He's trying to play as much as possible on the regular PGA Tour to keep in touch with the players who might be on his team. He is an alternate for next week's Players Championship and then plans to play the Honda Classic in two weeks.