After another top-10 finish on the PGA Tour, Ian Poulter is within reach of an automatic qualifying spot for this year’s Ryder Cup.
Poulter has been a thorn in the sides of Americans for more than a decade in the biennial matches, although injury kept him from participating as a player two years ago at Hazeltine. Once again healthy and buoyed by his recent win at the Houston Open, Poulter held the 54-hole lead at the RBC Heritage before tying for seventh.
While a Sunday 75 was his worst score of the week by six shots, the points he earned were still enough to move him to fifth on the Ryder Cup World Points list, just behind Alex Noren for the fourth and final automatic qualifying spot.
Here’s a look at the current European standings, with the top four from the European Points list and the top four from the World Points list in August joining four picks from captain Thomas Bjorn in Paris:
European Points
1. Tyrrell Hatton
2. Justin Rose
3. Jon Rahm
4. Ross Fisher
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5. Matthew Fitzpatrick
World Points
1. Rory McIlroy
2. Tommy Fleetwood
3. Sergio Garcia
4. Alex Noren
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5. Ian Poulter
There was no change to the top 12 in the American standings after Harbour Town, with Bryson DeChambeau (18th to 13th) and Luke List (20th to 15th) making notable moves. Here’s a look at the updated U.S. points race, with the top eight after the PGA Championship qualifying automatically:
1. Patrick Reed
2. Justin Thomas
3. Dustin Johnson
4. Jordan Spieth
5. Bubba Watson
6. Rickie Fowler
7. Brooks Koepka
8. Phil Mickelson
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9. Matt Kuchar
10. Brian Harman
11. Kevin Kisner
12. Gary Woodland
Source: Internet
