The PGA Championship concluded the United States' qualifying process for next month's Ryder Cup at Medinah (Ill.) Country Club, with spots filled by Tiger Woods, Bubba Watson, Jason Dufner, Keegan Bradley, Webb Simpson, Zach Johnson, Matt Kuchar and Phil Mickelson.
Now comes the hard part for U.S. captain Davis Love III, who will select four more players to fill out his roster. There are twice that many strong candidates.
The first choice should be Steve Stricker, the only world top 10 player from America who didn't qualify and one of Woods' favorite playing partners. The second no-brainer should be Hunter Mahan, who came up one slot short of qualifying automatically despite two wins.
Then it gets tough. Dustin Johnson would have made it as a qualifier if he hadn't missed three months with a back injury. Rickie Fowler embraced the format and was one of the team's most productive players at the 2010 Ryder Cup. Jim Furyk has played in seven Ryder Cups, experience matched only by Mickelson. Then there are wild cards -- Brandt Snedeker, Bo Van Pelt, Bill Haas and David Toms. Love will announce his choices Sept. 3.
"I would say nobody's really out of it because if you get hot the next three weeks, we are going to want you on the team," Love told reporters Monday. "There's no set formula to make it now. It's whoever's hot, and obviously we'll lean towards experience."
- Kevin Dunleavy