Billy Horschel picked the right event to make a statement to United States Ryder Cup captain Steve Stricker.
Winning the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play on Sunday lifted Horschel seven places to 11th in the U.S. Ryder Cup team standings. The six best players following the 2021 Tour Championship will automatically gain places in the team.
Stricker will then make six captain choices. If Horschel continues to perform well, the 34-year-old may not need Stricker’s help to form his first Ryder Cup team.
Horschel has moved up to 17th in the official world golf rankings with four top-10s in his last nine starts, including Sunday’s win and a T2 at last month’s WGC event at The Concession. Although he had not yet played for a Ryder Cup team, Horschel was part of the 2007 Walker Cup winning squad.
“I love playing for America,” he said on Sunday. “I love playing for the USA. I love it when people shoot me because I just like to put that needle on them to show them that, hey, you’re trying to do whatever you can to affect me and that do not arrive.”
World number one Dustin Johnson remains atop the U.S. Ryder Cup rankings. He is followed by Bryson DeChambeau, Justin Thomas, Brooks Koepka, Collin Morikawa and Xander Sc Chaudele in the automatic spots. Koepka is currently recovering from knee surgery with his status for the Masters next month uncertain.
Patrick Reed is n ° 7, followed by Tony Finau, Daniel Berger and Webb Simpson in front of Horschel. Scottie Scheffler, who lost to Horschel in Sunday’s final, climbed eight places to 14th as he also tries to earn a spot in his first Ryder Cup.
Postponed from 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Ryder Cup will take place in September, with the United States hosting the European team at Whistling Straits in Sheboygan, Wisconsin.
– Field level media
