PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland – The cutoff to automatically qualify for the U.S. Ryder Cup team is less than a month away, but Sunday’s final round at The Open marked the end of major championship season and effectively solidified many of those spots.
Count Bryson DeChambeau among that group following just his second top-10 finish at The Open, thanks to weekend rounds of 68-64. DeChambeau entered the week fifth on the U.S. points list with the top 6 qualifying on Aug. 17. The final six players will be selected by U.S. captain Keegan Bradley following the Tour Championship.
DeChambeau became emotional when asked if he had any communication with Bradley this week. “I talked with him briefly, and then he put something in our lockers that was pretty inspirational,” he said. “It’s a personal message.”
Bradley, who was ninth on the points list and in line to be a playing captain later this year at Bethpage, has ramped up his efforts in recent weeks to focus and motivate his team.
“It was a picture of Justin Leonard, sort of an inspirational look from Brookline [1999 Ryder Cup], an inspirational photo that’s important to me. I wrote a little message to the boys on there,” Bradley told GolfChannel.com.
Bradley added that he wrote individualized messages on the photos to players who are roughly in the top 15 on the current points list.
“It meant a lot,” DeChambeau said. “This year’s no joke. We’re tired of it. We’re tired of losing.”
