Tony Finau, Xander Schauffele, Jordan Spieth and Harris English are added to the 12-man team, with Patrick Reed left off following a bout with pneumonia.
Stricker filled out his 12-man team with Tony Finau, Xander Schauffele, Jordan Spieth and Harris English. They were the next four in the Ryder Cup standings. The other two picks went to Daniel Berger and Scottie Scheffler. Reed has a history of thriving in team events with his personality and short game. He has a 7-3-2 record in the previous three Ryder Cups and is undefeated in singles. But he has had a poor summer, and Reed couldn’t play the final two qualifying events while hospitalized with pneumonia that made him fear for his life. He returned to play the Tour Championship and tied for 17th in the actual score from the 30-man field. Europe’s qualifying ends after this week’s BMW PGA Championship in England, and then Padraig Harrington announces three captain’s picks. The Ryder Cup is Sept.24-26 at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin. Europe not only is defending champion, it has won nine of the last 12 times dating to 1995. The six automatic qualifiers were Collin Morikawa, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Justin Thomas, Brooks Koepka and Patrick Cantlay. Some 237,750 spectators attended the four days of the 2019 Open — a record in the championship’s 161-year history – as Irish player Shane Lowry won by six shots. A record 61,000 spectators attended practice days, too. R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers said there is a “tremendous capacity to make it bigger and better.” The request comes in an open letter from rights groups representing minorities in China, including Uyghurs, Tibetans, Hong Kong residents and others. The letter, obtained by the Associated Press, was sent Tuesday to NBC Universal chief executive officer Jeff Shell and other international broadcast executives.
