Lucas Glover believes he should be in the reckoning for the US Ryder Cup team after his impressive run of form continued with victory at the FedEx St Jude Championship.
Glover saw off fellow American Patrick Cantlay on the first playoff hole at TPC Southwind, with the win his second in as many weeks after his two-shot triumph at the Wyndham Championship last week.
The 43-year-old has now registered two wins and three top-six finishes in his last six PGA Tour events, with some now calling for the 2009 US Open champion - who is yet to feature in a Ryder Cup - to be a late inclusion in Zach Johnson’s plans.
When asked whether he had thought about the Ryder Cup, Glover said: “About 15 minutes ago. I've never made it and I want to.”
Glover’s impressive performances have seen him rise to World No. 30, fourth in the FedEx Cup standings and become the first person since Vijay Singh in 2008 to win consecutive PGA Tour events in their forties. It also catapults him up to 16th in the US Ryder Cup standings ahead of the likes of Tony Finau, Harris English and Russell Henley.
He would likely need another win to force his way into the top six automatic qualifiers but his performances could catch the eye of captain Johnson who is set to announce his six captain’s picks after the season-ending Tour Championship at East Lake on August 27, 2023.
“Right now, yes," Glover said when asked if he would select himself for Team USA. “[I’m] playing pretty good golf, and I think I'd be pretty good in the team room and be a good partner, so yeah, absolutely I would.”
Patrick Cantlay’s runner-up performance saw him rise to number three in the US rankings, all but confirming his place on the team. Max Homa, meanwhile, finished T6 which sees him leapfrog Xander Schauffele into the final automatic qualifying position and on the cusp of his first Ryder Cup appearance.
Schauffele will likely get a captain’s pick regardless while vice-captain Fred Couples hinted heavily that Cameron Young and Jordan Spieth would be selected by Johnson. That would leave Glover competing with the likes of Sam Burns, Collin Morikawa, Rickie Fowler, Keegan Bradley and Justin Thomas for the final three picks.
