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Stenson attempted to defend his title at the
Wyndham Championship, but his tie for 20th on Sunday did little
to improve his chances of automatically qualifying for Team
Europe's Ryder Cup squad. Two weeks remain before Europe's eight
automatic spots are determined, and Stenson's announcement
Monday indicates that he believes he will secure one of Thomas
Bjorn's four captain's selections if he doesn't qualify.
Stenson joins Rory McIlroy and Rickie Fowler as marquee names
who will not be in New Jersey this week. McIlroy is skipping the
event to rest and work on his game, while Fowler is recovering
from an oblique injury.
Patrick Rodgers, who is getting married, will also miss The
Northern Trust, while Bud Cauley has not played since a car
accident at the Memorial in June. Only the top 125 players in
the standings qualify, and alternates are not used to fill spots
of players who do not compete in a playoff event.
Stenson has only one top-10 finish this summer, a T-6 at the
U.S. Open, and the 42-year-old has been dealing with a lingering
elbow injury. He also admitted last week that his putting has
been highly inconsistent in recent events.
Currently ranked 50th in the FedExCup standings, Stenson will
qualify for next week's Dell Technologies Championship, with the
top 100 in the standings eligible to compete at TPC Boston. Only
the top 70 will earn a spot in the third leg of the playoffs at
the BMW Championship.
Stenson is a four-time member of Team Europe in the Ryder Cup.
The 2018 event will take place Sept. 28-30 at Le Golf National
in Paris.
"I've been trying to focus on my game and there are some things
that are good and some things that needed a bit more work. We'll
try to sort that out in weeks to come," he said.
"Obviously we're a little bit out of direct qualification. He
(Bjorn) has got my number and I guess I'll just have to wait
next to the telephone."
--Field Level
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