Davis Love wants Ryder Cup qualifiers to lead the way

Ryder Cup captain Davis Love will turn to his eight automatic qualifiers for advice on his wild cards as the United States seek to avoid an unprecedented fourth straight defeat at Hazeltine.

Patrick Reed’s victory in the first FedEx Cup play-off event on Sunday secured his place on the team alongside Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Jordan Spieth, Jimmy Walker, Brooks Koepka, Brandt Snedeker and Zach Johnson. And those players will now have a major say in who joins them on the plane to Minnesota, mirroring the approach taken by the last victorious US Ryder Cup captain Paul Azinger in 2008.

“It’s time for these eight to take ownership of this team and help us pick four more,” said 2012 skipper Love, who will name three wild cards on September 12 and his final one after the Tour Championship in Atlanta, just five days before the 41st Ryder Cup starts.