ZALATORIS MOVES TO NO. 7 IN U.S. TEAM STANDINGS

(Photo by Ben Jared/PGA TOUR via Getty Images)

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina – After defeating Sepp Straka on the third playoff hole to notch his first PGA TOUR victory at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, Will Zalatoris jumped from No. 10 to No. 7 in the U.S. Team standings entering this week’s BMW Championship, where automatic qualifiers for both teams will be solidified.

Zalatoris, who will turn 26 on Tuesday, August 16, posted rounds of 71-63-65-66—265 (15-under) to finish 72 holes at TPC Southwind tied with Straka atop the leaderboard. The duo traded matching pars on the par-4 18thtwo times before moving to the par-3 11th, where Zalatoris won with a bogey after both players hit their tee shots into the hazard.

The win further validated a breakout 2021-22 season for Zalatoris, who entered the week with three runner-up finishes, including playoff losses at the Farmers Insurance Open and PGA Championship.

“I think anytime you put yourself in contention you're going to – you're going to learn something about yourself,” said Zalatoris. “The first second (place) at the Masters was life changing because it put me in position to play out here as much as I wanted to and put me kind of on the map. The second at the PGA was kind of affirmation that it wasn't a fluke of a week, and the third one at the U.S. Open gave me that much more belief that I can win a major, I can win out here. It was just a matter of time and obviously this was my week.”

With the move from No. 10 to No. 7, Zalatoris leaped in front of major champions Jordan Spieth (8) and Collin Morikawa (9), as well as four-time PGA TOUR winner Max Homa (10). The top five players – Scottie Scheffler, Patrick Cantlay, Sam Burns, Xander Schauffele and Justin Thomas – remain unchanged.

For the International Team, the only movement inside the top 10 was from Adam Scott, who moved from No. 8 to No. 7, switching places with Mito Pereira. Scott, who has competed in the last nine Presidents Cups, notched his fourth top-10 of the season with a T5 in Memphis to move one spot inside the cutoff line heading to this week’s BMW Championship in Wilmington, Delaware.

Following the conclusion of the final round at host Wilmington Country Club, the top six players in the U.S. Team standings will automatically qualify for the 2022 Presidents Cup, while the top eight players in the International Team standings will do so as well. Captain’s picks for each team will be made at a later date to be announced.

The top 15 players in the International and U.S. Presidents Cup Team Standings as of August 15, 2022, are listed below.

United States Team

NOTE: Presidents Cup points for FedExCup Playoffs Events will be weighted the same as World Golf Championships.

International Team

UNITED STATES

  1. Scottie Scheffler
  2. Patrick Cantlay
  3. Sam Burns
  4. Xander Schauffele
  5. Justin Thomas
  6. Tony Finau
  7. Will Zalatoris
  8. Jordan Spieth
  9. Collin Morikawa
  10. Max Homa
  11. Billy Horschel
  12. Cameron Young
  13. Tom Hoge
  14. J.T. Poston
  15. Kevin Kisner

INTERNATIONAL

  1. Cameron Smith
  2. Hideki Matsuyama
  3. Sungjae Im
  4. Joaquin Niemann
  5. Joohyung Kim
  6. Corey Conners
  7. Adam Scott
  8. Mito Pereira
  9. K.H. Lee
  10. Erik van Rooyen
  11. Sebastian Munoz
  12. Adam Hadwin
  13. Ryan Fox
  14. Mackenzie Hughes
  15. Anirban Lahiri

The 2022 Presidents Cup will be held at Quail Hollow Club, September 20-25. For more information about the Presidents Cup, or to purchase tickets, please visit PresidentsCup.com.