(Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)

By Joel Beall
Patrick Reed won more than just the green jacket with his Masters’ triumph.

The 27-year-old sits atop the 2018 U.S. Ryder Cup team standings after his Augusta National feats. With 6321 points to his name, he has locked up on a spot on the American squad; out of the automatic berths on the 2016 club, Zach Johnson had the lowest point total at 4359, while only Jordan Spieth and Dustin Johnson finished the qualifying period with more points than Reed currently owns. Reed has made the last four U.S. national teams and racked up a team-best 3.5 points at the 2016 Ryder Cup.

Behind Reed are Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson and Jordan Spieth, their spots also essentially secured via point accumulation. All three were at the 2017 Presidents Cup at Liberty National, although Thomas was not selected for the ‘16 team at Hazeltine.

Bubba Watson, Rickie Fowler, Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson are Nos. 5 through 8. Mickelson has played in the last 11 Ryder Cup squads, none of which came by captain’s picks. Only Arnold Palmer and Billy Casper have more U.S. points in the event’s history than Mickelson’s 21.5 total.

Tiger Woods, with just six events to his credit, sits in 28th.

The top eight in the point standings after the PGA Championship automatically qualify for the biennial event, held at Le Golf National outside of Paris. Three captain’s picks will be named after the Dell Technologies Championship, the second leg of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, with the final selection coming after the BMW Championship.

Jim Furyk is this year’s American captain and will be assisted by Woods and Presidents Cup captain Steve Stricker. Though the U.S. defeated the Europeans in resounding fashion in 2016, the Americans have not won on foreign soil in 25 years.