Frittelli goes to #IntlTeam
With five weeks left until the top 8 players of each team officially qualified for the 2019 Presidential Cup, Dylan Frittelli's first PGA TOUR victory at the John Deere Classic threw the 29-year-old 23 places in the International Team rankings No. 26. Frittelli, a former member of the University of Texas, had twice won the European Tour and once the Asian Tour and Sunshine Tour prior to his PGA TOUR title.
The Presidential Cup returns to Melbourne, Australia and The Royal Melbourne Golf Club for the third time, December 9-15, 2019, when the international team led by Captain Ernie Els takes on the American team led by Captain Tiger Woods.
Upon entering the John Deere Classic at number 154 in the FedExCup booth, Frittelli fought to keep his job at the PGA TOUR by going to the top 125 in the last four weeks of the season. After the win, Frittelli is number 48 in the FedExCup rankings and gets extra chances to push the Presidential Cup through the FedExCup Playoffs.
Frittelli & # 39; s motivation to qualify for the President Cup is due to fellow countryman and team captain Els, who was the main source of inspiration for Frittelli's career path.
"[Ernie and Retief] really put the idea in my mind that hey, they're from South Africa and they grew up in Johannesburg, and maybe I could do this if I worked on it and planted a little seed," Frittelli said. "Ernie has been wonderful to me, has given me a lot of time, and tons of South Africans after him who have set that standard."
The victory of Frittlli was the first victory of a South African on the PGA TOUR since Branden Grace on the 2016 RBC Heritage
Elsewhere in the International Team rankings, South Korean Sungjae Im changed positions with fellow countryman Sung Kang after a T26 on the John Deere Classic. At number 13 Im is currently the highest ranked Korean in the International Team stand.
There was no movement in the rankings prior to Im and Kang, with Marc Leishmancontin to lead the International Team rankings.
The UTC standings also had a quiet week, with Charles Howell III who moved to the 15th place after a T6 finish at the John Deere Classic. Howell is trying to qualify for his first Presidential Cup team.
Team Captain Woods from the US returns to action this week during the Open Championship. Woods remains No. 12 in the rankings and is looking to become the second largest captain of the President Cup ever
The 15 best players in the International and American Presidents Cup Team Stand as of July 15, 2019 are listed below. Click here for the full Presidential Cup ranking.
Rank Last week Player Land points
1. 1 Marc Leishman Australia 159.42
2. 2 Louis Oosthuizen South Africa 153.43
3. 3 Hideki Matsuyama Japan 153.00
4. 4 Adam Scott Australia 149.17
5.5 Haotong Li China 124.07
6. 6 C.T Pan Chinese Taipei 117.03
7. 7 Jason Day Australia 116.61
8. 8 Jazz Janewattananond Thailand 111.54
9. 9 Abraham Ancer Mexico 111.45
10. 10 Cameron Smith Australia 110.58
11. 11 Justin Harding South Africa 102.04
12. 12 Shugo Imahira Japan 97.39
13. 14 Sungjae Im Korea 94.60
14. 13 Sung Kang Korea 94.05
15. 15 Adam Hadwin Canada 83.83
Rank Player points last week
1. 1 Brooks Koepka 6,809
2. 2 Dustin Johnson 6,445
3. 3 Xander Schauffele 5,574
4. Justin Thomas 5,472
5.5 Matt Kuchar 5,454
6. 6 Bryson DeChambeau 5,225
7. 7 Patrick Cantlay 5.002
8. 8 Gary Woodland 4,884
9. 9 Rickie Fowler 4,351
10. 10 Tony Finau 4,344
11. 11 Webb Simpson 4,058
12. 12 Tiger Woods 3,868
13. 13 Chez Reavie 3,689
14. 14 Phil Mickelson 3,535
15. 16 Charles Howell III 3,424
