Paige Spiranac gives her take on Justin Thomas' Ryder Cup situation - "He could be a captain's pick"

Paige Spiranac feels that although Justin Thomas doesn't stand a chance to earn an automatic spot on the US Ryder Cup team, he might just become one of the captain's picks.

The deadline to earn an automatic place on the US Ryder Cup team is August 20, when the BWM Championship will conclude. The 2023 Ryder Cup will take place from September 29 to October 1 at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome, Italy.

Thomas has struggled so badly this year that he is not even in the race for the automatic spot for the biennial event. Last week, Thomas posted 1-over-82 in the first round of the 151st Open, his worst single-round score in the major championships.

While speaking to PointBet USA, Spiranac shared her views regarding Thomas' current situation and his prospects of being on this year's Ryder Cup team.

Spiranac said:

"The Ryder Cup is very interesting with how they go about their picks. I don't think he will be on the team, but at the same time, he could be a captain's pick because of the camaraderie and he brings so much into the locker-room atmosphere."

"So maybe if he's not on the team as a captain's pick, then he will probably be there as an assistant or in some way because all of the guys really do love Justin Thomas."

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What is Justin Thomas' position in the US Ryder Cup standings?

As of July 2023, Justin Thomas is 14th in the US Ryder Cup standings. For the uninitiated, only the top six will bag an automatic spot on the team. The remaining six will be picked by the US team's captain.

Only a few events are left on the PGA Tour regular season before the deadline. Thomas didn't skip the week and will be seen competing at the 3M Open, which is scheduled to tee off on Thursday, July 27, at TPC Twin Cities in Blaine, Minnesota.

Here are the current US Ryder Cup standings:

1. Scottie Scheffler: 25,741.74
2. Wyndham Clark: 13,366.12
3. Brian Harman: 10,194.54
4. Brooks Koepka: 9,421.15
5. Xander Schauffele: 8,671.98
6. Patrick Cantlay: 8,454.75
7. Max Homa: 8,264.48
8. Cameron Young: 7,679.31
9. Jordan Spieth: 7,482.05
10. Keegan Bradley: 7,422.34
11. Collin Morikawa: 7,116.81
12. Rickie Fowler: 6,892.09
13. Sam Burns: 6,832.80
14. Justin Thomas: 6,370.10
15. Denny McCarthy: 6,239.87
16. Kurt Kitayama: 5,777.87
17. Will Zalatoris: 5,529.13
18. Harris English: 4,888.27
19. Tony Finau: 4,380.30
20. Chris Kirk: 4,240.27
21. Sahith Theegala: 3,978.68
22. Adam Schenk: 3,952.47
23. Taylor Moore: 3,703.65
24. Tom Hoge: 3,679.26
25. Russell Henley: 3,671.19

Here are the European Ryder Cup standings:

European Points List

• 1. Rory McIlroy: 4033.5
• 2. Jon Rahm: 3417.2
• 3. Robert MacIntyre #: 1743.6
• 4. Yannik Paul: 1,652.9
• 5. Adrian Meronk: 1,614.2
• 6. Tommy Fleetwood: 1,534.4
• 7. Victor Perez: 1,528.0
• 8. Rasmus Hojgaard: 1,516.9
• 9. Adrian Otaegui: 1,375.2
• 10. Shane Lowry: 1,290.2
• 11. Tyrrell Hatton: 1,253.0
• 12. Jordan Smith: 1,230.0

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World Points List

• 1. Jon Rahm: 388.6
• 2. Rory McIlroy: 364.6
• 3. Viktor Hovland: 265.8
• 4. Tyrrell Hatton: 195.5
• 5. Tommy Fleetwood: 158.3
• 6. Matt Fitzpatrick: 152.8
• 7. Sepp Straka: 141.8
• 8. Shane Lowry: 104.3
• 9. Justin Rose: 93.9
• 10. Robert MacIntyre: 92.3
• 11. Adrian Meronk: 76.1
• 12. Seamus Power: 69.3