Mexico has its first Presidents Cup representative, with Abraham Ancer securing a spot on the 2019 Presidents Cup International Team following his best career PGA Tour finish – a runner-up at The Northern Trust – that vaulted him from No.10 to No.5 on the International Team standings.
Ancer’s new point total is enough to guarantee him a spot in the top 8 with one week left to qualify.
Following the conclusion of this week’s BMW Championship on August 18, the top 8 players on each team’s standings will officially qualify for the 2019 Presidents Cup, with four captain’s picks upcoming in early November.
Ancer, the reigning Australian Open champion, also jumped to a career-high 39thin the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) and represents the first male golfer from Mexico to move inside the top 50 since the OWGR’s inception in 1986.
“I didn’t want to leave it to a decision. I wanted to lock it in,” Ancer said. “That was one of my main goals for this year. That is going to be an experience that I will never, never forget. To be the first Mexican that’s going to play in the Presidents Cup; that’s huge. I get goosebumps right now just talking about it.”
Elsewhere on the International Team standings, Haotong Li (No.6) and Cameron Smith (No. 7) are the two players inside the top 8 who are not scheduled to compete this week. C.T. Pan (No.8) is in the field at this week’s BMW Championship while Jason Day (No.9) fell out of the top 8 and will need a strong week at the BMW Championship to qualify. Only nine OWGR points separate Li (No.6) and Day (No.9).
With an estimated 72 OWGR points up for grabs for the winner of the BMW Championship, Chile’s Joaquin Niemann (No.29) has a chance to join the top 8 with a victory. Other players outside the top 15 on the International Team standings who are in the field at the BMW Championship include: Si Woo Kim (No.16), Corey Conners (No.17), Adam Hadwin (No.18), Emiliano Grillo (No.19) and Dylan Frittelli (No.24).
Other players outside the top 8 with a chance to qualify are Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond (No.10) and South Africa’s Justin Harding (No.11). Janewattananond is playing in the Asian Tour’s Sarawak Championship in Malaysia, while Harding is teeing it up on the Korn Ferry Tour’s Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship. Each event will likely offer just enough points to allow for scenarios that would qualify either player with a victory.
Joining Ancer in Sunday’s final pairing at Liberty National was two-time Presidents Cup team member Patrick Reed, who went on to win The Northern Trust by one stroke for his seventh PGA TOUR victory and first since the 2018 Masters.
Reed, who earned a 3-1-1 record in the 2017 Presidents Cup at Liberty National, jumped from No.17 to No.12 in the US Team standings and has a mathematical chance to grab one of the top 8 spots at this week’s BMW Championship.
Following a first-round 4-over 75 at The Northern Trust, Captain Woods withdrew on Friday morning, citing a mild oblique strain. After beginning the week at No.12 in the US Team standings, Woods fell to No.13 and cannot earn enough points to reach the top 8 at this week’s BMW Championship.
The top 10 in the US Team standings remain unchanged, with Patrick Cantlay occupying the No.8 spot heading into the BMW Championship with 5,268 points. Gary Woodland (No.9), Tony Finau (No.10), Rickie Fowler (No.11) and Reed (No.12) are the only players with a mathematical chance to reach the top 8.
All top 15 players in the US Team standings are in the field at the BMW Championship.
The top 15 players in the International and US Presidents Cup Team Standings as of August 5, 2019 are listed below. Click here for the full Presidents Cup standings.
INTERNATIONAL
Rank   Last Week      Player                            Country                        Points              Playing?
1.         1                      Marc Leishman               Australia                       188.22              Yes (BMW Champ)
2.         2                      Louis Oosthuizen           South Africa                  176.69              Yes (BMW Champ)
3.         4                      Adam Scott                     Australia                       169.86              Yes (BMW Champ)
4.         3                      Hideki Matsuyama         Japan                            158.31              Yes (BMW Champ)
5.         10                    Abraham Ancer              Mexico                          157.05              Yes (BMW Champ)
6.         5                      Haotong Li                     China                            128.63               No
7.         6                      Cameron Smith              Australia                       124.17               No
8.         8                      C.T. Pan                         Chinese Taipei              122.78              Yes (BMW Champ)
9.         7                      Jason Day                      Australia                       119.06               Yes (BMW Champ)
10.        9                     Jazz Janewattananond  Thailand                       111.54                Yes (Asian Tour)
11.       11                    Justin Harding                 South Africa                 107.15               Yes (Korn Ferry Tour)
12.       12                    Sungjae Im                     Korea                            104.05              Yes (BMW Champ)
13.       13                    Shugo Imahira                Japan                           100.47               No
14.       14                    Sung Kang                     Korea                            94.05                Yes (BMW Champ)
15.       16                    Byeong Hun An              Korea                            93.92                Yes (BMW Champ)
UNITED STATES
Rank   Last Week      Player                                     Points           
1.         1                      Brooks Koepka                       8,231
2.         2                      Dustin Johnson                       6,631
3.         3                      Justin Thomas                         5,849
4.         4                      Xander Schauffele                   5,656
5.         5                      Matt Kuchar                             5,506
6.         6                      Webb Simpson                        5,453
7.         7                      Bryson DeChambeau              5,321
8.         8                      Patrick Cantlay                        5,268
9.         9                      Gary Woodland                       4,912
10.        10                    Tony Finau                              4,872
11.       11                    Rickie Fowler                           4,547
12.        17                    Patrick Reed                           4,413
13.       12                    Tiger Woods                            3,868
14.       13                    Chez Reavie                            3,798
15.       14                    Phil Mickelson                          3,554
International Team eligibility criteria
The top eight (8) international players (excluding those eligible for the European Ryder Cup team) from the Presidents Cup International Team Points List which shall be Official World Golf Ranking points accumulated in the time period from August 27, 2018 (Dell Technologies Championship) through August 18, 2019 (BMW Championship).
Four Captain’s selections will be made at a to-be-determined later date.
U.S. Team eligibility criteria
The top eight (8) US PGA TOUR members who have earned the most FedExCup points from September 11, 2017 (2017 BMW Championship) through 2019 BMW Championship, weighted as follows:
(a) 2017 BMW Championship through 2018 Tour Championship: 1 FedExCup point = 1 point
(b) First event of the 2018-2019 season through 2019 BMW Championship: 1 FedExCup point = 2 points
Four Captain’s selections will be made at a to-be-determined later date.