‘Time to execute:’ Jordan Spieth sees playoff path to U.S. Ryder Cup team

As we near the start of the 2025 FedEx Cup Playoffs, another event is drawing the attention of America’s top-tier pro golfers: the 2025 Ryder Cup. Fan favorite Jordan Spieth is among them.

The three-time major champion is admittedly on the “outside looking in” in terms of making the U.S. team that will take on the Europeans at Bethpage Black in late September.

But Spieth is not giving up hope yet, as he explained in an interview at the 2025 Wyndham Championship.

Spieth hopes to ‘make good case’ for Ryder Cup captain’s pick

Spieth is in North Carolina this week to play the PGA Tour’s regular-season finale, the Wyndham Championship. While his place in the first FedEx Cup Playoff event is secure, he has some work to do to qualify for the last two playoff events.

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But a streak of hot play would get him into the top 30 to make the Tour Championship. It could also accomplish another task: convincing U.S. captain Keegan Bradley to make Spieth a captain’s pick for the Ryder Cup.

Spieth explained his thinking in an interview with Golf Channel on Wednesday.

“I think if I’m able to get on a good run and contend and have a few high finishes and maybe get a win or so, you know, I make a good case,” Spieth told Golf Channel. “But I’m on the outside looking in. And it was going to be a tall task off of my season hurt last year and starting late this year – it was just going to be a lot to ask.”

While the task is tall, Spieth also revealed a few other reasons he might be a good captain’s pick for Bethpage.

“Having said that, experience does help, and I’ve got maybe some guys in my corner if I start to show that good things are coming. But you’ve got some guys that were on the outside looking in that have already worked their way into the top 12 that make the American side look really strong and really difficult to make this late in the season.”

Ultimately, it will all come down to how Spieth performs over the next month, as he reiterated in the interview on Wednesday.

“Like I said, If I’m making a run through East Lake and making a run there, then I feel good about whatever happens,” Spieth said. “That was my loftiest goal at the beginning of the season was to try and make that team, but it was a tall task. I’m happy to be playing healthy, and now it’s time to execute.”

Where Jordan Spieth stands in Ryder Cup, FedEx Cup

Spieth’s current standing in terms of the U.S. Ryder Cup team and the FedEx Cup Playoffs is a mixed bag.

Heading into the Wyndham Championship, he ranks 50th in the FedEx Cup standings. That’s good enough to make the FedEx St. Jude Championship (top 70) and, should he maintain his position this week, the BMW Championship (top 50).

But it’s not good enough to qualify for the Tour Championship (top 30). Spieth will have to string together a few good performances to jump into the top 30 and play at East Lake.

Spieth’s standing was hampered by two factors this season. First, he missed significant time at the start of the season recovering from wrist surgery he underwent last August. Then he missed several weeks with a neck injury. He revealed the toll that absence took on his FedEx Cup ranking in his pre-tournament press conference.

“When I sat out I moved from 38th to 39th all the way down to 48th essentially just by not playing,” Spieth said Wednesday at the Wyndham. “So it would be nice to have a huge boost this week and not have to worry about it next week, but I’m fully prepared to have some stress next week on that 50 number, and ideally a good start this week or next week really takes a lot of that off.”

As far as the Ryder Cup goes, Spieth is in 27th place in the U.S. team ranking. While only 12 players make the team, only the top six automatically qualify. The captain can select whatever players he wishes to make up the final six spots on the team.

But Spieth would need to prove he’s in fine form over the next month to convince captain Bradley to pass up the 20 players ranked above him.