Assistant Captain Fred Couples Shares Three Players, Including Cam Young, Who 'Will Be' On U.S. Ryder Cup Team

While we're still nine weeks out from the start of the 2023 Ryder Cup in Italy, we're fast approaching the BMW Championship, which is the cutoff for American hopefuls to accumulate qualifying points and secure an automatic spot inside the Top Six.

Zach Johnson will make his six captain's picks for the U.S. Ryder Cup team shortly after the Tour Championship concludes on August 27. Plenty of movement in the standings will happen between now and then, but assistant captain Fred Couples has revealed three players outside of today's Top Six in the standings.

Couples, one of the many U.S. assistant captains, shared three players who "will be in Italy" during his Sirius XM radio show. According to Couples, Jordan Spieth, Max Homa, and Cam Young will all be representing the U.S. this fall no matter what.

“I’m like one of the 19 assistants, I’ll say Max Homa’s gonna be in Italy,” Couples said. “I’ll say Max Homa’s gonna be in Italy, without getting anyone in trouble."

Couples was then asked about both Young and Spieth by co-host George Downing, to which he replied in both cases “Will be in Italy.” 

Homa, Young, and Spieth currently hold the seven, eight, and nine spots, respectively, in the current team standings.

READ: JUSTIN THOMAS FULLY AWARE, RIGHTFULLY CONCERNED ABOUT POTENTIALLY NOT MAKING U.S. RYDER CUP TEAM

Of the three names, Spieth is the only player with any Ryder Cup experience, although Homa and Young both represented the U.S. during last year's Presidents Cup.

Spieth and Homa have felt like locks to make the team all year long, while Young has had a bit of a late push in his season with a T-6 at the John Deere Classic followed by a T-8 showing at The Open.

Couples and the rest of the U.S. leadership team will be keeping a close eye on the likes of Keegan Bradley, Colin Morikawa, Rickie Fowler, Sam Burns, Tony Finau, and Justin Thomas over the next month as potential players to round out the squad bound for Rome.

Follow Mark Harris on Twitter @ItIsMarkHarris

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the world of professional golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.