One of the unintended benefits of winning the 2016 PGA Championship for Jimmy Walker is that he shot up the Ryder Cup points list from No. 29 to No. 4. This almost certainly solidifies his spot on the team as the top eight qualify automatically -- and point-earning ends August 28th.

Brooks Koepka did the same by finishing at the top four at the PGA Championship and moving up to fifth in the Ryder Cup standings.

After the eight automatic qualifiers are announced at the end of this month (ranked 1-8), U.S. captain Davis Love III will select three wild cards on Sept. 11 and one more on Sept. 25 just before the Ryder Cup starts.

Here are your top 15 right now with points in parentheses.

  1. Dustin Johnson (11,860)
  2. Jordan Spieth (11,179)
  3. Phil Mickelson (5,764)
  4. Jimmy Walker (5,337)
  5. Brooks Koepka (4,688)
  6. Zach Johnson (4,297)
  7. J.B. Holmes (4,149)
  8. Brandt Snedeker (4,086)
  9. Bubba Watson (4,008)
  10. Patrick Reed (3,999)
  11. Matt Kuchar (3,933)
  12. Rickie Fowler (3,768)
  13. Scott Piercy (3,272)
  14. Bill Haas (3,194)
  15. William McGirt (2,959)

A point is gained for every $1,000 earned in prize money with the majors counting double. So let's say McGirt wins the Travelers Championship this week and takes home $1.1 million, that would result 1,100 points and shoot him up into around eighth place. As you can see, it's going to be really tough for players beyond No. 15 (or even those beyond No. 12) to earn enough points to make the team automatically.

Dustin Johnson and Spieth are in for sure. As for who Love will pick, Mickelson, Walker and Koepka are almost assuredly going to be on the team. The latter two likely locked up their spots with stellar performances at Baltusrol last week. Zach Johnson, Holmes and Snedeker are more tenuous options, but let's say they all three stay where they are when the automatic qualifiers are decided on August 28.

Love would likely have to select Watson, Reed and Fowler and then wait to see how the FedEx Cup Playoffs play out and pick the hottest American on Sept. 25. This could legitimately be anyone, and Love has said as much.

"We know who our team wants as their teammates or their partners," said Love last week. "We have a longer list maybe than you would think. When you look at it, you look at, remember Jack Nicklaus saying, 'I'm just going to take the top 12 and make it easy.' When we look past the top 12, we are probably looking a little farther than people think."

Justin Thomas? Kevin Na? Jason Dufner? Steve Stricker? Like I said, that last spot could go to anyone.