McDowell edging closer to Ryder Cup place

Graeme McDowell strengthened his grip on an automatic Ryder Cup place with a second round 68 at The Barclays in New Jersey.

The Northern Irishman currently occupies the ninth and final qualification place via the world list, but by reaching the halfway stage four under par and moving inside the top 20 looks set to add a hefty haul of Official World Golf Ranking points.

McDowell’s chances of securing a place at Gleneagles were further enhanced by two of his three closest challengers, Ian Poulter and Luke Donald, missing the cut.

Another Englishman looking to snatch a late spot on Paul McGinley’s team, Lee Westwood, has plenty to do after scraping through to the weekend on one over par – nine shots behind leaders Adam Scott and Cameron Tringale.

Swede Henrik Stenson, the reigning FedEx Cup champion, showed some encouraging form ahead of next month’s Ryder Cup as a seven under 64 took him into a share of sixth on six under, one shot ahead of a group including England’s Paul Casey.

Rory McIlroy was also in superb form on Friday, recovering from a disappointing opening 74 with a 65 to get to three under for the week and keep his chances of winning a fourth consecutive tournament alive.

<div> </div>