OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — Xander Schauffele knows where he will be the last weekend in September, having already clinched a spot on the U.S. team for the Ryder Cup.
The immediate concern is where he goes next week.
Not since he was a PGA Tour rookie in 2017 has Schauffele, who won two majors a year ago, been outside the top 30 in the FedEx Cup going into the all-important BMW Championship. He tied for 20th, advanced to East Lake and won the Tour Championship.
Every year since then, he already has locked up his spot in the Tour Championship by now. This has been a different kind of year, and now Schauffele is at No. 43 and in danger of missing the FedEx Cup finale for the first time.
“This is my worst position I’ve ever been in, injury aside,” said Schauffele, who was hurt by missing two months at the start of the year with a rib injury. "Even my rookie year I was in a better position. It sort of has that rookie-year vibe to me a little bit. Just sort of need to work my way through the playoffs.
“You definitely play a little bit freer when you know you're in (East Lake),” he said. “I'm try to get that freedom because I have absolutely nothing to lose.”
The BMW Championship always has a lot at stake. The top 30 not only have a chance at the FedEx Cup title, they are assured of being in three of the four majors, and have made enough money to be virtually certain of the PGA Championship.
This year, the stakes are a little higher.
The BMW Championship starts Thursday at Caves Valley, the final tournament before the top six players in the U.S. Ryder Cup standings qualify for the team that goes to Bethpage Black on Sept. 26-28. Schauffele's two majors last year helped him clinch one of those spots.
Justin Thomas is at No. 7, and the six players behind him likely would have to win or finish second to earn one of those automatic spots. After next week's Tour Championship, U.S. captain Keegan Bradley fills out the team with six wild-card picks.
Thomas is likely there one way or another, so the stress is minimal. Three others have never played in a Ryder Cup, which could work against them. And then there's Bradley, who is considering picking himself as the first playing captain in more than 60 years.
“I still have a lot to prove as well as everyone around me on the list,” said Bradley, who checks in at No. 10 in the Ryder Cup standings, and No. 12 in the world ranking.
The proving ground is Caves Valley, hosting the BMW Championship for the second time since 2021. Patrick Cantlay won a thriller that year with a stunning rally of clutching putting — the gallery was chanting “Patty Ice!” at him after each big putt he made — that carried him to a playoff victory over Bryson DeChambeau.
Cantlay hasn't won this year. He is No. 19 in the FedEx Cup, safe for the Tour Championship, but at No. 15 in the Ryder Cup standings.
The course has gone through an overhaul, longer at 7,601 yards, and two par 5s have been converted to par 4s. The fifth hole is now 367 yards and slightly downhill, but the green has wild ridges that make it unlikely for players to take the risk of driver off the tee.
“They definitely made it significantly harder, so should be a good challenge for us this week,” Scheffler said.
Scheffler is the No. 1 seed in the FedEx Cup and he already has clinched $10 million for leading after the regular season and $5 million for being assured the top seed going to East Lake.
Rory McIlroy is at No. 2, even without playing the first postseason event last week. This is his first appearance since the British Open. He is among those with little stress at Caves Valley.
For the Americans who aspire to play in the Ryder Cup, consider the BMW Championship the first of two weeks to audition for the team. But for those wanting to chase the $10 million FedEx Cup prize, the BMW Championship is their last chance.
“Definitely been trying pretty hard to get something going,” Schauffele said. “This year has been a work in progress to get back into some good form. Still a work in progress. You know, 50 guys, a small field, and I've played well them before. So why not do it again?”
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Xander Schauffele hits on the first hole during the second round of the St. Jude Championship golf tournament Friday, Aug. 8, 2025, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Xander Schauffele eyes a putt on the first green during the second round of the St. Jude Championship golf tournament Friday, Aug. 8, 2025, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
LONDON (AP) — Britain’s government is expected to approve a “mega” Chinese Embassy close to London’s financial district after years of controversy and political wrangling over the potential security risks it poses to the U.K.
Lawmakers from across the spectrum have urged planning officials to reject China’s application for the new embassy. Critics fear the proposed new building, on a huge site close to London’s financial district and crucial data cables, will be used as a base for espionage. Others say the supersized embassy — set to be the biggest Chinese Embassy in Europe — will pose a heightened threat of surveillance and intimidation to Chinese dissidents in exile.
The decision was initially slated for October, but it was repeatedly postponed after multiple allegations of Chinese spying and political interference piled pressure on the British government.
British media have reported that the decision to approve the embassy will come this week, ahead of Prime Minister Keir Starmer's expected trip to China. The closely watched visit would be the first made by a British prime minister since 2018.
A final decision on the embassy is expected by Jan. 20, the deadline set by the government.
Here's a look at why the embassy has been the focus of protests and Sino-British tensions for years:
The proposed embassy at Royal Mint Court — the former site of the U.K.’s coin maker, near the Tower of London — will cover about 20,000 square meters (215,278 square feet) and replace several Chinese official buildings across London.
Critics say the new site sits too close to underground fiber optic cables carrying sensitive financial information between London’s two main financial districts.
Conservative Party lawmaker Alicia Kearns said that risks handing over access to data that would give China’s government “a launchpad for economic warfare against our nation.” She cited news reports that the building complex would include 208 secret basement rooms close to the data cables.
Dissidents have also been among hundreds of people who have protested the plans, saying a mega-embassy housing large numbers of officials would further China’s repression of activists abroad.
Lawmakers from the governing Labour Party who oppose the plan say concerns include “the recent track record of Chinese espionage cases, interference activities and issuing of bounties against U.K.-based Hong Kongers.”
The site was bought by China’s government for 225 million pounds ($301 million) in 2018, but plans for the embassy have been delayed since.
Local officials rejected the initial application over concerns that the embassy would attract many large protests, affecting the safety of residents and tourists. China resubmitted its proposals after the Labour government took power last year.
Bronwen Maddox, director of the London think tank Chatham House, said she believed Britain's government should approve the proposed mega-embassy “given that MI5 and MI6 (U.K. intelligence agencies) have said they are not worried about the city cables underneath it."
“I guess that you could see why there is cause for concern, but what I think the government should be much tougher on is what exactly is China going to do with that embassy, never mind the building; what about the people in it? Why does it need so many? What are they going to do?"
China has complained about the seven-year delay in approving the project, saying the U.K. was “constantly complicating and politicizing the matter.”
“The development scheme of the new Chinese Embassy is of high quality and has been highly recognized by local professional bodies,” the Chinese embassy said in a statement in October. “The application complies with diplomatic practice and local regulations and procedures.”
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian has warned that if the embassy isn’t approved, “the consequences arising therefrom shall be borne by the U.K. side.”
Recent high-profile cases involving alleged Chinese espionage have raised alarms about the embassy.
In November, the domestic intelligence agency, MI5, issued an alert to lawmakers warning that Chinese agents were making “targeted and widespread” efforts to recruit and cultivate them using LinkedIn or cover companies.
Authorities believe the alleged “headhunters” were trying to gain access to sensitive information about Parliament and Britain’s government.
Beijing has strongly denied the claims, calling them “pure fabrication and malicious slander.”
Earlier, Britain’s government faced questions on whether it had interfered in the trial of two alleged Chinese spies in order to preserve good ties with China.
Former parliamentary researcher Christopher Cash and academic Christopher Berry were charged last year with spying for Beijing. But their trial collapsed at the last minute because the U.K. government refused to brand China a threat to national security, the country’s chief prosecutor said.
Facing criticism that he is not taking a tough enough stance on the security risks, Starmer has stressed that while protecting national security is non-negotiable, Britain needs to keep up diplomatic dialogue and cooperation with the Asian superpower.
“This is not a question of balancing economic and security considerations. We don’t trade off security in one area, for a bit more economic access somewhere else,” he has said.
Last year, Starmer said Chinese President Xi Jinping personally raised the matter during a phone call.
Opposition lawmaker Priti Patel derided Starmer as “Beijing’s useful idiot in Britain.”
“Starmer’s ‘reset’ with Beijing is a naive one-way street, which puts Britain at risk while Beijing gets everything it wants,” she said.
Associated Press writer Danica Kirka contributed to this report.
A general view of Royal Mint Court where is planning site for the new London Chinese embassy, near London's financial district, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
A general view of Royal Mint Court where is planning site for the new London Chinese embassy, near London's financial district, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
FILE - Protesters hold umbrellas, placards, and flags as they demonstrate against the proposed building of a new Chinese embassy, and to mark the 11th year of the Umbrella Revolution in Hong Kong, in London, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Joanna Chan, file)
FILE - Protesters hold umbrellas, placards, and flags as they demonstrate against the proposed building of a new Chinese embassy, and to mark the 11th year of the Umbrella Revolution in Hong Kong, in London, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Joanna Chan, file)
