Ryder Cup 2014: Phil Mickelson confident of automatic USA place

Mickelson currently lies tenth in the United States Ryder Cup points standings

Phil Mickelson says he is confident he can still qualify automatically for the USA Ryder Cup team.

The world number 13 is currently 10th in the points standings, with only the top nine earning an automatic place.

The qualifying period ends after the US PGA Championship on Sunday and captain Tom Watson will then choose three wild cards in September.

Mickelson has made a record nine consecutive appearances for USA, automatically qualifying every time.

He said: "I'm confident I'll get on the team on my own and won't require that [captain's] pick. I want to keep that streak going of two decades that I have."

Mickelson has endured a frustrating 2014, and looked out of form in the defence of his Open title at Hoylake and for much of last week's WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.

However, a final round of 62 in that tournament has boosted his confidence and closed the gap on former Masters champion Zach Johnson, who occupies the last automatic qualifying place.

"I really believe that after the way I played at the weekend, I'll continue that into this week," Mickelson added.

Watson's preparations for September's match at Gleneagles have been troubled, with Dustin Johnson, who was in line for one of the automatic places, taking a break from golf, and Tiger Woods struggling to make the team through injury and poor form.

Woods is currently 69th in the points standings, and on Sunday withdrew from the WGC-Bridgestone Invitiational with an injury to his lower back.

Watson admitted the latest setback "doesn't bode well" for Woods's participation at Gleneagles.

The US PGA begins at Valhalla on Thursday. Woods has not yet said whether he will play.