BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. – For better or worse, Ben Curtis wore the colors of the hapless Detroit Lions all week in the 90th PGA Championship. After his tie for second, he'll be sporting a uniform of a different sort come next month: the red, white and blue of the United States.

Earning double points for his major finish, tied with Sergio Garcia at 1-under-par 279, two strokes behind winner Padraig Harrington, Curtis vaulted from 20th in the U.S. Ryder Cup points standings to the automatic qualifying spot of seventh.

“I guess if you're going to finish second and they tell you that you qualify for the Ryder Cup, I think you'll take it. It almost is a victory in itself,” Curtis said. “I feel like I can help this team.”

The top eight U.S. qualifiers were set after the PGA, with No. 7 Curtis joining, in order, Phil Mickelson, Stewart Cink, Kenny Perry, Jim Furyk, Anthony Kim, Justin Leonard and Boo Weekley.

Curtis knocked Steve Stricker out of the top eight.

Paul Azinger will announce his four captain's picks on Sept. 2, after the FedEx Cup Playoffs event in Boston.

The surprise winner of the 2003 British Open, Curtis had this PGA in his hands, taking a one-stroke lead into the final round after he shot 68 in his morning 18 because of Saturday's thunderstorm stoppage. He held the lead through the seventh hole of the final round, lost it, then regained a tie at the top through his 16th.

But when Curtis needed to respond to Harrington's birdie at the difficult, par-3 17th, he hit a thin tee shot that went into the heavy back rough, and he made bogey.

“Coming around the turn, I just maybe hit a wall, just got a little fatigued and a little tired,” Curtis said. “It was a mental grind all day. I played well coming down the stretch. Just didn't get it done.”

Mickelson ties for 7th

Mickelson shot 71-70 in the final two rounds and finished tied for seventh at 4-over. He posted his 27th top-10 effort in a major, but he also has gone 11 straight majors without contending down the stretch on Sunday.

In the fourth round, the San Diegan made three straight birdies from Nos. 2 through 4 to get to within four shots of the lead. But he didn't make a birdie the rest of the way, playing the final 14 holes in 3-over. He hit only four fairways in the round and only 46 percent of the fairways for the week.

Chip-ins

Long-hitting J.B. Holmes began the final round one shot out of the lead and in the final group, but his tournament was ruined on the first hole when he made a triple-bogey 7 after hooking his drive into a pine tree and making one unsuccessful attempt to escape. Holmes shot 8-over 43 on the front en route to an 81 that dropped him into a tie for 29th.

Sweden's Fredrik Jacobson scored the fifth ace of his career on the 194-yard 13th with a 4-iron. Ironic, Jacobson, said, because he didn't make a birdie on the back nine all week. “I called it out when it was in the air,” said Jacobson, who tied for 24th.