Six players have qualified for the European Ryder Cup team, with six picks left to be made. Here's the state of play.
European Ryder Cup qualifying list
Top six qualified automatically following the conclusion of the British Masters
- Rory McIlroy (Q)
- Robert MacIntyre (Q)
- Tommy Fleetwood (Q)
- Justin Rose (Q)
- Rasmus Hojgaard (Q)
- Tyrrell Hatton (Q)
- Shane Lowry
- Sepp Straka
- Ludvig Aberg
- Viktor Hovland
- Matt Fitzpatrick
- Matt Wallace
- Thomas Detry
- Marco Penge
- Aaron Rai
- Jordan Smith
- Harry Hall
Wildcard selection
Qualification ended at the conclusion of the British Masters on August 24.
European captain Luke Donald will now make six wildcard selections during the week beginning Monday September 1, after the conclusion of the European Masters at Crans-sur-Sierre.
The following tournaments, the Irish Open, BMW PGA Championship and Open de France, have no bearing on the Ryder Cup team.
Tracking the Ryder Cup candidates
RORY MCILROY was the first European to qualify for the Ryder Cup, and was later joined by ROBERT MACINTYRE, TOMMY FLEETWOOD, JUSTIN ROSE, and TYRRELL HATTON. RASMUS HOJGAARD sealed his spot, leapfrogging Hatton and Shane Lowry, with a top-20 finish in the final qualifying event.
JON RAHM, VIKTOR HOVLAND and LUDVIG ABERG are all guaranteed selection, as appears to be MATT FITZPATRICK following his improved form this summer. It has long been expected that SHANE LOWRY and SEPP STRAKA, partners in Rome, will also be selected, which would round out a team of 12 with identical surnames to 2023, only Rasmus Hojgaard in for his twin brother, Nicolai.
Straka though withdrew from the BMW Championship citing personal reasons and then finished last at East Lake, where Lowry put in another average display to round off a quiet summer. On their form in the spring, both should be guaranteed selection, but if Donald does choose to take a risk, the following candidates would appear strongest.
ALEX NOREN
A veteran of the 2018 side and having returned from injury with such a strong US PGA performance, has undoubtedly been in the back of Donald's mind. Victory in the British Masters came far too late to threaten automatic qualification, but following back-to-back top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour it was a timely reminder of his capabilities. Donald may ultimately decide that adding a weak driver to his side, given the course at hand, is too big a risk.
MATT WALLACE
Desperate to qualify and got off to a good start with victory in Switzerland last season. A year on, that's the final event before Luke Donald makes his picks and the sense that he's just not timed things perfectly again is hard to shake, although back in 2018 he won the equivalent tournament brilliantly to make Thomas Bjorn think long and hard about selecting him. Has Bethpage form and bags of experience plus a PGA Tour win but faded at the Belfry and hasn't done enough.
MARCO PENGE
A big-hitter who can putt the lights out, who is in the form of his life, who has now won twice this year and recently contended for a Rolex Series event featuring stars of the PGA Tour, there's a lot to like about Penge on paper. And when he shot up the leaderboard on Saturday of the British Masters, plenty of pundits were advocating for his surprise inclusion. Failure to kick on and win that event means Penge has one final chance which he'd surely need to take. Even that may not be enough.
AARON RAI
Bases himself in Florida and almost total focus on the PGA Tour means he's not spent much time in the spotlight, but having comfortably made the FedEx Cup Playoffs it's been a solid campaign. Didn't progress beyond the first FedEx Cup Playoff event though and after more putting issues kept him to mid-pack obscurity at the Belfry, now goes to Crans (MC-MC) with hopes fading fast.
JORDAN SMITH
Arguably the most likely non-PGA Tour member to make the side, having amassed eight top-10 finishes since qualification began. At least two of those have seen him pass up big chances to win and performances under pressure not always impressive, and while he does have a stateside major top-10 that was back in 2017. Winning in Switzerland likely wouldn't be enough.
HARRY HALL
Wouldn't have been on many radars at the beginning of qualification having won the low-key ISCO Championship on the PGA Tour last July. Since then has improved to become a consistent feature on leaderboards without ever really looking like he'll add to his tally. Short-game a big weapon but sense is that he's too much of an afterthought, and hasn't quite forced Luke Donald to take him seriously despite looking good on paper. That said, made it to East Lake and looks good on paper. Likely not good enough.
