Robert MacIntyre and Tyrrell Hatton have locked up automatic spots on Europe’s Ryder Cup team for next month’s matches at Bethpage Black, with just one guaranteed place still up for grabs.
Captain Luke Donald now knows five of his players for the cup defense on Sept. 26-28, as Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose and Tommy Fleetwood had already secured their positions.
The sixth and final automatic spot comes down to Shane Lowry or Rasmus Hojgaard. Lowry currently holds the No. 6 position in Europe’s points list but could be overtaken by Hojgaard, who has one qualifying event remaining — the British Masters starting Thursday. Hojgaard needs to finish in a two-way tie for 29th or better to guarantee his place. Lowry doesn’t have another qualification event left.
Donald will then have six captain’s picks to complete his 12-man roster.
“Two great characters and golfers back on Team Europe,” Donald posted on X on Monday about MacIntyre and Hatton. “Team is shaping up nicely.”
MacIntyre’s second-place finish to Scottie Scheffler at the BMW Championship on Sunday vaulted him to second place in the Ryder Cup rankings for Europe. It’ll be the Scot’s second Ryder Cup appearance after being part of the winning team at Marco Simone outside Rome in 2023.
Donald will announce his six captain’s picks on Sept. 1. The players currently sitting outside the qualifying spots, besides Hojgaard, include Sepp Straka, Ludvig Åberg, Viktor Hovland, Matt Wallace, Matt Fizpatrick, Thomas Detry and Marco Penge.
