Flat-cap wearing dark horse in thick of Ryder Cup wildcard battle heading into fascinating final week

It’s job done for Rory McIlroy, Bob MacIntyre, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose and Tyrrell Hatton - five members of the winning team at Marco Simone Golf Club on the outskirts of Rome two years ago - after they all clinched automatic berths for the match on Long Island.

McIlroy, who will be making his eighth consecutive appearance in the biennial bout, secured his spot as early as mid-June, helped, of course, by his memorable Masters win in April, while it was mission accomplished for MacIntyre, Fleetwood, Rose and Hatton as well after the updated points list was published on Monday.

As far as the final automatic spot goes, even though Shane Lowry is the player currently sitting sixth on the points list, it’s in the hands of Rasmus Hojgaard, which is down to the fact that points are up for grabs in this week’s Betfred British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo at The Belfry but not in the Tour Championship at East Lake in Atlanta.

Under threat Shane Lowry looks a certainty for a captain’s pick

Hojgaard was on course to move into one of the guaranteed places when he led the Danish Golf Championship on Sunday only to lose out to Marco Penge following a dramatic turnaround over the final 12 holes, meaning he now needs to finish in a tie for 29th with one other player or better to earn the 13.7 points in the Betfred British Masters that would see him overtake Lowry and he could still finish above Hatton as well.

Lowry, who is among the 30 players who have qualified for the Tour Championship, can only watch from afar, though he seems a certainly for one of Donald’s picks should that be required and the same goes for Sepp Straka, who currently sits seventh on the list, as well as Ludvig Aberg (ninth) and Viktor Hovland (tenth).

Even though he’s down in 23rd position, Jon Rahm, who has been part of two winning teams in three appearances and has just topped the LIV Golf individual standings this season, is surely a stick on for a pick as well and you’ve really got to think that Hojgaard will be on the list, too, if it comes down to it.

Which, of course, would leave just one spot up for grabs and that’s what is going to make the four days of action at The Belfry in particular fascinating but also with one eye being kept on East Lake and we will come to the latter but not before focusing on the former.

Matt Wallace and Matt Fitzpatrick, the players currently sitting 11th and 12th respectively on the points list, are in the field at the Sutton Coldfield venue, as are in-form Penge (14th), Aaron Rai (15th), Jordan Smith (16th) and defending champion Niklas Norgaard (18th).

After being overlooked by Thomas Bjorn for a pick in 2018, Wallace has put himself in the mix again but, with all due respect to him, Fitzpatrick looks more likely of the two to be selected by Donald, especially after the former US Open champion managed to turn his season around after going through a rough patch earlier in the year.

A win for either of those players on home turf could prove decisive when it comes down to the captain and his trusty vice captains making the final call and the same goes for Nicolai Hojgaard, who is 25th in the standings and will be determined to make a big last push, as will 20th-ranked Thorbjorn Olesen, the 2022 Betfred British Masters winner at the same venue, and experienced Swede Alex Noren.

With all due respect to Penge, even though he has won twice on the DP World Tour this season and finished in a tie for second behind Chris Gotterup in the Genesis Scottish Open, this Ryder Cup is probably too early for him, especially when he’s had very little experience of playing on big stages in the US, while the likes of Smith, Norgaard, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen and Kristoffer Reitan will also be more likely contenders for the 2027 contest at Adare Manor in Ireland than this one.

Which brings us to the real dark horse heading into the final week and I am referring, of course, to Harry Hall, the flat-cap wearing Englishman who has had an incredible start to his professional career and, in doing so, has put himself in the frame for a captain’s pick.

On the back of 11 successive top-30 finishes, including three top tens, on the PGA Tour, Hall has made it through to the Tour Championship and, if he can have a big week in Atlanta even if it won’t earn him any points, then Donald could be facing a big headache before announcing his selections on Monday, 1 September.

For what it’s worth, I reckon Fitzpatrick, based on his greater experience, will be the player who gets the nod for the final spot and, if that’s the case, then the only change to the 2023 team would be an ironic one, of course, because it would mean that Rasmus Hojgaard will be replacing his twin brother.

Keegan Bradley’s playing role is still the big question for Americans

As for the Americans, Scottie Scheffler, J.J. Spaun, Xander Schauffele, Russell Henley, Harris English and Bryson DeChambeau have all secured automatic selection, with the big question remaining whether or not Keegan Bradley will be a playing captain. He sits 11th on the points list, with Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Ben Griffin, Maverick McNealy and Brian Harman the others currently inside the top 12.

Bradley will finalise his team next Wednesday and, having climbed to 20th on the back of his Genesis Scottish Open then backing that up with a strong display in The 153rd Open, the aforementioned Gotterup is also reckoned to be in the equation along with the likes of Cameron Young, Sam Burns and Patrick Cantlay.