With just two more events on the DP World Tour left in the Ryder Cup qualification race, it’s all up for grabs as the hopefuls jostling for Luke Donald’s attention have their last throws of the dice to book a spot in Rome.
Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Viktor Hovland have already qualified for the European team, with Tyrrell Hatton and Tommy Fleetwood occupying the final two spots on the World Points List and Robert MacIntyre in possession of the final European Points List place.
Hatton, Fleetwood, Matt Fitzpatrick and Sepp Straka will play out a four-horse race in the PGA Tour’s season-ending Tour Championship in Atlanta for those final two places available on the World Points List.
Just 20.55 points separate the top three, with Straka a further 34.16 points behind but with a good week for any of them likely to get them in. And in truth all four are expected to be included even if they require wildcards.
It’s the European Points List that offers the most intrigue with 20 players mathematically able to claim the final spot, and 14 of those in the field for this week’s D+D REAL Czech Masters.
MacIntyre leads the way on 1743.57 points, 90.67 ahead of Yannik Paul – with Adrian Meronk, Victor Perez, Rasmus Hojgaard and Adrian Otaegui all having at least a chance of moving above the Scot this week.
With 415 points on offer for the winner in Prague and at next week’s Omega European Masters then there could be some dramatic late movement in those Ryder Cup qualification standings.
Who can move into an automatic spot?
Yannik Paul
He's been in and around the automatic spots pretty much all season, and looking at some of the other candidates for a wildcard he probably needs to qualify by right.
The German came off the Challenge Tour last season and won his maiden DP World Tour title in Mallorca at the end of 2022, hoisting him up into the higher reaches of the qualifying standings.
Paul needs to finish fifth or above in Prague to stand a chance of jumping back above MacIntyre, who replaced him in June.
Adrian Meronk
Meronk needs to finish at least third on his own to stand a chance of moving above MacIntyre as he looks to become the first golfer from Poland to play in the Ryder Cup.
Meronk looks to have a much bigger claim for a wildcard though even if he doesn’t qualify, having bagged his third DP World Tour title at this year’s Italian Open – played at Ryder Cup host venue Marco Simone Golf Club.
Victor Perez
The Frenchman won the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship in January and those Rolex Series points gave him a leg-up in the standings – while his unbeaten record at the inaugural Hero Cup will also help his case.
Perez has struggled with illness recently but needs to recover from that, and finish in second or better to have a shot at MacIntyre’s spot.
Rasmus Hojgaard
He has to finish second or win the Czech Masters to even have a hope of displacing MacIntyre, but could have already booked his spot had a shoulder injury not cost him a couple of months out on the sidelines.
He still managed to win his home event after a six-hole playoff victory at the Made In HimmerLand and a big showing in Prague could just remind Donald of his ability.
Adrian Otaegui
The Spaniard needs a win to try and go above MacIntyre but he knows how to get over the line after winning the 2022 Andalucia Masters and he's sinced finished runner-up at the Alfred Dunhill and KLM Open this year.
Who else could qualify?
The likes of Shane Lowry, Pablo Larrazabal, Jorge Campillo, Thorbjorn Olesen, Antoine Rozner, Alexander Bjork, Marcel Siem and Dale Whitnell are all technically in with a chance of grabbing the final European spot with two fantastic weeks of results.
It’s a long shot but stranger things have happened and if one of them wins in Prague then it will set-up a dramatic European Masters up in the mountains of Crans-Montana next week.
Who is just looking to impress?
Lowry is playing mainly to keep busy after missing out on the FedEx Cup Playoffs but the Irishman is surely already assured of a wildcard from Donald.
Talented young Swede Ludvig Aberg is playing on a sponsor’s invite and being paired with European Ryder Cup vice-captain Francesco Molinari is no coincidence.
Completing their group is Nicolai Hojgaard, who has also impressed this year and should his brother qualify automatically it could give Donald food for thought about including the Danish brothers.
Adrien Dumont de Chassart is a fascinating addition to the field, with the young Belgian claiming his PGA Tour card this year after coming through their PGA Tour University system.
The 23-year-old will play alongside compatriot Nicolas Colsaerts, another of Donald’s vice-captains, and has been pinned as a Ryder Cup star of the future – but if he plays well here then the future could well come sooner than expected.
