Luke Donald is happy to be faced with the “good headache” of several players making a late push to make his Ryder Cup team.
Almost 12 months on from Team Europe’s qualification period getting under way at The Belfry Hotel & Resort, the process ends at this week’s Betfred British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo.
With Rory McIlroy, Robert MacIntyre, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose and Tyrrell Hatton all confirmed as automatic qualifiers, there is just one spot left up for grabs.
Needing to finish in a two-way tie for 29th or better to guarantee his place on the team, Rasmus Højgaard is the only player teeing it up this week with a chance of overhauling sixth-placed Shane Lowry in the rankings.
READ MORE
• Team Europe picture draws clearer as Ryder Cup qualification comes to a close at The Belfry
• Betfred British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo | Buy your tickets
But beyond that, the likes of English trio Matt Fitzpatrick, Aaron Rai and Marco Penge are among those aiming to impress over this week and next in Switzerland at the Omega European Masters in a bid to be among Donald’s six Captain’s Picks on September 1.
“Every Ryder Cup, there is always a push by some people who have a good opportunity to claim a place,” he said.
“It is a little bit of a headache for me but a good headache. The more options we have for those picks the better.”
Donald praised the in-form Penge, a 2023 HotelPlanner Tour graduate, for a “really tremendous performance” in edging out Rasmus Højgaard at last week’s Danish Golf Championship to deny the Dane an automatic spot in the European fold.
As it stands, the team appears set to have a strong resemblance to the one that beat the U.S. Team in Italy two years ago.
But Penge and fellow in-form Englishman Harry Hall, who is teeing up stateside this week at the Tour Championship on the PGA TOUR, are among those making cases for inclusion.
Asked whether a continuity in the team selection could prove invaluable, Donald said: “Well, I would say we formed a good group of guys and bonded.
“We shared something very special, and those memories will kind of always be with us and you can feed off those for sure.
“Having some continuity is good but also having fresh blood, having rookies, that could be good, too. It's not cut and dry.
“But certainly from a continuity standpoint, they understand how I work. I understand them quite well. Those are all positives for sure.”
This week also marks the start of the Back 9 on the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai schedule, with Donald returning to The Belfry for a second consecutive year.
In the lead up to the event, tournament host Sir Nick Faldo, Sam Torrance, Ian Woosnam and Sandy Lyle took part in a fun five-hole tussle to mark the 40th anniversary of the 1985 Ryder Cup at The Belfry’s Brabazon Course.
The four greats of European golf later took part in a special Q&A evening, with Donald among those in attendance as master of ceremonies after earlier praising them for ‘starting the revolution’.
“It was a nice tip of the cap to these guys,” said Donald, who is bidding to join Tony Jacklin as just the second skipper to win the Ryder Cup home and away.
“The 80s was an amazing era for European golf and to see those four come back, have fun and joke on the course, remember the stories was nice.
"I even heard some stories that I’d never heard before so that was very cool.”
