Following the weekend's tournaments both on the PGA Tour with the Tour Championship and on the DP World Tour with the British Masters, the European Ryder Cup Team's six automatic qualifiers have been finalized.
Captain Luke Donald is locked and loaded for these six players to suit up at Bethpage Black this year.
Let's take a look at the six qualifiers and dive into which players will join them.
With his Masters win in April that clinched the career grand slam, Rory McIlroy nearly coasted to this spot for Team Europe. Next month will mark McIlroy's eighth Ryder Cup event. In his seven Ryder Cups, Team Europe is 5-2, while going 16-13-4 in his matches. That also includes going 4-1-0 two years ago in 2023 for his best performance in any of his Ryder Cup performances.
Also read: The Masters 2025: Winners and Losers as Rory McIlroy achieves the Grand Slam
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Over the last couple of years, Robert MacIntyre has come onto the scene and has now earned his spot on the Ryder Cup team. After being a captain's pick two years ago, MacIntyre has locked up an automatic qualifying spot and does not have to wait for the dreaded call to see if he made the team. MacIntyre, who went 2-0-1 two years ago, has played well as of late. Although MacIntylre does not have a win, he has two runner-up finishes among six top 10s. He placed second at the U.S. Open and lost to Scottie Scheffler at the BMW Championship.
Also read: Team USA Ryder Cup Preview: Six Qualifiers Locked In, Captain's Pick Race Wide Open
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Tommy Fleetwood finished third in the European Ryder Cup Standings and about 100 points behind MacIntyre. For the first time on the PGA Tour, Fleetwood secured a win, and it came at the Tour Championship to also win the FedEx Cup. It is interesting because no points were given out at the Tour Championship (more on that later), but he was a lock after playing in the previous three Ryder Cups.
Also read: 2025 Tour Championship: 10 Winners and Losers, Including Tommy Fleetwood Hoisting the FedEx Cup
Justin Rose is the fourth member of Donald's team on the European Ryder Cup team at 1,545 points. Rose will be competing in his seventh Ryder Cup. Even at 45 years old, Rose is still bringing it, having won the FedEx St Jude Championship to begin the FedEx Cup Playoffs earlier this month. He also lost in a playoff to McIlroy at the Masters. Furthermore, after being a captain's pick two years ago, he has played into being an automatic pick this year, highlighted by being the runner-up at the 2024 Open Championship as well.
Also read: FedEx Cup Bubble 2025: 10 Stars Who Were Fighting to Save Their Seasons
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Two years ago, Nicolai Hojgaard was on Donald's team. This year, Nicolai's twin brother, Rasmus, is on this year's European Ryder Cup team. After a strong 2024 season in Europe, he made his way stateside and finished in 85thplace of the FedEx Cup standings. However, he was still able to accumulate Ryder Cup points on the DP World Tour . He was the runner-up at the Danish Golf Championship and followed that up by placing 13that the British Masters last weekend (and the same as the PGA Tour's Tour Championship, where no players could accumulate Ryder Cup points).
As a result, because of how tight spots Nos. 5-8 were with Tyrell Hatton, Shane Lowry, and Sepp Straka, who are on LIV or were playing in the Tour Championship; Hojgaard was able to jump them and earn an automatic spot on the European Ryder Cup team.
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Tyrell Hatton takes the sixth and final spot for Donald on Team Europe for the Ryder Cup. Like Bryson DeChambeau on the U.S. team, Hatton is another LIV Golf player who earned an automatic spot. As a result, Hatton has needed to put together some good major tournament performances if he was going to compete in the Ryder Cup because that was the only way to be an automatic pick. Hatton finished ninth at the 2024 Masters and 14ththis year. He followed that up with a fourth-place finish at the U.S. Open in June. That came before he placed 16that the Open Championship in his final push to make the Ryder Cup.
Now, let's dive into the potential captain's picks for Luke Donald. Donald, who captained the team two years ago, has the chance to potentially bring back 11 of his 12 players this year, which includes five of the automatic qualifiers. The first is Shane Lowry, who was the captain's pick two years ago. Lowry has played in the last two Ryder Cups, and at age 38, he has been a player who has been a leader. Two years ago, while McIlroy was yelling at Patrick Cantlay's caddie Joe Lacava in the hat hoax, it was Lowry who pushed him away.
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After two wins this year on the PGA Tour, Sepp Straka also appears to join Team Europe for the second straight time. After being a rookie two years ago and going 1-2, Straka won The American Express in January and the Truist Championship in May. Those two victories, in addition to his six top 10s, have him back to representing Team Europe.
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For a team that had veteran pieces in McIlroy, Rose, and Lowry, it was Ludvig Aberg who provided the spark of youth two years ago. He went 2-2, including winning both of his foursomes matches with Viktor Hovland. Especially in team play, that could be a pairing that might be seen at Bethpage next month, similar to the way Cantlay and Xander Schauffele have been a notable pairing over the last handful of years.
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Speaking of Viktor Hovland, he seems like another lock to be a captain's pick for the European Ryder Cup Team. Hovland has played for Team Europe in each of the last two Ryder Cups, including going 3-1-1 two years ago. Viktor Hovland won the Valspar Championship in March for his first win since the 2023 Tour Championship. Hovland also finished third at the U.S. Open and will also do his best not to give J.J. Spaun the line like he did on the 72ndhole if those two face one another.
Also read: US Open 2025: 10 winners and losers, including Viktor Hovland
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Matt Fitzpatrick was the 11thmember from the European Team two years ago who could be at Bethpage next month. Fitzpatrick has played in three previous Ryder Cups, including the last two. Although he has one point across those three tournaments, he has proven to be a pivotal piece in team structure.
This season, Fitzpatrick recorded five top 10s, with eighth-place finishes at the Rocket Classic and the Wyndham Championship and fourth-place finishes at the Scottish Open and the Open Championship. The recent track record, in addition to a third eighth-place finish at the PGA Championship, has him playing the Ryder Cup next month.
Also read: PGA Championship 2025: 10 Winners and losers, including Matt Fitzpatrick
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Assuming Luke Donald brings back 11 of the 12 returners from two years, that leaves one open spot compared to the U.S. having three or four spots, depending on what captain Keegan Bradley does. One of those who could take that spot is Thomas Detry, who finished 13thin the point standings. Although Detry would be the lone rookie, he has played well this year. He won the WM Phoenix Open and also tied for fifth to begin the season at the Sentry.
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Another notable name is Harry Hall, who recorded five top 10s, including a sixth-place finish at the BMW Championship before finishing 17that the Tour Championship. This season, Hall ranked fifth in strokes gained total, including ranking second in strokes gained putting. Making putts can change the momentum in a match at any given time. Hall was also second in scoring average, third in par 4 scoring, and second in birdie average this season.
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A familiar name, but one that is definitely on the bubble, is Jon Rahm. Rahm recorded a seventh-place finish at the 2024 Open Championship. He also recorded top 10 finishes at the PGA Championship and the U.S. Open earlier this year. The big question is how much LIV plays with his Ryder Cup experience, having played in the last three events, including 2-0-2 two years ago. During the LIV Golf season, Rahm's team, with Hatton, won the team championship as he individually recorded four runners-up.
Also read: Open Championship 2025: 10 Winners and Losers, Including Scottie Scheffler Hoisting the Claret Jug
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Matt Wallace is another name to watch as he finished 12thin the European Ryder Cup standings. Since May, Wallace has only missed one cut across his nine worldwide starts. That also includes placing third at the 3M Open about a month ago.
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