Major season has come to an end and the next big event on the golfing calendar is the 44th Ryder Cup matches between Europe and the USA in Rome later this year.
The Open provided one last chance for Ryder Cup hopefuls to show off their skills on the big stage in front of their respective Captains – Luke Donald, Europe and Zach Johnson, USA.
The qualification processes are slightly different for each team, with Europe’s six automatic spots handed out to three players from the European Points List and three from the World Points List. Luke Donald will than select six Captain’s picks to round off his 12-man team.
As for the USA, their players earn qualifying points based on money earned between the 2022 and 2023 BMW Championships which concludes on Sunday, August 20 where the top six players will automatically earn a spot on the roster. Zach Johnson will fill out the remaining spots with Captain’s picks.
See below for the current standings for each team and what the rosters are likely to look like in Italy this September.
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2023 Ryder Cup Standings
Europe:
European points:
- Rory McIlroy – 4,033.5
- Jon Rahm – 3,417.2
- Robert MacIntyre – 1,743.6
- Yannik Paul – 1,652.9
- Adrian Meronk – 1,614.2
- Tommy Fleetwood – 1,534.4
- Victor Perez – 1,528.0
- Rasmus Hojgaard – 1,516.9
- Adrian Otaegui – 1,375.2
- Shane Lowry – 1,290.2
- Tyrrell Hatton – 1,253.0
- Jordan Smith – 1,230.0
Players in bold would currently earn a spot on the team
World points:
- Jon Rahm – 388.6
- Rory McIlroy – 364.6
- Viktor Hovland – 265.8
- Tyrrell Hatton – 195.5
- Tommy Fleetwood – 158.3
- Matt Fitzpatrick – 152.8
- Sepp Straka – 141.8
- Shane Lowry – 104.3
- Justin Rose – 93.9
- Robert MacIntyre – 92.3
- Adrian Meronk – 76.1
- Seamus Power – 69.3
Players in bold would currently earn a spot on the team
As it stands, the automatic spots on Luke Donald’s European Ryder Cup team would go to Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Robert MacIntyre, Viktor Hovland, Tyrrell Hatton and Tommy Fleetwood.
Donald, a former world number one, faces a difficult task to select the remaining six players. Two locks to check off the list are 2022 US Open winner Matt Fitzpatrick and winner of The Open in 2019, Shane Lowry who both played in the 19-9 defeat at Whistling Straits in 2021.
Sepp Straka is coming into form at the perfect time following triumph at the John Deere Classic and a T2 finish at The Open last weekend, so he looks a safe bet to make the team.
Adrian Meronk has won twice on the DP World Tour this season – one of which came at the Ryder Cup host venue in the Italian Open. He also has seven finishes inside the top 15 and recorded his best finish in a major at The Open by closing with a final-round 67.
Justin Rose missed out on a spot in 2021 but his game is in a much better place today and his experience will prove invaluable. He won at Pebble Beach earlier this year and has posted strong performances across the board such as 8th at the Canadian Open, T9 at the PGA Championship and T6 at the Players Championship.
The final spot is a toss up between a number of players including Ludvig Aberg, Alex Noren, Seamus Power, Rasmus Hojgaard or Thomas Detry but preference is likely to be with Rasmus’ twin brother Nicolai Hojgaard who finished inside the top 25 at The Open, T6 at the Scottish Open and has performed well on the DP World Tour.
USA:
- Scottie Scheffler – 25,741.7
- Wyndham Clark – 13,336.1
- Brian Harman – 10,194.5
- Brooks Koepka – 9,421.15
- Xander Schauffele – 8,672.0
- Patrick Cantlay – 8,454.8
- Max Homa – 8,264.5
- Cameron Young – 7,679.3
- Jordan Spieth – 7,482.1
- Keegan Bradley – 7,422.3
- Collin Morikawa – 7,116.8
- Rickie Fowler – 6,892.1
- Sam Burns – 6,832.8
- Justin Thomas – 6,370.1
- Denny McCarthy – 6,239.9
- Kurt Kitayama – 5,777.9
- Will Zalatoris – 5,529.1
- Harris English – 4,888.3
- Tony Finau – 4,380.3
- Chris Kirk – 4,240.3
Players in bold would currently earn a spot on the team
As it stands, the automatic spots on Zach Donald’s American Ryder Cup team would go to: Scottie Scheffler, Wyndham Clark, Brian Harman, Brooks Koepka, Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay.
Johnson faces an even tougher task than Donald to narrow down his candidates to take to Rome, but there are a few locks. Let’s start with Rickie Fowler, who has enjoyed a strong resurgence as one of the best in the game this season. He returned to winning ways on the PGA Tour at the Rocket Mortgage Classic alongside eight top ten finishes and good showings in the majors.
The only thing Cameron Young is missing on his resume is a win but the 26-year-old has been one of the most consistent players on tour all season, recording five top ten finishes including T7 at the Masters and T8 at The Open.
Max Homa earned a first top ten finish in a major championship at The Open and has two wins to his name on the PGA Tour this season at the Fortinet Championship and Farmers Insurance Open. He looks ready for the moment and is set to earn a well-deserved Ryder Cup spot.
Collin Morikawa‘s stock took a slight hit with his poor showing at The Open but he’s also likely to be one of Zach Johnson’s Captain’s picks. A two-time major winner with prior Ryder Cup experience should be enough to see him get a spot on the plane despite a dip in form during parts of the season which could simply be down to a lingering back injury.
The penultimate spot is likely to be handed to Jordan Spieth whose experience and decent form should also be enough to get him over the line for a spot. He’s finished in the top ten six times this year including T4 at the Masters and is beginning to look like his old self again.
The final spot could very well go to Zach Johnson’s good friend but slumping Justin Thomas, who will need a strong next few weeks to prove his worth to the USA captain. If he doesn’t make the FedExCup playoffs it’s likely he can kiss goodbye to any hopes but the best players show up when it matters most and Johnson has full faith in the two-time PGA Championship winner.
Keegan Bradley, Sam Burns and Tony Finau are those along the cusp of a spot on the team plane to Rome but look set to narrowly miss out if Johnson opts to prioritise his loyalty to Thomas, which appears a likely scenario.
2023 Ryder Cup Odds
Take a look at the best UK sports betting sites and claim the best bookmaker free bets ahead of the action later this year in Rome, Italy.
Win market:
- USA @ 8/13
- Europe @ 19/10
- Draw @ 12/1
To lift the trophy:
- USA @ 4/9
- Europe @ 7/4
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