Team Europe will look to regain the trophy at Marco Simone GC in Rome this September, live on Sky Sports; Luke Donald captains the European side, with plenty of players trying to force their way into contention
Tuesday 7 February 2023 10:54, UK
Ryder Cup qualification is already well underway, but which players have already impressed in 2023 and put their name as a potential contender to represent Team Europe?
The year-long qualification campaign began last autumn and runs through until this September, when three automatic qualifiers from the European Points List and the same number from the World Points List will join six captain's picks to make up Luke Donald's team at Marco Simone GC.
As part of a new monthly feature on Sky Sports between now and September, when Donald's team will be officially confirmed, we'll be looking at the running and riders - or should that be Ryders - who could feature in Rome.
For the purposes of this, I'll be disregarding a group I refer to as Donald's 'Magnificent Seven' - seven players who I consider locks for the team, barring injury or a dramatic drop-off in form over the next seven months.
Rory McIlroy made a winning start to the year at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic and Jon Rahm won back-to-back events on the PGA Tour, while five more members of the last Ryder Cup team - Matt Fitzpatrick, Tyrrell Hatton, Shane Lowry, Viktor Hovland and Tommy Fleetwood - will surely return.
The other five spots are anyone's guess, with Ryder Cup qualification set to be as tight as it has ever been. So, with the first few weeks of 2023 in the books, who has put their name into contention?
The Frenchman was perhaps the unluckiest player when the pandemic pushed back what should have been the 2020 Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits, as he looked set to qualify for Padraig Harrington's team after victory at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, not far from his home in Dundee, before his form suffered during the following twelve months and he just missed out.
He leapt 50 places in the world rankings during January, largely thanks to victory at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, which he sealed in spectacular fashion as he holed out from a bunker on the 71st hole.
He was also in contention in Dubai, starting the final day four shots behind Rory McIlroy, before seemingly just running out of steam and closing with a 75 and a share for 28th place.
The week before his solo win in Abu Dhabi he was a key member of the victorious Continental Europe side at the Hero Cup, where he registered 3.5 points from his four matches. He showed plenty of passion in the process, fist-pumping as he holed crucial putts, which suggest he'd be a strong team member and could take to the Ryder Cup like a duck to water.
In a year where Ryder Cup experience may be limited in the European side, Donald could turn to a veteran who seems to always perform when the pressure is on and is such a great match player.
Victory at Pebble Beach - his first win since 2019 and an 11th PGA Tour title - mirroring his 11 DP World Tour wins - comes at such a perfect time for him. The success gets him back into the majors where he belongs, which are events where a huge amount of Ryder Cup qualification points will be on offer.
The 42-year-old said after his win on Monday that he wants to be part of the Ryder Cup team and it would be little surprise to see his name on the team sheet for a sixth Team Europe appearance.
The reliable and dependable Swede is very close to almost making it onto the 'dead certs' list but is just in that one tier below, in my eyes. He has had top five finishes in his last three events - which are over a three-month stretch - and is the model of consistency.
He didn't have an amazing Hero Cup, going 1-1-1 alongside partner Thomas Pieters, before a sound 5&3 beating at the hands of Bob MacIntyre in the singles, but this could just be put down to a bit of ring rust.
What will be of more interest to Luke Donald is his experience, his unflappable temperament and his winning record at the 2018 Ryder Cup. A solid team player who would be a valuable asset in Rome.
Like Noren, I'd have him very close to that band of seven who I consider locks. He partnered the Swede in fourballs and foursomes at the Hero Cup, winning a match, halving a match and losing a match, before falling to Fleetwood in Sunday's singles.
He then followed this with a missed cut when defending his title in Abu Dhabi, at which point I would have considered putting him on the other list, of those whose case to make the team has suffered over the course of January. He then bounced back in Dubai, leading at the halfway stage before eventually finishing in tied-sixth.
We know he can perform in that Ryder Cup cauldron under the most intense of pressure, given that he won four points from a possible five as a rookie at Hazeltine seven years ago. He and Rory McIlroy won three from three together, prompting Rory to famously declare that he'd 'found his partner for the next decade'.
That hasn't happened, with the big Belgian failing to make the teams in both Paris and Whistling Straits. But he's looking more like that swashbuckling young buck again, and is a birdie-making machine, which is a key attribute to have when it comes to match play golf.
MacIntyre was certainly one of Great Britain and Ireland's brighter sparks at the Hero Cup, where he spoke of how much he was enjoying the week and how desperate he was to make Donald's team, although his subsequent performances in Abu Dhabi and Dubai were fairly lacklustre.
Ultimately, I still do believe that he'll make the team for Rome, given his tenacious, gritty attitude - which lends itself so well to team match play golf - and his course form, as the reigning Italian Open around Marco Simone.
I can see him as a popular member of the team room, someone who's easy to match up with others and someone who'll relish the atmosphere and rise to the occasion. However, I just feel others have just edged in front of him over the last few weeks.
Straka was born in Austria and grew up in Georgia in the USA, with the world No 29 playing solely on the PGA Tour until last month. To show his commitment and desire to be on that team in Rome, he made the trip to the Middle East to play the first three events of the calendar year on the DP World Tour.
After a slow start at the Hero Cup, he rounded into some form alongside Tom Detry by seeing off a bona-fide Ryder Cup pairing in the shape of Lowry and Hatton, then thumped Ewen Ferguson 5&4 in the Sunday singles. However, he followed that display at the Hero Cup with back-to-back missed cuts and now heads back to the US with some ground to make up on others who've done more to throw their hats in the ring.
One huge advantage working in his favour is that his status and world ranking means he will be competing in the biggest events and all four majors, which are huge opportunities to not just earn valuable ranking points but also to impress Donald and his vice-captains.
Watch the PGA Tour and DP World Tour seasons every week live on Sky Sports Golf. The 2023 Ryder Cup takes place from September 29-October 1 exclusively live on Sky Sports.
