We take a closer look at who is in contention for Team Europe in September's Ryder Cup; Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy are the only confirmed players by captain Luke Donald; Watch the Ryder Cup live from September 30-October 2 on Sky Sports Golf
Tuesday 15 August 2023 12:52, UK
The DP World Tour season resumes this week at the ISPS Handa World Invitational, with time running out for players to try and qualify for Europe's Ryder Cup team.
The innovative event, co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour, LPGA Tour and Ladies European Tour, sees men and women play on the same courses at the same time, with the tournament one of just three events remaining in the Ryder Cup qualification campaign.
The D+D Real Czech Masters the following week and the Omega European Masters from August 31-September 3 are the only other DP World Tour tournaments where Ryder Cup points are on offer, with captain Luke Donald then naming his captain's picks on September 4.
The leading three players on the European Points List and the next three available on the World Points List will automatically qualify to feature at Marco Simone GC from September 30-October 2, live on Sky Sports, with Donald's six selections then completing Team Europe's line-up.
Masters champion Jon Rahm and four-time major winner Rory McIlroy already hold an unassailable in the standings and will both play key roles for Donald's in Rome, but plenty of players are still in the running for the last spot on the European Points List.
Robert MacIntyre moved into third after finishing runner-up to McIlroy at the Genesis Scottish Open, following on from a tied-fourth finish at the Made in Himmerland the previous week, with the Scot eyeing a Ryder Cup debut at the venue he won the DS Automobiles Italian Open last September.
MacIntyre holds a slender 90-point lead over Germany's Yannik Paul, who has been in the automatic qualification spots for large parts of the year after winning the Mallorca Golf Open last October and registering five top-10s on the DP World Tour in 2023.
Adrian Meronk won the Italian Open in May and remains firmly in contention to become the first Polish Ryder Cup player in history, currently 129 points behind MacIntyre in fifth spot, while Tommy Fleetwood sits in fifth but is currently set to qualify via the World Points List.
Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship winner Victor Perez is in sixth and joins MacIntyre and Adrian Otaegui (ninth) in featuring this week in Northern Ireland to try and move up the Ryder Cup standings.
Rasmus Hojgaard and Shane Lowry are the other players currently inside the top 10 and will both feature the following week in Switzerland,while Jordan Smith (12th), Jorge Campillo (13th), Joost Luiten (14th) and 2018 winner Thorbjorn Olesen (16th) will need a big finish to the qualification campaign in the coming weeks if they're going to get a late spot.
The two remaining FedExCup Playoffs - this week's BMW Championship and the season-ending Tour Championship from August 24-27, are the last two PGA Tour tournaments for European players to qualify via the World Points List.
Rahm and McIlroy occupy the top two spots on that list too, while Viktor Hovland, Matt Fitzpatrick, Tyrrell Hatton, and Tommy Fleetwood are next in line.
Sepp Straka, Shane Lowry, Justin Rose and Adrian Meronk then round out the top 10 but with Lowry missing out on the FedExCup Playoffs, Straka and Rose can make a real play to wrap up their spot in Rome.
Can Europe regain the Ryder Cup in Rome? Watch the biennial contest exclusively live from September 30-October 2 on Sky Sports.
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