Ryder Cup race hots up as Francesco Molinari all but secures European place
Last Updated: 24/07/18 4:18pm
Francesco Molinari all but secured a Ryder Cup spot with his victory in The 147th Open as the race for places in Thomas Bjorn's European team hots up.
Italian Molinari now leads the European points list and is second in the world points rankings after claiming his maiden major win at Carnoustie on Sunday.
The top four on the European points list qualify automatically, with the leading quartet on the world points list, not already qualified via the European list, joining them in the European team to take on the United States at Le Golf National in Paris at the end of September, while Bjorn also has four wildcard picks.
Molinari, who was a member of the European team in 2010 and 2012, is followed by Justin Rose, Tyrrell Hatton and Tommy Fleetwood on the European points list, with Alex Noren and Rory McIlroy close in behind them after decent finishes at The Open.
Ryder Cup rankings - European points
| 1 | Francesco Molinari (Ita) | 5,663,301.97 |
| 2 | Justin Rose (Eng) | 4,372,092.40 |
| 3 | Tyrrell Hatton (Eng) | 3,882,010.28 |
| 4 | Tommy Fleetwood (Eng) | 3,440,030.99 |
| 5 | Alex Noren (Swe) | 3,343,942.85 |
| 6 | Rory McIlroy (NIrl) | 3,139,064.80 |
| 7 | Jon Rahm (Esp) | 2,849,362.17 |
| 8 | Thorbjorn Olesen (Den) | 2,809,967.40 |
| 9 | Russell Knox (Sco) | 2,520,465.12 |
| 10 | Eddie Pepperell (Eng) | 2,450,772.29 |
Thorbjorn Olesen and Eddie Pepperell both earned valuable points at Carnoustie, with the latter entering the top 10, but Jon Rahm, Russell Knox and Matt Fitzpatrick all missed the cut.
Rose heads the world points list and looks certain to make the team via that route, along with McIlroy and Rahm, who are third and fourth respectively.
Noren remains on track in sixth place, while Paul Casey currently occupies the final qualifying berth on the world points list, although there will be plenty of players hoping to catch him over the next few weeks, with the PGA Championship, the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and five other European Tour events still to come before the team is confirmed after the Made in Denmark tournament is completed on September 2.
Ryder Cup rankings - World points
| 1 | Justin Rose (Eng) | 357.50 |
| 2 | Francesco Molinari (Ita) | 343.69 |
| 3 | Rory McIlroy (NIrl) | 286.77 |
| 4 | Jon Rahm (Esp) | 278.63 |
| 5 | Tommy Feetwood (Eng) | 272.45 |
| 6 | Alex Noren (Swe) | 248.12 |
| 7 | Tyrrell Hatton (Eng) | 220.17 |
| 8 | Paul Casey (Eng) | 156.44 |
| 9 | Matt Fitzpatrick (Eng) | 148.26 |
| 10 | Sergio Garcia (Esp) | 140.90 |
| 11 | Ian Poulter (Eng) | 140.83 |
| 12 | Eddie Pepperell (Eng) | 138.88 |
| 13 | Russell Knox (Sco) | 136.39 |
| 14 | Rafa Cabrera Bello (Esp) | 135.42 |
| 15 | Henrik Stenson (Swe) | 133.84 |
As it stands, the likes of Henrik Stenson, Ian Poulter, Sergio Garcia and Knox - the last three missed the cut at The Open - all require a wildcard pick if they are to make the team.
Stenson, who has been hampered by an elbow injury in recent weeks, is currently 15th in both lists with just three scheduled events left to win enough points for an automatic berth.
"I've played four previous Ryder Cups and always qualified on my own merit. That's the wish for this time round as well and there's still time to do that," said the 42-year-old Swede.
"I've got Akron [WGC-Bridgestone Invitational], the US PGA and I'm defending at Wyndham so there's still chances and we'll try to make that happen. If we don't I guess we'll just have to wait and see if the phone rings at some point.
"If I don't qualify then it's down to Thomas to see who he likes to make up the team. Thomas knows what he wants and depending on who qualifies I'm sure he's got some good ideas about how to make up the team and we'll see if we fit in there or not."
