Ryder Cup 2025: Team Europe hopefuls in action at Omega European Masters and pushing for captain's pick from Luke Donald
Luke Donald will name his six Ryder Cup captain's picks on Monday, live from 2pm on Sky Sports Golf; Omega European Masters is the final DP World Tour event before Donald finalises his Team Europe line-up for Bethpage Black
Wednesday 27 August 2025 18:37, UK
Luke Donald will have the core of his victorious European Ryder Cup side again this September against the United States, but who is in consideration to complete his line-up at Bethpage Black?
The six automatic qualifiers were confirmed after the Betfred British Masters on Sunday, with Rory McIlroy, Robert MacIntyre, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose, Rasmus Hojgaard and Tyrrell Hatton securing their spots.
The next four in the qualification standings were competing at the PGA Tour's Tour Championship last week and part of Europe's 2023 victory in Rome, with Shane Lowry, Sepp Straka, Ludvig Åberg and Viktor Hovland all likely candidates for captain's picks.
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Two-time major champion Jon Rahm is also a potential shoo-in for Team Europe, while the Omega European Masters is the last event for DP World Tour players to impress before Donald names his six captain's picks on Monday - live from 2pm on Sky Sports Golf.
Matt Fitzpatrick is a two-time winner in Switzerland and among the favourites again, having had top-eight finishes in five of his last seven worldwide starts, with the Englishman looking to secure a fourth Ryder Cup appearance.
"People are sick of it [but] managing my energy and managing my expectations has been the biggest focus, not thinking about 'I need to get a result here for the Ryder Cup'," Fitzpatrick said. "That's probably helped my form in general.
"Also, with it being so close to the picks now, my guess is Luke may have already made up his mind whether it's going to happen or not. This week might not be as strong a case as last week or the previous two or three weeks. I'm just going out here to try and win this tournament this week and enjoy myself."
2018 Ryder Cup winner Alex Noren is the highest-ranked European in the field by world ranking, following his British Masters win, with Nicolai Hojgaard looking to build on his runner-up finish at the Belfry and join his twin brother Rasmus in the European team.
Marco Penge is a two-time winner on the DP World Tour this season and has been discussed as a potential candidate for a captain's pick, while Aaron Rai and Matt Wallace are also in the DP World Tour field and chasing a rookie Ryder Cup appearance.
McGinley: 'Something really special' needed to get picked as a rookie
Five of Europe's six automatic qualifiers were part of the winning team in Rome and four have previously played in an away Ryder Cup, with former captain Paul McGinley - a strategic adviser to Donald - believing experience will be key when selecting picks.
"If you are a rookie and you're trying to make an away team and you're trying to make it as a pick, you've got to do something really special and you've got to be something really special," McGinley explained on the Sky Sports Golf podcast.
"Away picks and away rookies do not perform very well historically, no matter what quality player they are, so it's definitely a bigger risk to choose a rookie for an away match.
"It's a very different dynamic playing away from home. It takes a different character, it takes a different skill set, and you've got to be a certain type of player in order to perform away from home.
"We have a pretty good profile on the kind of player and characters that we want away from home. If anybody's going to push themselves into it, particularly somebody who hasn't played a Ryder Cup before, they've got to be very special and they've got to do something very special under the heat."
Could Wallace miss out again?
Wallace returns as defending champion in Switzerland after last year's play-off victory, with the Englishman's hopes of a captain's pick fading after failing to reach the FedExCup Playoffs and then struggling on the final day - when in contention - at the British Masters.
"I'm coming back [to Switzerland] with such a heavy heart but one full of pride and gratitude towards my team," posted on Instagram, having finished tied-33rd at the Belfry. "We have given it everything.
"The drive and feeling I get within when the Ryder Cup is mentioned is quite surreal, especially when it's a match I've never actually managed to be a part of.
"I've said on record that I will never stop trying to be a part of it until I quit playing golf, and that is true, but it's difficult to put into words just how much this year meant to me. I will learn from this and be stronger for the next campaign."
Plenty of options for Europe's picks?
Europe will be chasing a fifth away victory in the biennial contest and the first on American soil since the 'Miracle at Medinah' in 2012, with two-time Ryder Cup player David Howell believing Donald has plenty of options to complete his line-up.
"I'm thinking we need a team of 13 players," Howell told Sky Sports Golf. "He [Donald] has a big problem on his hands, no doubt about that.
"Nicolai [Hojgaard] nearly threw a spanner in the works [at the British Masters] but didn't go on to win, Alex [Noren] did. Marco Penge ran out of steam a little but certainly reminded Luke of his credentials - he has power in abundance, as does Nicolai.
"The whole Ryder Cup management team over the last years have talked very much, it's why they only had six automatic spaces, about how they wanted to have a team that they could select specifically for Bethpage Black. Who knows where he's going to go!
"He has got to fit a lot of very good players in. It feels like this time around there's seven he wants to take and he can only take six. It could be Matthew [Fitzpatrick], it could be Nicolai or it could be Marco. I would take power!"
Who will win the Omega European Masters? Watch throughout the week live on Sky Sports. Live coverage begins on Thursday from 12.30pm on Sky Sports Golf. Not got Sky? Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOW.
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