Ryder Cup 2020: Who will feature for Padraig Harrington's Team Europe at Whistling Straits?
The Ryder Cup was delayed a year due to the coronavirus pandemic; Padraig Harrington to captain Team Europe against Steve Stricker's Team USA at Whistling Straits from September 24-26 - watch live on Sky Sports
By Ali Stafford
Last Updated: 24/03/21 6:25am
The Ryder Cup qualification process has been longer than ever for this year’s contest due to Covid-19, but how is Padraig Harrington’s European team shaping up with exactly six months to go?
Qualification began back in September 2019 but was halted in mid-March 2020 due to golf's coronavirus-enforced shutdown, with all Ryder Cup points frozen until the system resumed at the start of 2021.
All points earned so far this year have been multiplied by 1.5 and will continue to be until May 9, with points then doubled for all events through to the qualification campaign ending at the BMW PGA Championship in September.
The top four players on the European Points List and the next five players on the World Points List will be automatic qualifiers, with Harrington then naming three captain's picks to complete his side.
Although there's still plenty of time for players to force their way into contention and compete at Whistling Straits from September 24-26, live on Sky Sports, here's a look at how Team Europe is looking as things stand…
Tyrrell Hatton holds a narrow advantage at the top of the European Points List after winning the season-opening Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, with Tommy Fleetwood close behind thanks to his strong finish to the 2019 campaign - where he followed victory at the Nedbank Golf Challenge by finishing runner-up at the DP World Tour Championship.
World No 3 Jon Rahm is in third despite not playing a regular European Tour event in 2020 due to Covid-19 travel restrictions, with a large proportion of the Spaniard's points coming from the back-to-back wins he registered on his way to the 2019 Race to Dubai title.
Rory McIlroy's most recent victory, the 2019 WGC-HSBC Champions, ensures he remains in the fourth automatic place as things stand, with the Northern Irishman also starting 2021 with a tied-third in Abu Dhabi and a share of sixth at the WGC-Workday Championship.
Reigning Race to Dubai champion Lee Westwood jumped up the World Points List with successive runner-up finishes on the PGA Tour at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Players, while Paul Casey is next in the standings after winning the Saudi International and opening the year with four consecutive top-10s on the PGA Tour.
Four consecutive worldwide top-sixes during January and February has Viktor Hovland inside the automatic places ahead of Matt Fitzpatrick, who has finished no worse than tied-11th in his last four starts, with Victor Perez currently holding the ninth and final spot as things stand.
On the bubble…
Bernd Wiesberger's 2019 Italian Open win is one of four top-10 finishes during the extended qualification campaign, with 2019 BMW PGA champion Danny Willett also close to the automatic places despite failing to register a worldwide top-10 so far in 2021.
All-time record Ryder Cup points scorer Sergio Garcia is close behind thanks to a recent top-10 finish at TPC Sawgrass, while Robert MacIntyre and Shane Lowry are the two immediately below the Spaniard on the World Points List.
Ryder Cup stalwarts Justin Rose (17th) and Henrik Stenson (20th) both have work to do to qualify after slow starts to the campaign, while 2018 MVP Francesco Molinari is down in 35th on the World Points List despite three top-10s in four starts on the PGA Tour last month.
Who will feature for Team Europe at this September's Ryder Cup? Comment below with your predictions or send them through via Twitter to @SkySportsGolf.
