Shane Lowry clings to Ryder Cup spot as Rasmus Hojgaard circles with ZERO points on offer at Tour Championship
LOW NO Shane Lowry clings to Ryder Cup spot as Rasmus Hojgaard circles with ZERO points on offer at Tour Championship
SHANE LOWRY snatched back his automatic sixth place in the European Ryde Cup standings last weekend - just.
The Offaly star regained the final automatic qualifying spot on the ladder after after finishing T23 from the 48-man field at the BMW Championship.
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Shane Lowry 's automatic Ryder Cup place is out of his control as there's no points for offer at the Tour Championship
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Rasmus Hojgaard of Denmark could leapfrog Lowry and Straka to snatch the final place with a good showing at the British Masters
Matters helped the 2019 Open champ as pal Sepp Straka was forced to withdraw before the start of the BMW Championship due to personal reasons.
The Austrian was sixth on the table heading into last week's penultimate event in the FedEX Cup Playoffs but earned zero points as the Irishman leapfrogged him.
But on the European side, the race could be decided in the UK this week – and Lowry's place is hanging by a thread as Denmark's Rasmus Hojgaard is aiming to pounce.
This week's Betfred British Masters at The Belfry is the final chance for players to grab points towards Luke Donald's team.
Unlike previous editions, there is now just one qualification list for Europe, adding extra drama to the final week.
After last week's BMW Championship, Bob MacIntyre and Tyrrell Hatton joined Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood and Justin Rose as confirmed qualifiers.
That leaves just one automatic spot that's left up for grabs.
Lowry, who sits sixth – along with Sepp Straka in seventh – CAN NOT add points at this week's Tour Championship in Atlanta.
That opens the door for Rasmus Hojgaard, who is in the British Masters field is just a tiny 14 points behind Lowry.
The maths is realtively straightforward - a tie for 29th or better at The Belfry will see Hojgaard leapfrog both Lowry and Straka to snatch the final automatic ticket to Bethpage Black in New York.
Irish golf ace will 'stick to the day job' after being treated to 'best seat in the house for our landing into Toronto'
The Dane, whose twin brother Nicolai played at Marco Simone in 2023, finished runner-up on home soil last week at the Danish Golf Championship.
He also posted top-20 finishes at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic and The Open earlier this year, and has fond memories of The Belfry after finishing third there in 2024.
While Lowry could still be bumped, he'd be expected to earn a captain's pick from Luke Donald alongside Straka.
The top six players in the rankings after the Betfred British Masters, hosted by Nick Faldo on Sunday, 24 August, will secure automatic qualification, with three spots already locked in.
Captain Luke Donald will then confirm his six wildcard selections for the Ryder Cup during the week beginning Monday, 1 September.
But the intrigue of a potential Hojgaard brothers pairing at Bethpage has added another layer of spice to Ryder Cup week after the pair's fine showing together at this year's Zurich Clssic team event - where they finished T2.
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