Who Will Luke Donald Pick For The Ryder Cup

Luke Donald now knows his six automatic Ryder Cup qualifiers. After the conclusion of the British Masters, Rasmus Hojgaard replaced Shane Lowry to claim the the sixth and final spot.

He joins Rory McIlroy, Robert MacIntyre, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose and Tyrrell Hatton, who had already secured their places.

The next challenge for Donald is to make his six captain’s picks, and it is going to provide him with some serious headaches. By selecting an untried Ludvig Aberg for the 2023 encounter at Marco Simone, the Englishman proved he is not afraid to make difficult decisions - and he is going to face a similar dilemma ahead of Bethpage Black.

Lowry is surely a certainty and will be joined by Spain’s Jon Rahm. Despite what has generally been a disappointing campaign, Aberg will also get a pick and will be joined by Viktor Hovland, who has had a similarly inconsistent year.

That leaves two places open, so who is going to get the nod?

(Image Credit: Kevin Diss Photography)

Sepp Straka is a two-time winner on the PGA Tour in 2025. All logic dictates that he should be a shoo-in. But he played poorly at the FedEx St Jude and then sat out the BMW Championship for personal reasons. He returned for the Tour Championship at East Lake, where he looked sorely out of touch.

Having shown signs of a return to form, many believe that Matthew Fitzpatrick has done enough to make a third Ryder Cup appearance but he came up short at the British Masters when the heat was on. He may need to win the European Masters this week to stake his claim before Donald finalises his team on September 1.

Harry Hall has had an astonishing year on the PGA Tour, reeling off top-10 finishes for fun and making it all the way to East Lake. He is also the best putter on the PGA Tour, has a wonderful temperament and finds a lot of fairways. In other words, he is the perfect foursomes partner.

Aaron Rai may have missed out on the Tour Championship but, like Hall, he has been consistency personified. Sadly, I don’t believe he is the sort of player who is going to strike fear into any American opponent and I expect him to miss out.

I will be astonished if Donald does not select Marco Penge. He held on to his card by the skin of his teeth in 2024 but it turned out to be the making of him. He has played like a man possessed all season, winning twice and contending in some seriously big tournaments, including the Scottish Open. He is second in the Race to Dubai and has locked up his PGA Tour card for next year. I believe the big-hitting Penge will take a little time to acclimatise to life on the other side of the pond but will ultimately thrive. And I am certain he will be a huge success if chosen for the European team. He hits the ball a mile and is utterly fearless.

Matt Wallace stated at the beginning of the qualification process that he would be doing everything within his power to make the team. He won the 2024 European Masters to make a sensational start to the campaign but has struggled to juggle life on both sides of the Atlantic. And he is going to miss out again.

Nicolai Hojgaard could well be the man who gives Donald his biggest headache. He played his part at Marco Simone in 2023 and enjoyed a fabulous season the DP World Tour last year before accepting his PGA Tour card and heading to America. Although he failed to make the FedEx Cup playoffs, he comfortably kept his card and then headed back to Europe in an attempt to catch Donald’s eye. He was joint runner-up at The Belfry but, like Fitzpatrick, probably needs to win this week.

There will be some who will call for British Masters winner Alex Noren to be given a pick but that won’t happen.

So the team could look like this:

McIlroy, MacIntyre, Fleetwood, Rose, Hatton, Rasmus Hojgaard, Lowry, Aberg, Hovland, Rahm, Penge and Hall. 

But that could all change if either Fitzpatrick or Nicolai Hojgaard win the European Masters. There are going to be several very disappointed golfers come September 1. I don’t envy Donald.

Ahead of what promises to be a fascinating event, if you want to see the latest odds for the 2025 Ryder Cup, please visit Betway.