Does Luke Donald’s Scottish Open Group Give Hint Over Ryder Cup Contenders?

A big two weeks are in store for those in the UK, with the Genesis Scottish Open and Open Championship providing a fortnight's golf that is different to what we see in the States.

Being held at The Renaissance Club, the Scottish Open features a bumper field, including all four current Major champions at the Links layout.

On Tuesday lunchtime, the Scottish Open tee times were revealed and, as expected, certain three-balls caught the eye, with one of those being the Thursday 12.59pm and Friday 7.44am trio.

The group in question involves Harry Hall, Luke Donald and Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen and, although they don't have the star power of Rory McIlroy, Viktor Hovland and Xander Schauffele's group, it has raised an interesting question.

In less than three months time, Team Europe will look to defend their Ryder Cup trophy at Bethpage Black in New York. Between now and then, there are plenty of decisions to be made in terms of which players will feature.

Realistically, there are going to be certain players who have already wrapped up their spot on Donald's side, even though they haven't qualified.

However, the possibility of rookies being on the team is still high and, given their form in 2025, Hall and Neergaard-Petersen are certainly in the conversation for making the 12-man team for Bethpage on the 26 - 29th September.

Speaking to BBC Scotland, Donald himself explained that: "These are big weeks against the strongest fields so you want to see the top guys play well."

He went on to add "there are some guys that have pretty much staked a claim for their place in the team but there are a few spots definitely open and these weeks are big for those guys."

As of writing, several Europeans have won on the PGA Tour this season, including McIlroy, Hovland, Ludvig Aberg and Sepp Straka.

What's more, looking at the standings, McIlroy has already qualified, while Tommy Fleetwood, Tyrrell Hatton, Robert MacIntyre, Shane Lowry and Straka occupy the other five places.

That leaves some free spots available and, looking at the form books, both Hall and Neergaard-Petersen have put their names into the equation, especially after an excellent season so far.

Hall, for example, has 10 top 25s in just 19 starts on the PGA Tour, while Neergaard-Petersen has eight top 15s, including a runner-up at the Puerto Rico Open and Commercial Bank Qatar Masters.

Obviously, the pair will need to continue those strong performances and, looking at Donald's previous pairings at competitions, you'll notice that he has played alongside other European contenders.

At the BMW International Open, the Englishman was with David Puig and Jordan Smith for the first two rounds, as well as Martin Couvra and Eugenio Chacarra at the Austrian Alpine Open in May.

Team Europe Ryder Cup Rankings

*correct as of 8th July 2025