What Rasmus Hojgaard Needs At The British Masters To Pinch Final Ryder Cup Spot

Rasmus Hojgaard is the only player who can pinch the final automatic European Ryder Cup spot from Shane Lowry, depending on his British Masters finish

Rasmus Hojgaard at the British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo
(Image credit: Getty Images)
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The qualification process for the European Ryder Cup team is going down to the wire with Rasmus Hojgaard looking to pinch the final automatic spot at the Betfred British Masters.

Five of the six automatic spots for Luke Donald's side have already been secured, with Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, Tommy Fleetwood, Robert MacIntyre and Tyrrell Hatton booking their places at Bethpage Black.

Shane Lowry sits in the sixth and final spot, but with no points available for the Tour Championship he can only wait for news from across the Atlantic at The Belfry.

As while Hojgaard sits in eighth in the European Ryder Cup points standings, he needs just a top-30 finish at the British Masters to overtake Lowry and grab that final automatic qualifying spot.

Technically it's a minimum requirement of finishing 29th tied with just one other player needed for Hojgaard to qualify for his first ever Ryder Cup appearance.

Twin brother Nicolai played as a rookie in Rome two years ago.

Rasmus finished second on home soil at the Danish Golf Championship last week to strengthen his bid, and after finishing 16th and third in the last two British Masters he'll fancy his chances.

It's an apt tournament to end European qualifying with The Belfry being a four-time host of the Ryder Cup.

It's also a course that obviously suits Hojgaard, and Danish players in particular, as Niklas Norgaard and Thorbjorn Olesen have won two of the last three runnings.

Who is in the running for a wildcard?

Matt Fitzpatrick at The Open at Royal Portrush

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Lowry would seem a nailed-on pick for Donald, as the Irishman has been a wildcard for both of his previous Ryder Cup appearances.

Sepp Straka is in seventh but has missed a few events recently, while Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Aberg would seem certain picks along with the obvious choice of Jon Rahm.

Matt Fitzpatrick failed to make the Tour Championship on the PGA Tour so has flown back to England and will hope to impress Donald at the British Masters - with the European captain also playing this week at The Belfry.

Thomas Detry isn't playing this week but has won on the PGA tour this year, while Aaron Rai and in particular Matt Wallace will also hope to impress Donald at the British Masters.

But the man everyone is talking about is playing back over in the USA, with Harry Hall teeing it up in the Tour Championship knowing another good week will increase the noise around him being deserving of a pick.

Nicolai Hojgaard is well down the standings but will also be hoping that having played last time will give him a chance of earning a pick too.

Donald will name his six wildcard picks on September 1 after the end of the Omega European Masters in Switzerland.

Paul Higham
Paul Higham
Contributor

Paul Higham is a sports journalist with over 20 years of experience in covering most major sporting events for both Sky Sports and BBC Sport. He is currently freelance and covers the golf majors on the BBC Sport website.  Highlights over the years include covering that epic Monday finish in the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor and watching Rory McIlroy produce one of the most dominant Major wins at the 2011 US Open at Congressional. He also writes betting previews and still feels strangely proud of backing Danny Willett when he won the Masters in 2016 - Willett also praised his putting stroke during a media event before the Open at Hoylake. Favourite interviews he's conducted have been with McIlroy, Paul McGinley, Thomas Bjorn, Rickie Fowler and the enigma that is Victor Dubuisson. A big fan of watching any golf from any tour, sadly he spends more time writing about golf than playing these days with two young children, and as a big fair weather golfer claims playing in shorts is worth at least five shots. Being from Liverpool he loves the likes of Hoylake, Birkdale and the stretch of tracks along England's Golf Coast, but would say his favourite courses played are Kingsbarns and Portrush. 

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