Tag: European Ryder Cup team

Henrik Stenson named European Ryder Cup captain for 2023 matches in Italy

The five-time member of Team Europe debuted in 2006 and most-recently competed in 2018.

The Europeans will have an experienced hand at the helm in Italy.

On Tuesday morning it was announced that Henrik Stenson will be the European captain for the 2023 Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Italy. The 45-year-old from Sweden has been a member of five European Ryder Cup teams, most recently in 2018 at Le Golf National in France, and boasts a 10-7-2 record. As a rookie Stenson made the winning putt for Europe at the 2006 matches at the K Club in Ireland.

The news comes two weeks after the United States announced Zach Johnson, a fellow five-time Ryder Cupper, would captain the American squad.

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Lee Westwood, Bernd Wiesberger hang on to European Ryder Cup team spots

Lee Westwood earned a berth on his 11th Ryder Cup team while Bernd Wiesberger made his first team.

Bernd Wiesberger will make his Ryder Cup debut while 48-year-old Lee Westwood has earned his 11th appearance. Others such as Ian Poulter, Sergio Garcia, Shane Lowry and Justin Rose will have to rely on being in the good graces of European Captain Padraig Harrington.

With the completion of the BMW PGA Championship, the final qualifying event, nine players automatically qualified for Captain Padraig Harrington’s team and he’ll round out the group with three picks to be made at 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday.

Wiesberger, a 35-year-old Austrian with seven career victories on the European Tour, finished T-20 at the BMW PGA Championship, which was enough to hang on to the final of four qualifying spots via the European point list.

European points list

  • Jon Rahm
  • Tommy Fleetwood
  • Tyrrell Hatton
  • Bernd Wiesberger

Westwood, 48, closed with 77 and finished T-71 at the BMW PGA, but Lowry made a costly double bogey at 15 that dropped him to a final-round 71 and T-17 finish. That wasn’t enough to improve his position.

World Points

  • Rory McIlroy
  • Matthew Fitzpatrick
  • Paul Casey
  • Viktor Hovland
  • Lee Westwood

The process, which began at the BMW PGA Championship in September 2019, was suspended after the conclusion of 2020 Commercial Bank Qatar Masters in March 2020 as a result of the global pandemic. Upon the Tour’s resumption in July 2020, and due to the fractured nature of the season, Ryder Cup point for the European Team were frozen for the remainder of the year.

To recognize the in-form European players around the world, the adjusted qualification process featured a new weighting as the season progressed as requested by Harrington and approved by the Tour’s tournament committee. All points earned between Jan. 1 and May 9 were multiplied by 1.5; all points thereafter were multiplied by two.

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Shane Lowry may be playing his way onto the European Ryder Cup team at this week’s BMW PGA Championship

The 2019 champion golfer of the year is on the verge of his first Ryder Cup appearance

Shane Lowry is a two-time PGA Tour winner. He’s won thrice on the European Tour. He was the Champion Golfer of the Year in 2019, winning the British Open in his home country. And this past July, Lowry represented Ireland at the 2020 Olympic Games. But now, he may be playing his way onto the European Ryder Cup team for the very first time.

He’s found this position after one of his best years on the PGA Tour. He finished inside the top 10 at some of the year’s biggest events including the Players, Memorial, and PGA Championship. But at this week’s BMW PGA Championship, he still needs some things to go his way to automatically qualify.

The European team is decided by multiple points lists, the first being the European Tour points list, and then the World points lists. Four players automatically qualify according to the European Tour list, and five more from the World list. As it stands right now, Lowry is sitting in the ninth and final automatic qualifying spot.

If Bernd Wiesberger finishes inside the top 50 at the BMW PGA, he will move into the fourth spot on the European Tour points list, kicking Rory McIlroy out. McIlroy will then fall into the World points list, removing Lowry from his automatic qualifying spot. To stay put, Lowry will need a top-eight finish or better.

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After the third round of the BMW PGA Championship, Lowry and Bernd Wiesberger both sit at 11 under, tied for seventh and four shots behind leader Francesco Laporta.

The Irishman followed a similar pattern to the previous two days at Wentworth Golf Club in Surrey, England, as he posted birdies on Nos. 2, 4, 8 and 18 while dropping his only shot on No. 15.

But Lowry wasn’t exactly focused on the Ryder Cup after his round:

Regardless of what happens with automatic qualification, Lowry is a solid bet to represent the European side. He’s been one of the most consistent players all season long, making the cut 19 times in 21 events on Tour. This will leave captain Harrington with a tough decision having to leave off Ryder Cup veterans. Some of the names that may miss the team — Sergio Garcia, Henrik Stenson, Ian Poulter.

Tune in Sunday morning on Golf Channel for the final round of the BMW PGA Championship and watch the drama unfold.

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Meet the first five qualifiers that will represent Team Europe at the 2021 Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits

Three years after their decisive win in Paris, Europe now has their first five members of the 2021 Ryder Cup team.

The first six players of the United States Ryder Cup team were confirmed over a week ago, but now, it’s the European side who sees their team finally start to take shape. Padraig Harrington, captain of this year’s European team, has to be excited about the talent confirmed to be on the roster.

Although the final qualifying doesn’t end until the last putt drops at the BMW PGA Championship, Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Paul Casey, Tommy Fleetwood, and first-time participant Viktor Hovland have already secured their spots.

Four more players will automatically qualify for the team after the BMW, and then Harrington will make three captain’s picks to complete the team.

Let’s meet the first five, starting with the number one golfer in the world.

Ryder Cup: Get to know Team USA