While there was plenty of back-and-forth leading up to Keegan Bradley revealing his six picks for the Ryder Cup, Luke Donald is not facing nearly the same level of scrutiny ahead of his announcement on Monday.
Europe’s line-up has seemed largely settled for quite a while now. Two years ago in Rome, Donald included four rookies in his side. This time around, it would not be surprising if the defending champions arrived at Bethpage with a nearly identical squad.
Rasmus Højgaard has already secured his spot after earning an automatic place. That means Donald could stick with almost exactly the same group that won at Marco Simone, with Rasmus stepping in for his brother Nicolai.
The expected picks for Monday are Shane Lowry, Sepp Straka, Viktor Hovland, Ludvig Åberg, Matthew Fitzpatrick and Jon Rahm.
Luke Donald’s Ryder Cup picks: who might be feeling the pressure
It is tough to see a scenario where Lowry, Hovland, Åberg or Rahm are not included. Fitzpatrick has also played his way back into contention with four top-10 finishes in his last six PGA Tour events.
Mark Rolfing believes that if a player’s selection is in doubt, it is Straka who might be feeling the pressure as other contenders make a strong late bid.
“I think Fitzpatrick has had just a good enough year, and of course, he was part of that team in Rome. You do have to pretty much take him unless [Matt] Wallace were to win. Marco Penge, my heavens, what a year he’s had. I think he’s got an outside chance potentially, but it’s not a real good one. And then I always keep thinking about Harry Hall. My heavens, since the beginning of May, he’s got the second lowest scoring average on the entire PGA Tour other than Scottie Scheffler,” he told Golf Channel.
“But I do have a question mark here, and that is Sepp Straka. We saw him withdraw from the BMW Championship due to personal family reasons. He came back, did not play well in Atlanta, finished last there. And I think he could be a question mark for this team though we’re not really hearing a whole lot about it. But as they get closer I think they’re really going to have Sepp Straka look in the mirror and say you know what, I’ll be ready, or I won’t be ready.”
Sepp Straka’s recent form ahead of the Ryder Cup
It was at least encouraging to see Straka back in action at the Tour Championship after his absence from Caves Valley had raised a few eyebrows.
Early in the season, he looked like a lock for the European team. Wins at The American Express in January and later at the Truist Championship seemed to have secured his spot.
The world number 13’s recent form has been inconsistent. He tied for 52nd at The Open Championship, his best major result this season, but missed the cut at The Masters, the PGA Championship, and the US Open. Additionally, he has only one top 10 finish in his last six starts.
His partnership with Lowry did deliver a point for Europe on Friday morning two years ago, which could work in his favour again. And it’s tough to ignore two PGA Tour wins in a single season when making these decisions.
Still, with so many other spots already looking locked in, it makes sense why there are questions about whether Straka might be the one left out this time.
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