Captain Luke Donald had some tough choices to make for the final six members of his 12-man European Ryder Cup team that will head to New York with hopes of retaining the Cup and winning on foreign soil for the first time since 2012.
Donald made his six captain’s picks on Monday. Part of the job entails making the tough calls to the players who missed out. Let’s take a closer look at seven players who were in the running for the team but came up short for a chance to play for their continent and their country.
Matt Wallace
The Englishman finished 12th in the European Ryder Cup point standings but wasn’t chosen for the team again. He also had a close call in 2018 when he won three times during his first full year on the DP World Tour.
Wallace, 35, closed in 67 at the Omega European Masters on Sunday but finished T-2, two strokes behind winner Thriston Lawrence of South Africa. Wallace, ranked No. 72 in the world, made his seventh straight cut, which also included a T-3 at the 3M Open in July, but knew that the result likely meant close but no cigar. His emotions poured out afterwards during a post-round interview when he was asked about what making the Ryder Cup would mean to him.
“I’ll never give up on the Ryder Cup,” he said through tears. “I just won’t.”
Harry Hall
Hall, 28, has been a model of consistency over the past several months. In all, 48 of his last 52 rounds have been at par or better. He has made 17 straight cuts since the Players Championship in March, including 10 top 20 finishes during that span.
Hall ranked 17th in the European Ryder Cup point standings but made a charge with a valiant run to the Tour Championship for the first time in his career.
This season, the Englishman ranked first in total birdies and birdies average and No. 1 in Strokes Gained: putting on Tour. Hall has improved from No. 108 to No. 54 in the OWGR this season. According to Data Golf, he’s the fourth-best European player and ranked No. 10 overall. Hall would have been a Ryder Cup rookie.
Aaron Rai
The Englishman failed to back up his first PGA Tour win last season at the Wyndham Championship but had another solid season, finishing No. 53 in the FedEx Cup. Data Golf ranks him No.. 28, ahead of qualifiers Tyrrell Hatton, Justin Rose, Rasmus Hojgaard and picks such as Shane Lowry.
Rai, 30, missed the cut at last week’s Omega European Masters but hadn’t had a weekend off since the Memorial in May. He finished No. 15 in the European Ryder Cup standings and didn’t do anything of late to make himself stand out from the crowd for a pick.
Nicolai Hojgaard
The Dane was a Ryder Cup rookie in 2023 in Rome and would’ve made for an obvious pairing with his twin brother Rasmus, who made the team on points. The brothers finished second at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, their best result on the PGA Tour. Hojgaard played well in July, finishing T-4 at the Genesis Scottish Open and T-14 and the British Open. He also made a run at the Betfred British Masters, finishing T-2, two weeks ago, but missed the cut at the Omega European Masters. But at No. 18 in the European Ryder Cup point standings, he didn’t do enough to get himself over the hump to make a second straight Ryder Cup team.
Thomas Detry
The Belgian won the WM Phoenix Open for his first title on the PGA Tour but hasn’t recorded a top-10 finish since. He doesn’t even have a top 20 since early June.
Detry, 32, finished 13th in the European Ryder Cup standings. At No. 44 in the world, he is the second-highest-ranked player of those left off the team. He’s a beautiful ball striker but hasn’t been in good enough form to show Captain Donald that he deserved a place on the team.
Marco Penge
The 27-year-old Englishman won twice on the DP World Tour this season, and finished 14th in the European Ryder Cup point standings. He won the Hainan Classic and the Danish Golf Championship. He finished 14th in the European Ryder Cup point standings.
Of those left off the team, Penge, ranked 60 in the world, was in the best form, having finished first in Denmark, T-6 at the Betfred British Masters and T-8 at the Omega European Masters on Sunday.
Alex Noren
The 43-year-old Swede ended a nearly seven-year winless drought worldwide two weeks ago at the Betfred British Masters. Noren missed seven months earlier this season with a hamstring injury, which limited his opportunities to earn points. He finished No. 26 in the European Ryder Cup point standings.
Noren, who represented Team Europe in 2018 in Paris, is ranked No. 32 in the world, the highest rank of anyone left off the team. He’s been putting beautifully of late, gaining strokes on the greens in six of his last seven starts. His last three results are T-7 at the 3M Open, T-3 at the Wyndham Championship and a win before missing the cut at the Omega European Masters on Sunday. It wasn’t enough to secure a spot on the European Ryder Cup team.
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