The home straight: The race to make the European Ryder Cup team

Who will join Rory McIlroy on Team Europe at Bethpage Black?

There are just 16 events remaining on both sides of the Atlantic for hopefuls to fight their way into Luke Donald's team to face the United States.

With McIlroy already mathematically certain of a place on the plane, the rest of Europe's finest have one Major Championship, one Rolex Series event, six regular DP World Tour events, one PGA TOUR Signature event, two PGA TOUR play-off events, four regular PGA TOUR events and the concluding Back 9 event at the Betfred British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo to seal their place as one of the five remaining automatic qualifiers.

That top six has seen some changes as we move through Major season and it is still all to play for for the players chasing an automatic place in the new single Points List or looking to catch Donald's eye and secure one of his six Captain's Picks.

Here is all you need to know about the race so far, the runners and riders, and what is to come.

ROME, ITALY - OCTOBER 01: Rory McIlroy of Team Europe celebrates winning his point on the 17th green during the Sunday singles matches of the 2023 Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf Club on October 01, 2023 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images)

The race so far

The chase began at the 2024 Betfred British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo, with at least 1,500 points up for grabs at that and each of the next eight events that made up the Back 9 on the Race to Dubai.

Niklas Nørgaard's maiden DP World Tour win at The Belfry saw him set the early pace but Matt Wallace leapfrogged him the very next week with victory at the Omega European Masters.

Rasmus Højgaard's win at the Amgen Irish Open moved him to the summit and he would stay there until the end of the Back 9, with Angel Hidalgo, Tyrrell Hatton, Dan Bradbury and Julien Guerrier all entering the top six at times with wins of their own.

A runner-up finish in the Rolex Series at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship moved Hatton to the top, with winner Paul Waring entering the automatic places, but Rory McIlroy would end the 2024 season on top after victory at the DP World Tour Championship, where Højgaard finished second.

There was no change to the top six across the Opening Swing of the 2025 Race to Dubai, with McIlroy, Højgaard, Hatton, Wallace, Waring and Nørgaard ending the calendar year in the coveted positions.

PGA TOUR events came into play from January 1 but the next big moves were made in the Rolex Series at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, with Hatton taking the crown and moving to the top of the Points List.

McIlroy, however, would soon be back at the summit with victory at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, while Shane Lowry's runner-up finish in California moved him into an automatic spot at the expense of Waring.

Thomas Detry claimed his maiden PGA TOUR win at the WM Phoenix Open to leap into fifth and dislodge Nørgaard from the top six, with Wallace being pushed out the following week as Ludvig Åberg won the Genesis Invitational to jump into fourth.

There was then little movement, barring McIlroy extending his lead with victory at THE PLAYERS Championship, until the Masters Tournament when the World Number Two completed the career Grand Slam to even further stretch his already significant lead in the Rankings. Justin Rose was defeated in a play-off at Augusta National and he moved into fourth, ousting Detry from the top six.

Sepp Straka sealed a second PGA TOUR title of the season - and first to count on the Rankings - at the Truist Championship to move into fifth and dislodge Åberg as Lowry did his chances no harm by finishing second.

Tommy Fleetwood had been steadily accumulating points and a tie for fourth at the Charles Schwab Challenge saw him go sixth at the expense of Rose but he would soon be on the outside looking in after Robert MacIntyre's runner-up finish at last week's U.S. Open moved him to fourth.

The players in pole position

Rory McIlroy

Not so much in pole position but across the line with the chequered flag and doing a victory lap. There was little doubt that, barring injury or something unforeseen, the Northern Irishman would be on the team but he has locked up his spot with time to spare and in emphatic style. A four-time winner already in qualification with his victories coming in a Major, a Rolex Series event, THE PLAYERS Championship and a PGA TOUR Siganture event, he has once again shown he is a man for the big occcasion. He will now be aiming to pick up where he left off after collecting four points from five in Rome.

Tyrrell Hatton

The only other player with two wins in the Qualifying period so far and another who is highly likely to be on the team come September. Hatton is yet to miss a cut in the qualifying events and has been an almost-ever present in the top six, with his consistency resulting in just one finish outside the top 20 at the US PGA Championship. The Englishman's eight DP World victories have been a hat-trick of triumphs at the prestigious Alfred Dunhill Links Championship and a record-equalling five Rolex Series crowns. His sole PGA TOUR win to date came at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, which is now a Signature event, in 2020 and his no-holding-back temprement could be just the thing to take on a vociferous New York crowd.

Shane Lowry

The Irishman does not have a win yet in qualification but his consistency has him on track for a third successive Ryder Cup appearance. He remarkably finished 12th or 13th in his first five starts of qualification before finishing third at the 2024 season-ending finale in Dubai and then second at Pebble Beach and at the Truist Championship to move into the top ten on the Official World Golf Ranking. While the 2020 Ryder Cup may have been one to forget for Team Europe, Lowry provided a brief highlight with his putt and wild celebration to seal victory alongside Hatton over Tony Finau and Harris English on day two - those guts and that passion could be vital again in front of a partisan crowd.

FLOURTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA - MAY 11: Sepp Straka of Austria reacts with Shane Lowry of Ireland after putting in to win on the 18th green during the final round of the Truist Championship 2025 at The Wissahickon at Philadelphia Cricket Club on May 11, 2025 in Flourtown, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)

Robert MacIntyre

Another incredibly conistent performer, MacIntyre has missed just two cuts across 22 qualifying events on both sides of the Atlantic. He has top 20s in all the Rolex Series events so far to go with a top ten at THE PLAYERS and his best Major finish last week at Oakmont. His remarkable sportsmanship as JJ Spaun holed his monster winning putt just added to the Scot's reputation as one of golf's most likeable characters but he has proven he has a winner's edge under that affable demeanour. A Rolex Series and PGA TOUR winner, the man they call Bob formed a memorable partnership with Justin Rose in Rome and will have no shortage of team-mates wanting to pair up should he make it to New York.

Sepp Straka

The Austrian has long been a fixture at the top end of the game, as his appearance in Rome two years ago proves, but since the turn of the year he has taken his golf to the next level. He made a relatively slow start to qualification before Christmas and while he made a brilliant start to 2025 by winning the American Express, that did not accrue him any points. He had already finished in the top 20 at The Sentry, however, and the PGA TOUR Signature events have proved a happy hunting ground, with two further top 20s, two top tens and his victory at the Truist Championship seeing him fly up the Rankings. A captain's pick in Rome, he will be eager to add to his tally of one point from three matches.

Rasmus Højgaard

The only member of the current top six without Ryder Cup experience, surely seeing twin brother Nicolai make his debut in Rome will have spurred Rasmus on to make his own piece of history. The Dane gave himself a very strong platform upon which to build in the 2024 Back 9 and Play-Offs, winning in Ireland and securing three other top fives. He has consistently made cuts since, with three top 25s on the PGA TOUR - two of those coming in Signature events - but has slipped from second to sixth in the last six weeks and is now the man looking over his shoulder.

MUNICH, GERMANY - JUNE 21: Ryder Cup Captain Luke Donald of England plays a shot behind the Ryder Cup trophy during the pro-am prior to the BMW International Open at Golfclub Munchen Eichenried on June 21, 2023 in Germany. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)

The contenders

Fleetwood is the first man on the outside looking in but it would represent a surprise if he doesn't make it to New York, either via more consistent accumulation of points or through the trust of his skipper after appearing in the last three Ryder Cups and producing the magic moment in Rome. The same could potentially be said of Åberg, who was a bolter in 2023 but looks to have numerous Ryder Cups ahead of him.

Rose, a veteran of six Ryder Cups, is next and he continues to show his penchant for the big stage, with his three top tens in qualifying coming via his play-off loss to McIlroy at Augusta and two Signature events. Viktor Hovland then rounds out the top ten and the World Number Nine has a spring back in his step after a recent tough spell, winning the Valspar Championship and securing a top ten at the U.S. Open.

We then have a host of rookies, with Detry, Wallace and Nørgaard - who have all been in the top six at some point after wins - followed by Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, who has enjoyed a very impressive start to life on both sides of the Atlantic since turning professional.

What's to come?

Some big points could be dished out on Sunday when the final Signature event of the PGA TOUR season, the Travelers Championship, concludes and the enhanced point events just keep on coming.

Alongside ten regular events on both sides of the Atlantic between now and the end of qualifying, July sees the Rolex Series take centre stage with the Genesis Scottish Open before Royal Portrush hosts the season's final Major Championship - The Open.

August then brings two FedEx Cup play-off events before the curtain comes down at The Belfry.

See full details of the qualification process here.