With the Ryder Cup eight months away, speculation over who could make Luke Donald’s European team will be rife.
Six players will automatically qualify for the European side, leaving six captain’s picks for the Englishman to contemplate. Rory McIlroy, Tyrrell Hatton, Matt Wallace, Paul Waring, Niklas Norgaard and Rasmus Hojgaard are the players leading the European qualification standings.
But, with several significant PGA Tour events and the major championships to come, the current top six promises change from now until the first tee shot in September.
Another dynamic for Donald to consider is those players competing in the LIV Golf League. For the likes of Hatton and Jon Rahm, opportunities to earn qualification points will be limited.
Luke Donald urged to pick Tyrrell Hatton for 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage
Hatton will play only a handful of DP World Tour-sanctioned events over the next eight months, with the majority of his focus on LIV.
As a result, the Englishman will almost certainly drop out of the top six unless he performs exceptionally well in the majors, which isn’t out of the question.
Hatton, therefore, could be reliant on a captain’s pick – and LIV Golf commentators Jerry Foltz and Su-Ann Heng believe Donald has no choice but to select him.
Heng said on the Fairway to Heaven podcast: “Surely, I mean, surely they would have to have him on the Ryder Cup team. I mean, come on, it would be ridiculous.”
Foltz replied: “We have lived through two and a half years of ridiculousness. Nothing is going to surprise me with what they do. Luke Donald made some very controversial decisions at the last Ryder Cup but they ended up winning, so that’s all that matters in the end.
“I have no idea if the political part of it will play a role going forward; it seems to have died down a lot. Keegan Bradley is going to put the best team he can out there, especially at Bethpage Black. I think the people who are paying $1000 for a daily ticket to go out there and watch deserve to have those politics put behind them and have the best American team out there so they can be obnoxious in their support for the US team, and I look forward to that.”
Tyrrell Hatton stars at Team Cup
Hatton was instrumental in helping GB & Ireland win the Team Cup in Abu Dhabi last week. Hatton was the joint-top point scorer along with Paul Waring, ending the week unbeaten with 3.5 points.
“I think by now Luke knows what I’m capable of and the type of golf I can produce. Ultimately, my job is harder to automatically qualify for the team, but I still see it as though I have five events to do that, and I’m going to give it my best,” Hatton said after the event.
“My last three Ryder Cups I’ve been able to automatically qualify and I’d like to keep that streak going.”
If Donald is permitted to pick Hatton and the Englishman is available for selection, he will almost certainly be part of the 12-man roster on Long Island.
In the ideal scenario, Hatton will perform well in the majors and automatically qualify, saving his captain a pick to use elsewhere.
Receive exclusive golf news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
