While there was so much debate leading up to Keegan Bradley naming his six picks for the Ryder Cup earlier this week, there appears to be considerably less chatter surrounding Luke Donald and the choices he will announce on Monday.
The majority of Europe’s team has arguably been set in stone for much of the year. Luke Donald had four rookies on his side in Rome two years ago. But there seems to be a very good chance that the defending champions will head to Bethpage with what you could call an identical lineup.
Rasmus Højgaard will make his debut in the Ryder Cup next month after qualifying automatically. With that, Donald could potentially pick 11 of the same names who won at Marco Simone, with the Dane replacing his twin brother, Nicolai.
That would see Shane Lowry, Sepp Straka, Viktor Hovland, Ludvig Åberg, Matthew Fitzpatrick and Jon Rahm picked on Monday.
The European player who may be facing an anxious wait as Luke Donald considers his captain’s picks for the Ryder Cup
It is hard to imagine that there is any chance at all of the likes of Lowry, Hovland, Åberg and Rahm missing out. Fitzpatrick meanwhile, has played himself into the mix with four top 10s in his last six starts on the PGA Tour.
But if there is one player who may face some uncertainty, Mark Rolfing believes that it could be Straka who could make way for one of the other Europeans making a late charge.
“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 to have Sepp Straka look in the mirror and say you know what, I’ll be ready or I won’t be ready.”
How Sepp Straka has performed on the PGA Tour as the Ryder Cup looms on the horizon
Firstly, it was definitely a positive to see Straka return at the Tour Championship after his concerning decision to not tee it up at Caves Valley.
When it comes to the Ryder Cup, it appeared that the Austrian was one of the first on the European side to all but book their ticket to Bethpage. He won at The American Express in January before adding another victory at the Truist Championship a few months later.
But the world number 13’s form has been extremely mixed in recent months. His best result in the majors was tied for 52nd at The Open Championship after missing the cut at The Masters, the PGA Championship and the US Open. He has just one top 10 in his last six starts too.
Straka and Lowry won their point on Friday morning two years ago, which will help his cause. And it is going to be extremely difficult for Donald to overlook a player who has won twice on the PGA Tour this year.
But with the European team looking so settled this time around, you can understand why some would feel that Straka is the man under the microscope.
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