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Having opened with the Czech Masters at the end of August/start of September, Europe's elite golfers are battling to get a good start to their 2018 Ryder Cup qualification campaigns. Following the European Tour's REAL Czech Masters and Omega European Masters, as well as the PGA Tour's Dell Technologies Championship, we can now just about justify getting carried away with the early-stage rankings.
Team Europe seem to have done everything in their power to optimise confusion and frustration around the process, with grandee players like Rory McIlroy vocalising concerns with the European-Tour-only system. Paul Casey missed out on the 2016 encounter due to this rule, as did the in-form Russell Knox. However, Team Europe seem to have learned (to some degree) from their mistakes, having added an extra pick for Captain Thomas BjØrn and increased points in the latter stages of qualifying to encourage in-form players to make the team.
The Omega European Masters offered up a great deal more points for the competitors than the Czech Masters, so Matthew Fitzpatrick's playoff victory in Switzerland hurls him up to the top of both qualification leaderboards (European Points & World Points). The fact that Fitzpatrick's playoff rival was Australian Scott Hend bodes even better for the Englishman, as he now holds a very comfortable early lead in the Eurppean Points rankings. Another Englishman, Lee Slattery, finished the Czech Masters as the best European, having finished runner-up to South Africa's Haydn Porteous. Slattery followed this up with a sixth-place finish at the European Masters, making him Fitzpatrick's nearest rival on the European Points leaderboard. Tyrell Hatton makes it an all-English top three on the European Points list, having finished third at the Swiss event with an impressive -11. Tom Lewis is perhaps the most surprising English name at the top end of the leaderboard, just outside the crucial top four on the European Points list (Finland's Mikko Ilonen occupies fourth spot), but currently in line to make the team (albeit at a VERY early stage) through the World Points rankings.
Jon Rahm's decision to join the European Tour in an attempt to make the team is showing early signs of being a smart move. His T4 at the PGA Tour's Dell Technologies Championship sits him in third on the World Points list but, since the top two- Fitzpatrick & Slattery- already qualify through European Points, Rahm is in pole position so far. Joining Rahm & Lewis in the World Points qualifying spots are Sweden's Oscar Lengden and Iceland's Birgir Hafthorsson. Lengden is not the only Swede sitting pretty, with Pontus Widegren holding seventh and ninth in the European & World Points respectively. Alex Noren, meanwhile, has already begun his quest to avenge his disappointment in missing out on the 2016 team at Hazeltine, with his -9 securing T6 at the European Masters and sixth-place in the current European Points standings.
Callum Shinkwin entered the qualification process as a hot tip to qualify, but is yet to deliver despite a fantastic opening round at the Czech Masters. On the other hand, Rafa Cabrera Bello, who impressed at the last Ryder Cup, appears to be finding his feet again at the right time. His T18 at the Dell Technologies Championship didn't hog the headlines, but I have a feeling he's on the right path. Having won his first tournament since 2012 at this year's Scottish Open, Cabrera Bello has every chance to kick on and make the team for the second time in a row.
There's a hell of a long way to go, but it's always nice to get an idea of who's looking good and who has work to do. How many players will retain their spot? Which young guns will make the breakthrough? We'll keep you updated at Foremost Golf.
Written by Joe Carabini
