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The European Tour heads to Prague for The D+D Real Czech Masters, whilst the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup playoffs kick off with The Northern Trust. With Team Europe hopefuls competing on both sides of the pond, let’s take a look at some of the ones to watch.
Rafa Cabrera Bello – The Northern Trust
Currently the nearest challenger to Thorbjorn Olesen on the World Points list. Olesen snuck into the automatic spots ahead of Ian Poulter with a 4th place finish in last week’s Nordea Masters, but that far from guarantees his position on the team. The Dane isn’t competing at all this week so Cabrera Bello has a genuine opportunity.
He went undefeated on his 2016 debut alongside Sergio Garcia, so his qualification could also work in Sergio’s favour. I’m predicting a Top-20 then a trip to Denmark next week. He’ll be in Paris.
Russell Knox – The Northern Trust
It’s been a solid year; starting with a T10 at the Sony Open in Hawaii followed by six Top-20 finishes including a T12 at the U.S. Open before going T2-1 at the Open De France and Irish Open.
He’s chasing Tommy Fleetwood on the European Points list, which is a big ask. A strong finish may just convince Thomas Bjorn to hand him a Captain’s Pick, but he wouldn’t get mine. However, that’s more a comment on the strength of the competition because he’s a great player.
Thomas Pieters – D+D Real Czech Masters
Form-horse or team legend? That’s always a question surrounding Ryder Cup teams. Pieters finished the 2016 qualification campaign with a runner-up in this event and a win in the Made in Denmark finale. That earned him a Pick, which proved a worthy one as he impressed on his debut.
Despite opening with a T5 in Abu Dhabi, it was looking a fairly lacklustre 2018 for the Belgian before T6 finishes at the Scottish Open and the PGA Championship got chins wagging about the possibility of a 2016-esque finish. Perhaps not to the 2016 level, but I think he’ll finish high in both events and sneak in.
Eddie Pepperell – D+D Real Czech Masters
He may have won the Qatar Masters in February, but the Englishman was still rarely in the Team Europe conversation until his runner-up at the Scottish Open. Even then, he was a major outsider. Speaking of majors, a hangover-ridden Pepperell shot 4-under on Sunday at Carnoustie for a -5 T6 at The Open. Suddenly he’s right in the mix.
This situation epitomises the brilliance of the qualification system. Pepperell needs to win in Prague. Success under that pressure proves he has what it takes and failure proves he doesn’t. The perfect way to find the perfect player.
The Others
Poulter will be on the team in one way or another, but Bjorn would obviously rather not burn a Pick unnecessarily. Paul Casey doesn’t cut it for me. We’ve seen Poulter, Pieters, Knox, Cabrera Bello and countless other Europeans up their game under immense pressure, but not Casey. Bjorn, I hope, will pick an aggressive team and Casey doesn’t fit that bill. Automatic qualification is still likely for him though. Stenson has pulled out of The Northern Trust with an elbow injury so he will join Sergio in relying on a Pick. I would take Stenson but I’m split on Sergio.
Written by Joe Carabini
