Credit: @RyderCupEurope - Official Team Europe Twitter account

Along Came Moli

At The 147th Open, Francesco Molinari became the first Italian ever to win a golf major. He also became the first European to win a golf major... Or at least that's what it felt like. Whilst the Star-Spangled Banner was still a regular fixture on the Major Winners List, golf's biggest stages had a more open-mic feel about them after Tiger's last major at the 2008 U.S. Open. No one person could replace a 14-time major champion, but a whole host of Stateside Superstars could. Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Brooks Koepka, Patrick Reed and so on and so on. The States' stranglehold was back. Five majors in a row threatened to become seven before the 2018 Ryder Cup. But along came Moli.

Current Qualifiers

We all know Tour results don't dictate Ryder Cup results, but they do decide the majority of the players involved. Molinari's incredible form sees him top the charts, whilst Justin Rose and Tommy Fleetwood have also found form recently. Tyrrell Hatton's strong showings at the U.S. Open (T6) and WGC-Mexico (T3) have paid dividends, whilst Jon Rahm has two wins, a runner-up and four more Top-10 finishes already in 2018. Whilst Alex Noren has been sporadic, he doesn't mess around when he's in contention. His five Top-10s in 2018 have all been inside the Top-3: 1st, 2nd & 3rd three times. Rory McIlroy's T2 at The Open fuelled a lot of excitement and he appears to be going from strength to strength. Five Top-3 finishes in 2018, including a win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, and Rory is on course to peak at exactly the right time for Team Europe.

Lastly, we have Paul Casey. Mr. Consistent won his first title since 2014 at the Valspar Championship this year but, truth be told, he hasn't set the world alight. He's ground out solid result after solid result, but I for one am not convinced that's enough against this incredibly strong American contingent. His nearest competitor on the World Points List is Matthew Fitzpatrick, who accepted Special Temporary Membership to the PGA Tour in June and with WGC-Bridgestone and the PGA Championship round the corner I think Fitzpatrick and Casey will be in a straight shootout for points.

American Opposition

I mentioned an incredibly strong American contingent. By that I mean the aforementioned superstars of DJ, Spieth, JT & Co. Seeing Tiger Woods back at the top of the leaderboard at a major was exciting, but also more than a touch concerning for Team Europe. He's not a million miles off the automatic qualification spots for Team USA but whether he makes it or not you can bet your bottom dollar you'll see him at the Ryder Cup in one form or another. The tag of Playing Vice-Captain is rumoured to be fairly likely. You've got legends like Phil Mickelson and Matt Kuchar, 2017 Rookie of the Year Xander Schauffele and rising star Bryson DeChambeau currently not making the cut.

Koepka's successful U.S. Open defence sees him top the standings above World No. 1 Dustin Johnson and Masters Champ Patrick Reed. Thomas is fourth, ahead of Bubba Watson, who has won three times already in 2018, and his pals Jordan Spieth & Rickie Fowler. Webb Simpson slipped into the final spot above DeChambeau with a T12 at The Open.

They look a formidable force, but all of a sudden Thomas Bjorn's individual players look a lot more competitive. With names like Sergio Garcia, Henrik Stenson and match-play master Ian Poulter tipped for wildcard spots, European golf looks a right sight better than it did merely months earlier.

Credit: @RyderCupEurope - Official Team Europe Twitter account

Come on Europe!

Written by Joe Carabini

joe.carabini@foremostgolf.com