Shane Lowry has fallen out of the automatic spots to make the European Ryder Cup team and will now rely on a pick.
The Irish star had held the final automatic qualifying spot for next month’s showpiece tournament in New York, but with no Ryder Cup points at stake at this weekend’s TOUR Championship, Lowry has been overtaken by Rasmus Hojgaard.
A top-30 finish for Hojgaard at the British Masters would have been enough to snatch the sixth and final automatic spot.
And the Dane, who has finished 16th and 3rd in the last two British Masters events, secured a T13 finish to take the last guaranteed place on Luke Donald’s team.
Lowry will be ruing disappointing results at both the St. Jude Championship and last week’s BMW Championship leaving just 13.6 points between him and Hojgaard.
He is also without a top 10 finish on the PGA Tour since May.
But with no points on offer for Lowry at East Lake this weekend, Hojgaard knew automatic qualification was within his grasp.
His twin brother Nicolai played at the last Ryrder Cup in Rome and now Rasmus has done enough to confirm his place.
After a stressful final day at the Belfry, Hojgaard said: “I don’t know what to feel right now.
“I’ve been so stressed out on the course today. But I’m over the moon right now.
“I knew every bogey out there was very costly. I was well aware of the situation.
“There were a couple of times out there where I really had to calm myself down and not let it spin out of control.”
talkSPORT.com's Ryder Cup team predictions
Team USA
Automatic qualifiers
- Scottie Scheffler (Qualification confirmed)
- JJ Spaun (Qualification confirmed)
- Xander Schauffele (Qualification confirmed)
- Russell Henley (Qualification confirmed)
- Bryson DeChambeau (Qualification confirmed)
- Harris English (Qualification confirmed)
Captain’s picks
- Justin Thomas
- Collin Morikawa
- Keegan Bradley (player captain)
- Ben Griffin
- Patrick Cantlay
- Cameron Young
Team Europe
Automatic qualifiers
- Rory McIlroy (Qualification confirmed)
- Justin Rose (Qualification confirmed)
- Tommy Fleetwood (Qualification confirmed)
- Robert MacIntyre (Qualification confirmed)
- Tyrrell Hatton (Qualification confirmed)
- Rasmus Hojgaard
Captain’s picks
- Shane Lowry
- Jon Rahm
- Viktor Hovland
- Ludvig Aberg
- Matt Fitzpatrick
- Sepp Straka
Lowry will now need to be picked by Team Europe captain Luke Donald.
The 2019 Open Champion was the beneficiary of a captain’s pick two years ago and early suggestions point in his favour once again with Donald likely to opt for the Irishman when he announces his six wildcards on September 1.
Team Europe has a similar feel to that of two years ago with Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, Tommy Fleetwood, Robert MacIntyre, and Tyrrell Hatton having already qualified automatically.
The six picks are expected to go to Lowry, Sepp Straka, Ludvig Aberg, Viktor Hovland, Matt Fitzpatrick, and Jon Rahm.
It means the only change from Rome would be Rasmus Hojgaard replacing his twin brother Nicolai.
Lowry fires warning to Team USA
With Lowry likely to be involved at Bethpage Black either way, he has warned his American counterparts that Team Europe will be primed and ready to defend their title and deal with any hostile reception they receive.
“I think, if you’re prepared for something, you’ll deal with it okay. When something happens and you’re not prepared for it, that’s when it gets hard,” Lowry said.
“We’ll be prepared. Luke Donald will prepare his team very well, and we’ll be ready to go,”
Meanwhile, Team USA’s six spots were confirmed after Scottie Scheffler’s win in the BMW Championship.
Keegan Bradley’s team will consist of world number one Scheffler, US Open champion JJ Spaun, Xander Schauffele, Russell Henley, Harris English, and Bryson DeChambeau.
Justin Thomas, Patrick Cantlay, Collin Morikawa, Ben Griffin, and Sam Burns are in the mix as wildcards while Bradley could still pick himself in a wildcard berth.