Despite Losing a Phenomenal Lead, Matt Fitzpatrick Has the Final Laugh Against the $457,916 Champ and Lives Out His Patriotic Dreams

The Ryder Cup is less than a month away and the golf world is eagerly awaiting to see who will make up the rest of the European team as they get ready to face off against the USA. While the team has already been set for America, the first six slots for the former were confirmed recently. Joining the team is none other than Matt Fitzpatrick as he automatically qualified to become a part of the prestigious tournament.

The golfer joined the team after a series of commendable performances throughout the year as he went ahead to get automatically selected to the team. Nevertheless, his selection came as a surprise as he pushed past another DP World Tour pro who registered his first win not too long ago.

Matt Fitzpatrick joins the European team for the Ryder Cup

The prestigious event is on the horizon and fans have been eagerly awaiting the same as the top six golfers made it to the European team. The automatic qualification consists of golfers who are in the top three as per the European ranking followed by the next three on the Official World Golf Ranking. Fitzpatrick was selected on the basis of his placement in the OWGR.

The English golfer had a bumpy year of sorts with seven top-10 finishes, with the recent one coming in the Omega European Masters boasting a prize pool of $2.5 million. While he had to finish 7th or better to make it to the Ryder Cup team, the Englishman managed a T3 finish with a score of 16-under 264, taking home $296,316 and placing him at the 8th position in the world rankings.

Meanwhile, Ludvig Aberg clinched his maiden victory with a 261 (-19) finish and a $457,967 winners cut.

Among his finishes, Fitzpatrick managed to emerge victorious in the 2023 RBC Heritage with a score of 267 (-17) while claiming his next-best finish in 2023 at the BMW Championship, where he was the runner-up. Moreover, the 29-year-old became the third person to live out his patriotic dream by getting selected via the World Points followed by Viktor Hovland and Tyrrell Hatton.

The conclusion of the events on the DP World Tour and PGA Tour confirmed the list of automatic qualifiers to the team. The roster includes the likes of Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, and Robert MacIntyre who qualified through the European points as opposed to the other three who made it via OWGR. The focus now turns to the captain’s pick for the team.

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The probable list of golfers in the captain’s pick

The remaining six slots for the European squad would be filled by the captain’s list of wild cards and the responsibility would fall on the skipper, Luke Donald, as he looks onto the field of golfers. With LIV golfers including  Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood, and Henrik Stensonbarred from the prestigious tournament due to their resignation, the captain’s focus will naturally fall on players like Tommy Fleetwood, Yannik Paul and the Polish golfer Adrian Meronk.

Moreover, other golfers including Victor Perez, Adrian Otaegui, Rasmus Hojgaard, and Shane Lowry, among others, might get a chance to play at the prestigious event as probable skipper’s picks. Who else do you think can make the team? Let us know in the comments below.

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