It was the final hole at the Sedgefield Country Club. Aaron Rai slowly but steadily made the shot for birdie from a distance of 8 feet. The ball went in. Cheers erupted. The Englishman won the final Regular event of the 2024 PGA Tour calendar. But little did he know, that the birdie putt would significantly increase his hopes for a spot on the European team at the 2025 Ryder Cup while cementing his playoff spot.

The golfer is currently placed at the 25th spot on the 2024 FedEx Cup Standings. Interestingly, Rai has managed to score a total of 1,380.664 points from the 21 starts he made this season. He did so owing to the 6 top-10 finishes he raked in including a T2 finish at the Rocket Mortgage Classic and the recent win.

As a result, the athlete has earned a spot in the field for the upcoming FedEx St. Jude Championship that is set to take place at the TPC Southwind in Memphis. His Wyndham Championship victory helped him jump as much as 28 spots into the top 30 thereby increasing his chances to tee off at the BMW Championship and the TOUR Championship as well.

Rai’s recent win at Sedgefield came as a result of the 18 birdies and 2 eagles he carded over the four rounds, alongside the 4 bogeys. This helped him register an overall figure of 18-under 262 through scores of 65-65-68-64. This would also increase his ranking on the OWGR, courtesy of the 50.25461 points that the golfer will be awarded because of his triumph.

That’s not all. The English athlete’s Wyndham Championship win has also helped him increase his chances for a Ryder Cup spot. How is that possible? Well, the European team for the biennial event had recently announced a major change to its automatic qualification system for the upcoming edition set to take place at Bethpage.

How did Aaron Rai’s Ryder Cup hopes increase?

Per the new changes, the team will award varying points to golfers who win different events on the PGA Tour, the DP World Tour, and the major championships. Interestingly, Rai will be given a whopping 2,000 points for winning a PGA Tour regular event making him one of the top picks at the moment for the same. The golfer will have to keep himself in top form and rake in good finishes if he is to maintain the current hopes.

Aside from awarding points for the regular events, the European Team will also offer a figure for major championships (5000 points), 2025 PGA Tour signature and playoff events + Players (3,000), DP World Tour Rolex series (2,000), DP World Tour “back 9” events (1,500), DP World Tour global events (1,000), and PGA Tour opposite events (1,000).

Anyhow, the golfer sure was able to turn many heads with his scintillating performance at the Sedgefield Country Club. He would surely be hoping for him to replicate the same and continue his momentum in the upcoming playoffs in Memphis. But will he be able to do it? His fans can only wait and watch!