The first steps on the road to the 2027 Ryder Cup will be taken this week as qualification begins at the Husqvarna British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo.
Across their victories in 2023 and 2025, Europe used just 13 players, with Rasmus Højgaard replacing twin brother Nicolai in the only change from Rome to Bethpage.
With most of Luke Donald's stars still being in what could be considered their peak years, continuity could once again be the name of the game, but if not there are a host of hungry young stars eyeing a debut.
Here, we take a look at some of the players in this week's field at The Belfry Hotel & Resort who will be hoping to catch the captain's eye.
Angel Ayora
Nation: Spain
Age: 21
In just 61 DP World Tour starts, the youngster has shown a level of conistency that would be the envy of a 20-season veteran. He has racked up 16 top tens, missing just 15 cuts, and finished 20th on the Race to Dubai Rankings Delivered by DP World in his rookie campaign last year, just missing out on dual membership with the PGA TOUR. He also possesses one of the most talked about swings in the game, an action that is often compared to that of career Grand Slam winner Rory McIlroy. You would imagine he would need a win to turn his Ryder Cup dream into reality, with Oliver Wilson the last European to make the Ryder Cup team without a DP World Tour win in 2008. But the 2024 HotelPlanner Tour graduate has some Ryder Cup heritage, being managed by Javier Ballesteros, son of the late great Seve, whose silhouette he wears on his clothes.
Eugenio Chacarra
Nation: Spain
Age: 26
Another Spanish star, Chacarra already has three wins from just two full seasons on the DP World Tour. Ever confident, he has never been afraid to say that when his game is on he believes he can challenge the best in the world and he is starting to produce the results to prove it. His 2025 win at the Hero Indian Open may have shown that he can thrive on tough tracks but he would produce just one more top ten across the season. This campaign has been a different story, with him registering two top threes and a top ten before claiming back-to-back wins in the Nertherlands and Italy. Now flying high on the Race to Dubai Rankings Delievered by DP World and firmly ensconced in the top 100 on the Official World Golf Ranking, the next step in his career could be the clash against the United States.
Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen
Nation: Denmark
Age: 27
In just over two years, Neergaard-Petersen has enjoyed a rapid rise through the game that will have caught the eye of more people than Donald. Three wins in six months on the HotelPlanner Tour in 2024 earned him instant graduation to the DP World Tour where he finished 105th on the Rankings while simultaneously winning the Road to Mallorca. The following season saw him record a runner-up finish and six top tens before he went out in the final group alongside Rory McIlroy at the DP World Tour Championship, finishing one shot out of a play-off and catapulting himself to dual membership with the PGA TOUR in the process. He enjoyed a dream start to the 2026 season as he won the Crown Australian Open and after recording a best Major finish of ninth at The Open, his career trajectory continues to head in the right direction.
Marco Penge
Nation: England
Age: 28
Penge played a EuroPro Tour event as recently as 2021 but has enjoyed five transformational years that have seen him develop into a truly international player. After topping the Road to Mallorca Rankings in 2023, he had to birdie the 18th to make the cut at the 2024 Genesis Championship to have any chance of keeping his card and has gone on to take full advantage of the opportunity he earned. Last season he won the Hainan Classic, Danish Golf Championship and Open de España presented by Madrid to take the Race to Dubai to the last event of the season, eventually finishing second to Rory McIlroy. His 2026 campaign has been plagued by ill health but he made the cut on his Masters debut and after finishing 14th on the qualification list for 2025, a fully fit Penge could get himself in the mix again.
