The final spot on the European Points List will come down to six players in the final qualifying event this week..
After finishing in a six-way tie for fourth place at the D+D REAL Czech Masters, Robert MacIntyre will retain a slender lead in the European Points List heading into the final week of Ryder Cup Qualifying after narrowly increasing his lead over closest challenger Yannik Paul.
The Scot birdied his final hole to finish his week on 17 under par, gaining 85.42 points in the Czech Republic to increase his total on the European Points List to 1828.99.
His top five at Albatross Golf Resort also helped to increase his advantage over Paul, who began his week just 90.67 points behind MacIntyre and finished one behind him in tenth place on 16 under par. It means Paul gained 50 points to up his tally to 1702.9, which leaves him 126.09 points adrift of the man who displaced him in the automatic spot with one week to go.
MacIntyre and Paul are two of six players in this week’s field that can end the week in Luke Donald’s European Ryder Cup team. They all have necessary scenarios to make that happen, but Adrian Meronk, Victor Perez, Rasmus Højgaard and Adrian Otaegui all have a mathematical chance of claiming that third and final place.
They will all tee up at Crans-sur-Sierre on Thursday knowing that the fate of their Ryder Cup place is in their hands, whether that is doing enough to qualify, or enough to impress Captain Luke Donald in the last event of the qualifying period.
Tommy Fleetwood, who is currently occupying the third spot on the World's Points List, could have also qualified with a win but is not competing in Switzerland this week.
Scenarios: What each player needs to do to earn the final spot
· MacIntyre could still be caught even if he finishes second, so needs to win to absolutely guarantee his place, but only a top-three finish from fellow contenders will threaten his position.
· Paul will qualify if he wins. He would need to finish at least tied for third with two others, or better, to have a chance.
· Meronk needs to finish in a tie for second with just one player or better to have a chance
· Perez needs to finish in second place alone, or to win to have a chance
· R Højgaard needs to win to have a chance
· Otaegui needs to win to have a chance
Points List Breakdown
European Points List: Current Standings
| Player | Points |
|---|---|
| Rory McIlroy (Q) | 4033.5 |
| Jon Rahm (Q) | 3417.23 |
| Robert MacIntyre | 1828.99 |
| Yannik Paul | 1702.9 |
| Adrian Meronk | 1620.59 |
| Victor Perez | 1571.03 |
| Tommy Fleetwood | 1534.37 |
| Rasmus Hojgaard | 1531.86 |
| Adrian Otaegui | 1435.51 |
| Shane Lowry | 1290.23 |
Breakdown of points awarded to the top ten places on the leaderboard at the Omega European Masters
| Position | Points |
|---|---|
| 1 | 415 |
| 2 | 278 |
| 3 | 157 |
| 4 | 125 |
| 5 | 106 |
| 6 | 87.5 |
| 7 | 75 |
| 8 | 63 |
| 9 | 56 |
| 10 | 50 |
What about the World Points List?
After Tyrrell Hatton confirmed himself as the second player to qualify on the World Points List behind Viktor Hovland, one place remains - and it's in the hands of World Number Eight Matt Fitzpatrick.
Fitzpatrick, who became the first person since Seve Ballesteros to defend the title here when he won in 2017 and 2018, has the opportunity to dislodge Tommy Fleetwood on the World Points List is in his hands.
As it stands, the pair are separated by just 3.82 points following the PGA Tour's Tour Championship last week, where Fleetwood finished in a tie for sixth and Fitzpatrick in a tie for ninth.
And with the current World Points breakdown set for this week's event, Matt Fitpatrick currently needs to finish tied 7th with one other player or better at the Omega European Masters to take the final place in Donald's team.
Notable Tee Times
08.10am (hole 10): Nicolas Colsaerts, Edoardo Molinari, Ludvig Aberg
08.40am (hole 10): Robert MacIntyre, Yannik Paul, Adrian Meronk
13.20pm (hole 1): Adrian Otaegui, Victor Perez, Rasmus Hojgaard,
13.30pm (hole 1): Matt Fitzpatrick, Matt Wallace, Nicolai Hojgaard
