Europe’s six automatic qualifiers for the 2023 Ryder Cup are set, with Matt Fitzpatrick and Robert MacIntyre securing the final two spots on Sunday.
They join Tyrrell Hatton, Viktor Hovland, Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm as the first players in for Team Europe and captain Luke Donald.
The Ryder Cup will be contested Sept. 29-Oct. 1 at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club near Rome. The United States is the defending champion but has not won in Europe since 1993.
Fitzpatrick qualified via the world points list after his third-place finish Sunday in the Omega European Masters in Switzerland. MacIntyre went the route of the European points list and qualified despite a 55th-place finish.
Fitzpatrick, an Englishman who won the 2022 U.S. Open, will be making his first Ryder Cup appearance on European soil. He played in the United States in 2016 and 2021.
MacIntyre, from Scotland, is a Ryder Cup rookie.
“There are many major milestones in every Ryder Cup journey but there is no question that finalizing the automatic qualifiers for Team Europe is most definitely one of them,” Donald said.
“These six players have been standout performers throughout the qualification period and I am delighted to welcome each and every one of them officially to the 2023 team.”
The team is led by Northern Ireland’s McIlroy, the World No. 2 who will be making his seventh straight Ryder Cup appearance. Rahm, the World No. 3 from Spain, won the Masters Tournament this year and is a veteran of two World Cup teams.
Hovland, the FedEx Cup champion, became the first Norwegian to play in the Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits, Wis., in 2021. Hatton will be making his third straight Ryder Cup appearance.
Donald is scheduled to announce his six captain’s picks Monday morning.
U.S. captain Zach Johnson unveiled his six captain’s picks earlier this week.
The team he takes to Italy consists of the automatic qualfiers — World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, Wyndham Clark, Brian Harman, Patrick Cantlay, Max Homa and Xander Schauffele — plus his picks. They are Sam Burns, Rickie Fowler, Brooks Koepka, Collin Morikawa, Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas.
–Field Level Media