European Ryder Cup qualification process

The European Ryder Cup qualification process for 2020 has changed slightly from previous editions. Let’s take a look at how…

Whistling Straits will play host from September 25-27, 2020, where captain Padraig Harrington and his team will be looking to retain the Samuel Ryder trophy.

Europe’s top stars will all be aiming for a precious automatic place in that side over the next 12 months. The European Ryder Cup qualification process started at the 2019 BMW PGA Championship and will end at the same event in 2020.

The 12 players will have three chances to earn a seat on the plane to Wisconsin…

• Related: Team Europe standings

European Ryder Cup qualification process

1. European Points List

Players will earn two types of points over the next year. The first category is European Points.

A player’s European Points total is the total number of Race to Dubai points they win during the qualification period, both this season and next. These include all points earned at any Race to Dubai counting event on the European Tour.

For instance, Danny Willett earned 1,165.00 European Points for winning at Wentworth in the first event, while Rory McIlroy earned 148.05 points for his T9 finish.

However, as the qualification period comes to a close next year, all points earned after a specified event will be multiplied by 1.5. The event where this multiplier comes into effect is yet to be announced.

There are four automatic spots on the team available through the European Points list.

2. World Points List

The other type of points players can earn are World Points.

World Points are the total number of world ranking points that a player earns during the qualification period.

For instance, Danny Willett earned 64.00 World Points for his BMW PGA Championship title, while Rory McIlroy earned 9.28.

Points earned at every event across the world are included in this list with the exception of events falling under the same week as a Rolex Series event. The Houston Open on the PGA Tour in October is one such event, taking place at the same time as the Italian Open and therefore offering no World Points to European players.

Additionally, the 1.5 multiplier of European Points will also apply to World Points later on in the qualification process.

The first five players on the World Points list not otherwise qualified via the European Points list will make the team.

3. Captain’s picks

Players who don’t qualify automatically will have one last chance to make the team via a captain’s pick.

European captain Padraig Harrington will make three selections September 2020 to complete the team he will take to Wisconsin to face the USA.

Harrington decided to cut down the four picks that had been preferred by previous captains, because he felt the player next in line was more often than not deserving of a spot in the team.

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