Predicting who plays in a Ryder Cup used to be hard before Luke Donald came along.
After a stellar playing career for Team Europe, Donald took the reins as Ryder Cup captain in 2023, somewhat fortuitously after Henrik Stenson was ousted for moving to LIV Golf.
Some things happen for a reason, and whatever the reason was, Team Europe will always be grateful. After suffering a thrashing in America in 2021, Donald turned the tide to bring the famous trophy back to the continent with a convincing win at Marco Simone in Rome.
The blue and gold team then kept the trophy in 2025 when winning at Bethpage in ferocious and ugly conditions, winning an away Ryder Cup for the first time since 2012.
On both occasions, Donald had a 12-man team that was very nearly unchanged. The surnames were literally unchanged, with Rasmus Hojgaard replacing his brother Nicolai in 2025.
So, the other 11 players at the 2023 and 2025 Ryder Cups have been: Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose, Tyrrell Hatton, Sepp Straka, Bob MacIntyre, Ludvig Aberg, Viktor Hovland, Shane Lowry and Matt Fitzpatrick.
Whether we like it or not, and whether you believe other hopefuls shouldn’t be left waiting in the wings year after year, it has led to success.
The next Ryder Cup is a year away, and Europe will be favourites to beat Team USA for the third time in a row at Adare Manor in Ireland.
Will the same team compete once more, or will we see more variation? Does Donald fear breaking up this most magical circle, or is he prepared to look further afield?
Predicting Europe’s 2027 Ryder Cup team
Rory McIlroy
I am not foreseeing variation here. This is Donald’s third spin as captain, and possibly his last if we are to assume Justin Rose might step to the plate in 2029.
Rory McIlroy is obviously going to play, barring injury. He won his sixth major in 2026, and it is the majors and this biennial match play battle with America that he gets out of bed for, in golf terms anyway.
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Jon Rahm
Jon Rahm was a key player in Europe’s victory on Long Island last year. After some haggling with the DP World Tour (DPWT) over fines and suspensions for playing in conflicting LIV Golf events, sanctions he had appealed against to be eligible to play in 2025, the Spaniard and the tour finally settled.
He paid his fines, agreed to a quota of events to play in this season, and he could be an active member again.
With LIV Golf bankrupt and facing an uncertain future, it’s reported that the DPWT will not hand out conditional releases for LIV/DPWT members next season, as it has offered to Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton and others this time around.
That means Rahm must either leave LIV, or stay and incur more sanctions with the DPWT and plunge his Ryder Cup future into jeopardy again. LIV’s bankruptcy could open his exit door.
Tommy Fleetwood
Tommy Fleetwood won on the PGA Tour for the first time in 2025, shortly before performing remarkably for Europe at the Ryder Cup in the USA, again. His record in the last four Ryder Cups is brilliant, and his partnership with McIlroy is too.
There are some players for whom only injury can rule them out, and this is another one of them. Fleetwood will be playing in Limerick next autumn.
Justin Rose
This selection did require some thought, as there will come a time when Justin Rose’s playing career at the Ryder Cup will be over. I don’t think we can say that is now, though, even 12 months out.
He won on the PGA Tour earlier this year, which is more than some active Ryder Cup candidates could say, and he also won last year and in 2023. The Englishman will be 47 at the next Ryder Cup, but as far as Europe’s team room is concerned, players have performed to remarkable levels even when approaching 50.
A little like McIlroy, he now lives for the majors and the Ryder Cup. He is not about to allow age to bring his time in this tournament to an end, especially when he is still on the cusp of the top 10 in the world rankings.
Tyrrell Hatton
This fiery Englishman will have a decision to make, like his LIV Golf teammate Rahm. They both have years left on their LIV contracts, but as LIV enters bankruptcy, there could be a way out.
Since his debut in 2018 in France, Hatton has been talismanic for Team Europe. He and Rahm haven’t lost a pairs match together yet, and he is unquestionably one of the best players in the world. Presumably a route will be taken whereby both he and Rahm can play for Europe, whatever that may be.
Bob MacIntyre
I left Bob MacIntyre out in predicting the 2025 European team. That was a mistake, and I think it would be a mistake to do that again. MacIntyre found the reason why he plays golf when he made his European debut in 2023, and his passion complemented his quality in making the 2025 team, too.
He’s settled into life on the PGA Tour after some early concerns, and he made the Tour Championship again in 2026, meaning he is still one of the most consistent players in world golf. He has qualified automatically for both of his Ryder Cup appearances, and as long as he maintains his form into 2027, I can’t see Donald leaving him out.
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Ludvig Aberg
Are doubts beginning to surround Ludvig Aberg? Straight out of college, he was chosen to play for Europe in Italy in 2023 and formed a great partnership with Viktor Hovland. He won the Omega European Masters around that time and the RSM Classic.
He won the Genesis Invitational at the start of the 2025 season, and he has a great Masters record after only three starts at the tournament. But it feels like a while since Aberg last excited us, and many thought he might have won a major by now. Perhaps he is just a victim of expectation.
He almost certainly will hoist one of golf’s big four trophies, but is there a lack of bite in his game? The Swede will be in Donald’s team next year, but European fans might want to see some promise before the balls are in the air.
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Viktor Hovland
You could argue that Viktor Hovland is not nailed on to be in this European team, but it is ever so difficult to see him out of it. He beat Scottie Scheffler in a playoff at the Travelers Championship in 2026, so even in a year of relative anonymity in the majors, he still picked up a PGA Tour trophy.
His form is erratic. He made nine top-25s in 19 events in the US this year, but he missed three major cuts. The Norwegian is a solid-enough prospect to keep his place for Europe, and he is versatile in terms of who he can pair up with, be it Aberg, Hatton or MacIntyre.
Shane Lowry
Since his Team Europe debut in 2021, Shane Lowry has lived and breathed this tournament. He’s been a captain’s pick on all three occasions, but Lowry is an important cog in the current European machine. He is extremely passionate and determined, and a good partner for McIlroy.
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As the Ryder Cup is in Ireland next time out, I cannot see Lowry being left out if he is on the periphery of the team again, and that’s if he doesn’t automatically qualify. He is very close friends with Donald, not that that might matter, but the 2019 Open champion has played an integral role in this period of the European Ryder Cup dynasty.
Surely only a really bad season would take him away from that.
Matt Fitzpatrick
I was one of the few who doubted Matt Fitzpatrick’s form at the end of last season heading into the 2025 Ryder Cup. But he stepped on the gas when it mattered most. He missed out on the Tour Championship, but he finished in the top 10 at the British Masters, the Omega European Masters and at Wentworth.
He got a vital half with Bryson DeChambeau in the Sunday singles to help Europe win in tense fashion, and he went on to win three times in the 2026 PGA Tour season. The man from Sheffield is too good not to play for a fifth time in 2027.
Sepp Straka
I am naming Sepp Straka on the team, which means there will be just one different player again. Some European fans would argue that Straka is the lowest-profile player on the team, and would therefore be vulnerable to being replaced.
But he has formed great partnerships with Shane Lowry and Jon Rahm in both appearances under Donald’s stewardship. He appears to be a popular figure in the team room. He is a proven winner on the PGA Tour, and last year, he performed for Europe, having withdrawn from tournaments before the event to be with his prematurely born child.
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In Ryder Cup years, Straka turns it on, and I see no reason why he won’t do that again in 2027.
Who will take the only open spot?
Although the Hojgaard twins have performed valiantly in each of their Ryder Cup appearances, they combined for half a point in five matches.
Most Ryder Cup teams have had this profile of player – they can’t all get five points each – but I do think this spot is up for grabs, and the only one up for grabs.
I wanted to note that I did actually write this a week or so before a group of European players had a practice trip to Adare Manor before the BMW PGA Championship, and three of the players below attended.
Here are four players I believe are in contention for the final spot:
Alex Fitzpatrick
Alex Fitzpatrick is a really interesting one. He came of age in 2026 and reached the Tour Championship for the first time in his career. He won the Zurich Classic of New Orleans with his brother Matt, and is no longer just known as the little brother.
Alongside this, he finished in the top 10 at the Cadillac Championship, the Memorial, the Travelers and the Truist, and also tied for fourth at the season’s finale. If he continues this form in 2027, the prospect of a Fitzpatrick pairing at Adare Manor, and everything that could bring to the team room, would surely be irresistible to Donald.
Kristoffer Reitan
Kristoffer Reitan could add more Scandinavian class to Team Europe, with Hovland and Aberg. He won the Truist Championship in 2026, so he is exempt on the PGA Tour through 2028. That gives him access to PGA Tour events, which carry the most Ryder Cup points.
He has progressed from the DP World Tour and cracked America, and he also played in the 2016 Junior Ryder Cup. He will be one to watch.
Eugenio Chacarra
Eugenio Chacarra certainly appears to have a point to prove. After turning professional and moving to LIV Golf, Chacarra left in 2024 to set his sights on the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour. He is mixing it with McIlroy and Patrick Reed at the top of the Race to Dubai standings, and is in line to get a PGA Tour card in 2027.
The majors, Signature Events and general PGA Tour stops are where you can earn the most Ryder Cup points, so Chacarra will certainly be on Donald’s radar if he can crack America like Reitan.
Aaron Rai
Aaron Rai discussed the prospect of attending the Adare Manor trip with Donald at The Open Championship in July, but decided not to go. Rai revealed he’d committed to a friend’s wedding, and travel complications made it too difficult.
Rai became the first Englishman since ‘Long’ Jim Barnes to win the PGA Championship in 2026. Rai has won on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour in recent years, but his form runs haven’t quite coincided with a Ryder Cup campaign. Now that he is a major champion, Donald will be taking a keen look.
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