Europe’s Ryder Cup hopefuls are entering “the two biggest weeks left before qualification ends” for the biennial match against the United States, says captain Luke Donald.
This week’s Scottish Open at the Renaissance Club near Edinburgh is followed by the Open Championship at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland.
And Donald, who led Europe to a 16½-11½ victory in Rome two years ago, is counting on his key players to step up this month.
“These are big weeks against the strongest fields so you want to see the top guys play well,” Donald told BBC Scotland.
“There are some guys that have pretty much staked a claim for their place in the team but there are a few spots definitely open and these weeks are big for those guys.”
Rory McIlroy is the only player to have mathematically guaranteed his spot in the 12-strong team that will face the US at Bethpage Black in New York in September.
English pair Tommy Fleetwood and Tyrrell Hatton are in second and third on the list, external with qualifying ending after the British Masters on 24 August – the US qualifying period ends on 17 August after the PGA Tour’s BMW Championship.
The top six make the team with Donald picking the six others, while the US team will be selected in a similar way by their skipper Keegan Bradley.
Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre is currently fourth on the European list and has really kicked on from making his Ryder Cup debut in 2023, where he was unbeaten, winning two-and-a-half points out of three.
The 28-year-old from Oban followed victory at last year’s Canadian Open by winning the Scottish Open, which is co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour and PGA Tour.
“It helped him really grow as a golfer and gave him the belief that he could perform with the very best,” said Donald of MacIntyre’s Ryder Cup experience.
And the Englishman added that he has been “very impressed” by the way MacIntyre has “adapted his game to the US”.
The world number 14 has made 15 cuts from his 17 PGA Tour events this season, including his runner-up finish at last month’s US Open, where he finished one shot behind champion JJ Spaun at Oakmont.
“When you make that transition from playing mostly in Europe to playing over there, it is difficult,” said Donald.
“The fields are deeper. It’s harder. But he was still consistent and I was watching his stats quite a lot.
“Even from when he qualified in Rome to where he was before the second place in the US Open, his stats were quite a bit better.
“He won twice last year, in Canada and here [Scottish Open at Renaissance Club]. I saw the improvement in statistics and it was only a matter of time before he had a really, really good week and he almost pulled it off.”
