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Ryder Cup - Time running out for European contingent
With only one tour event before the European Ryder Cup team announcement, can we say who will compete at Medinah?
Jose Maria Olazabal must have breathed a huge sigh of relief after Rory McIlroy secured a win at the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island - not least because it means he will have a 2012 major winner on his Ryder Cup team.
With the previous three majors staying away from Europe, McIlroy's win will have provided a welcomed boost for Olazabal, particularly because the young Northern Irishman will spearhead the European team from the top of the points rankings.
With the top five players on the European Points List gaining automatic qualification, McIlroy, Justin Rose, Graeme McDowell, Paul Lawrie and Francesco Molinari will all be present at Medinah on September 25th.
Joining them will be the five highest ranking players from the World Points List, which currently means that Luke Donald, Lee Westwood, Peter Hanson, Martin Kaymer and Ian Poulter would complete the automatic qualification slots. Poulter's round of -4 at the PGA Championship saw him overtake Sergio Garcia into the last automatic slot, and it looks as though Garcia will now have to rely on a wildcard pick.
There is however more debate about how the team will be completed. Poulter's round of -4 at the PGA Championship saw him overtake Sergio Garcia into the last automatic slot, and it looks as though Garcia will now have to rely on a wildcard pick. Olazabal has hinted that his fellow countryman will earn a place, with Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano also in the hunt to bolster the Spanish contingent.
A poor showing in the PGA Championship has virtually ended Padraig Harrington's chances of making an appearance, with Nicholas Colsaerts, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Martin Laird now relying on Olazabal to hand them a wildcard to play.
Whoever ends up winning a coveted spot on the plane to Illinois, the Europeans will have to be at their very best to stop the Americans from regaining the Ryder Cup in their own back yard.
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