For Shane Lowry, that missed cut in the 151st Open at Royal Liverpool has consequences on a couple of fronts. Firstly, it ensured he remained outside the top-70 on the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup standings which will likely see him add the Wyndham Championship on to his schedule if he is to make the playoffs. Secondly, he also slipped down the qualifying rankings for the Ryder Cup.
Not good at all for the Offalyman who, as things stand, would need a wild card pick from Europe captain Luke Donald if he is to get a place on the team for Rome in late September.
The Wyndham takes place from August 3rd-6th and is the final regular event on the PGA Tour season, with only the top-70 players then progressing on to the highly lucrative playoffs which culminate with the Tour Championship at East Lake. Lowry has slipped to 73rd in the FedEx Cup standings, while Rory McIlroy – who is third – and Séamus Power, who is 28th, have Atlanta on their minds.
In terms of the Ryder Cup, things have suddenly got very interesting in terms of the likely make-up of Donald’s team with Sepp Straka’s runner-up finish behind Brian Harman at Hoylake seeing the Austrian leapfrog his way up the world points qualifying table.
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Currently, the six players – McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Robert MacIntyre (off the European points table) and Viktor Hovland, Tyrrell Hatton and Tommy Fleetwood (off the world points list) – occupy automatic qualifying places. On the outside looking in (in order off the world points) are now Matt Fitzpatrick, Straka, Lowry, Justin Rose, Adrian Meronk, Seamus Power and on down the list.
The top three players from each of the respective European qualifying tables on September 3rd (after the European Masters) automatically qualify, with Donald then adding six captain’s picks.
Rahm, meanwhile, has vowed to emulate his hero Seve Ballesteros by taking a leadership role on the European team in Rome.
[ Brian Harman cruises to Open win at rainy Royal LiverpoolOpens in new window ]
“I’m going to try. It’s two Ryder Cups. It’s not like I have (played) five or six like some others, it’s two. If they want me to be a role model on the team or a leader, I will be. I’m not the most vocal. I’m quite introverted myself, but I’ll do what I can. I’ll try to channel my inner Seve and do what I can do,” said Rahm, who was tied-second behind Harman in the Open.
Speaking of Harman, his win has catapulted him into the frame for the United States team. The newly crowned Open champion has moved up to third, behind Scottie Scheffler and Wyndham Clark.
“He’s a very formidable competitor ... what does he do really well? Well, he does everything quite well. He’s a very good driver of the golf ball and a very, very, very good putter ... he’s gritty,” said Zach Johnson of Harman.
[ Rory McIlroy optimistic about future despite major drought extending to 10 yearsOpens in new window ]
McIlroy has remained at number three in the FedEx Cup standings and has consolidated his position as number one on the Race to Dubai standings. Now that the Majors are out of the way, and another year has gone by since his last success at the US PGA in 2014, McIlroy will refocus his attention on the FedEx Cup and then the Horizon Irish Open, the BMW PGA at Wentworth and Ryder Cup before finishing his year’s work at the DP World Tour Championship. No Major, but still a lot to play for.
Meanwhile, Pádraig Harrington – who will have treatment on his damaged foot tendons over the coming days – and defending champion Darren Clarke are competing in this week’s Champions Tour event, the Senior Open at Royal Porthcawl.
On the LPGA Tour, it is another Major week for Leona Maguire and Stephanie Meadow who are both in the field for the Evian Championship in France.
