Weekend Wrap: Europeans Cruising Into The Ryder Cup
Seven team members finish in the BMW PGA top 10. Plus, Thomas shows signs of form, Hagestad books his third Masters date, Wentworth shenanigans, Rahm tries persimmon and best wishes for Woodland.
Europe is well-positioned to win back the Ryder Cup after all 12 members of the 2023 team made the BMW PGA Championship cut, with seven recording top 10’s. The matches are now less than two weeks away and Luke Donald’s squad appears to have done everything right since coming together following the September 4th Captain’s pick announcement.
As New Zealand’s Ryan Fox captured the DP World Tour’s flagship championship for his first Rolex event title, England’s Tyrrell Hatton and Aaron Rai tied for second with Ryder Cuppers Jon Rahm, Viktor Hovland and Tommy Fleetwood taking the next three spots on the board.
“We have been through a pretty tough year as a family,” said Fox. “We lost my father-in-law in June after a really, really short battle with cancer and that kind of rocked the family. It's been tough going back and forth.
“To come over here and have a good week in Ireland last week and this, I don't think I could have wished for better.”
A closer look at Team Europe’s week:
Tyrrell Hatton (T2 - 68 69 68 66). How good is the temperamental one’s game right now? Finished in a divot on the 17th hole and just cracked a smile, then hit the ball about 10 feet from the cup.
Jon Rahm (4th - 71 67 66 68). Another solid finish at a place he’s finished second at two times before.
Viktor Hovland (5th - 69 70 67 67). Also finished T5 at Wentworth last year and continues to thrive since winning the Tour Championship.
Tommy Fleetwood (6th - 69 66 67 72). Another rough final round but his resurgent game continues to be in very good shape.
Rory McIlroy (T7 - 72 71 67 65) - Posted a final round 65 just two days after barely making the cut (more below). McIlroy says his back and swing issues are improving and everything’s “in pretty good shape.”
Ludvig Aberg (T10 - 68 66 66 76) posted a final round 76 just two days after the youth-desperate golf world was ready to retroactively award him some majors. Despite the final round blow up, the young lad should be fine.
Sepp Straka (T10 - 70 66 69 71). Reaffirms his Captain’s pick with another solid week on a big stage.
Shane Lowry (T18 - 69 71 67 71). Played well until a triple bogey at the 17th Sunday. Coupled with his T3 in the Irish Open, he’s the least of Captain Donald’s concerns.
Matt Fitzpatrick (T18). Recently got engaged and the game seems fine. The notoriously fickle horse-for-courses needs to display an affinity for Marco Simone or he’ll be sitting a lot.
Luke Donald (T36) tied with captain’s pick Justin Rose. While never great to tie with the captain, Rose seems to be in the vicinity of serviceable play and has a 13-8-2 Ryder Cup record that should help the Captain pencil his name into the lineup.
Robert MacIntyre (T45). Draw a line through this one since he was dealing with hecklers (see below) just trying to win a match bet any way possible. The Scotsman’s track record at Marco Simone remains his greatest strength heading to Rome.
Nicolai Hojgaard (T64). Not a great week but missed the BMW cut last year and has a 3rd and T5 in previous two DP starts to suggest he’s also not hopelessly lost. Hojgaard may not like the oft-remodeled Wentworth, which hardly makes him an outlier.
A Much Shorter Team USA Report
In the final PGA Tour tune-up opportunity, just two American team members turned up for Napa’s Fortinet Championship. But one Captain’s pick and a two-time major champion helped alleviate worries about his form.
Justin Thomas posted rounds of 69-67-65 before regressing Sunday with a 72 to finish fifth. This was his best Tour result since finishing fourth in February’s WM Phoenix Open.
Two-time defending champion Max Homa recorded a T7 in advance of his first Ryder Cup.
Team USA Captain Zach Johnson shot 69-74 and missed the cut, while assistant Stewart Cink (71-72) also missed the cut. But at least they’re sharp in case there’s an impromptu Captain’s Cup. Which, come to think of it, is almost possible now that each side has a coaching staff of six and there isn’t much for fans to watch until Friday.
The winner of the Fortinet: Pepperdine legend Sahith Theegala, who captures his first PGA Tour victory in his 74th start. It was the fourth win by a California native at Silverado in the last five years.
The highlights:
Hagestad Wins His Third U.S. Mid-Amateur
Stewart Hagestad’s 3-and-2 victory over Evan Beck at Sleepy Hollow Country Club puts him in elite company and into 2024’s Masters and U.S. Open.
Hagestad withstood a late charge by Beck to win the 42nd U.S. Mid-Amateur, his third such title since 2016. He joins the likes of Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan, Bob Jones, Mickey Wright, Annika Sorenstam, Alexa Stirling, Glenna Collett Vare, Hollis Stacy, Juli Inkster, JoAnne Carner and Carol Semple Thompson as three-time winners of the same USGA event.
“Just so much joy,” said Hagestad, 32, after holding off Beck. “Evan is such a good player. I know that he's one of the best in the world. He's got a ton of horsepower, and I saw some of his matches, and I kind of had a feeling it might come down to the two of us.”
Hagestad recently went 2-1 in the Walker Cup and has been a part of four consecutive winning USA Walker Cup Teams. Hagestad’s three U.S. Mid-Amateur titles now tie him with Jay Sigel and leaves him one short of all-time record holder Nathan Smith, who will captain the 2025 Walker Cup team at Cypress Point.
Hagestad’s victory means a likely invitation to the Masters, where he became the first U.S. Mid-Amateur champion to make the cut in 2017. He’s guaranteed a spot in the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2.
Wentworth Fiascos: Slow Play, Drunk Gambling Fans
In yet another reminder that the professional tours are festering with all sorts of lightly addressed issues while the execs deal with “the events of June 6th,” the normally bucolic English countryside saw an effort to interfere with the competition. On top of a Friday finish in darkness and a former Ryder Cup captain clashing with drunks, and the early week seemed more Wasted than Wentworth.