Hojgaard earns Ryder Cup spot as Noren wins at Belfry

leaderboard for the British Masters final round

-16 A Noren (Swe), -15 K Kobori (NZ), N Hojgaard (Den), -13 K Nakajima (Jpn)

Selected: -12 A Sullivan (Eng), -10 M Fitzpatrick (Eng), M Penge (Eng), -9 A Fitzpatrick (Eng), -8 R Hojgaard (Den), -4 A Rai (Eng), M Wallace (Eng)

With a tense final round of play at the Betfred British Masters, Sweden’s Alex Noren claimed the title, making Rasmus Hojgaard the last automatic choice for the Ryder Cup team in Europe.

Hojgaard carded a one-under-par 71 to finish on eight under par and joint 13th, ahead of Ireland’s Shane Lowry, who finished in the top 29 to move up to sixth place.

Hojgaard spoke about his final round of the Belfry, noting that he had been overly stressed out on the course.

“Over the moon,” I say.

Rory McIlroy, Robert MacIntyre, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose, Tyrrell Hatton, and others are the qualifiers for Europe.

Luke Donald, captain of the 12-man team that will face the United States at Bethpage Black in New York on September 1st, will select six more players to make the roster for the game on Monday, September 1.

Hojgaard’s run of four bogeys in eight holes left him uneasy, despite rolling in three consecutive birdies from the second hole.

He said on Sky Sports, “I knew every bogey was costly.”

With a hamstring injury, Noren missed seven months of the Ryder Cup qualifying period and only came back in May.

The 43-year-old Swede defeated twin brothers Rasmus and Kazuma Kobori by one shot to move up the leaderboard on Saturday.

Seven years ago, he made his only Ryder Cup appearance in the foursomes with Sergio Garcia in France, where he won two of his three matches.

When questioned on Saturday whether he believed a victory might enlist him in Donald’s thoughts, he responded, “I’m not thinking about that.”

After claiming his first victory in seven years, he responded, “It would be great, but I’m more than happy to get this win.”

Henrik Stenson and Robert Karlsson tied for first place overall by a Swede with his second British Masters victory and his 11th victory on the DP World Tour.

On the last hole, he had a two-shot lead after five birdies in eight holes on the back nine. However, he was forced to hole a six-foot bogey putt after a poor third shot and a careless drive to win.

Kobori’s final four holes saw him shoot five shots and set the target at 15 under when he had exhausted two 60-foot putts.

Before Matt Fitzpatrick, could Nicolai Hojgaard win the nomination?

The Englishman, who revealed Donald had urged him to participate in this tournament, was one shots clear heading into the final round when he hit a final-round 74 to stay on top of his lead.

After round three, he claimed that his goal was to “make a case for myself]for the Ryder Cup.” On September 1st, we’ll find out if the 2022 US Open champion has done enough.

Lowry, who placed seventh on the list, is one of the candidates who needs to be chosen.

Sepp Straka from Austria, who has won twice this year, came in eighth place, just ahead of Viktor Hovland from Norway and Ludvig Aberg of Sweden.

All three of the participants in the 2023 victory in Rome opt for that experience as Europe attempts to record its first away win since the 2012 “miracle of Medinah” victory.

Given that he contributed 312 points to a losing cause at Whistling Straits in 2021 and three more in Italy, Jon Rahm, who won the LIV Golf individual title, is certain to be included.

Englishman Matt Wallace, who was 11th in the standings before the final qualifying event, likely needed a victory, but he made it up on the final day by posting a score of 77 to finish four under.