Team Europe announces six automatic qualifiers for Ryder Cup

Rory McIlroy

McIlroy is perhaps the most no-brainer of the automatic qualifiers. He holds 3,489.21 points in the Ryder Cup standings, by far the most of any player on the list. He won two playoffs this season, most notably beating Justin Rose for McIlroy's first green jacket, and completing a long-awaited career grand slam at The Masters. He also beat J.J. Spaun in a playoff at The Players Championship, as well as winning the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. His record stands at 16-13-4 in Ryder Cup matches across seven appearances in the event.

Robert MacIntyre

MacIntyre's name became most prominent last weekend, when he battled against Scottie Scheffler in the final round of the BMW Championship. Scheffler, courtesy of a phenomenal chip-in on the 17th hole, got the better of MacIntyre, but he's had a great season. He was the runner-up to Spaun at the U.S. Open, but had nothing but a round of applause when he saw Spaun's 64-foot putt for the win. He also finished top 10 in the Ph oenix Open, The Players Championship, Charles Schwab Challenge and The Open Championship. MacIntyre is 2-0-1 in Ryder Cup matches.

Tommy Fleetwood

As Fleetwood's name is announced as a confirmed member of the team, he's not worried about an event next month. He's the solo leader of The TOUR Championship and searching for his long-awaited first win on the PGA Tour. He's put together an unbelievable stretch of runner-ups through his career, including at the 2018 U.S. Open and 2019 Open Championship. He has seven top-10 finishes on tour this season, and he's cemented himself as one of, if not the greatest, golfer without a PGA Tour win. He has an 8-3-2 Ryder Cup record.

Justin Rose

At 45 years old, Rose is playing some of the best golf of his career. He was the runner-up at Augusta, losing The Masters to McIlroy in one playoff hole. His 12th career win came two weeks ago, in three playoff holes against Spaun in the FedEx St. Jude Championship. It was some of the best golf Rose has played, not relenting a bit through a very long Sunday round in Memphis. A veteran brings some great experience to the European team, with six appearances in the Ryder Cup and a 13-8-2 record.

Tyrrell Hatton

Hatton is the only golfer out of the six automatic qualifiers playing on the LIV tour. His top-two finishes on LIV this season came at tied-fifth in LIV Mexico City and LIV Dallas. Hatton also finished tied for fourth in the U.S. Open, and like MacIntyre, had nothing but admiration when he saw Spaun's winning putt, while giving his press conference. He brings a 5-4-2 record to the table.

Rasmus Hojgaard 

Hojgaard competes on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour and is still just 24 years old. On Saturday, he completed a tied-13th finish at the Betfred British Masters on the DP World Tour. His latest PGA Tour event played was on Aug. 3 at the Wyndham Championship, where he finished T-34th. His top finish on the PGA Tour this season was the Zurich Classic, a partner event where he and his twin brother, Nicolai, finished as runner-ups. September's event will make for his Ryder Cup debut.