‘I know him a little bit’ – Rory McIlroy tips surprise name to make Europe’s Ryder Cup team

Rory McIlroy has hinted that Harry Hall could be a surprise contender to make Europe’s Ryder Cup team next month.

So far, McIlroy, Justin Rose and Tommy Fleetwood have secured their spots on Luke Donald’s team to star against the Americans at Bethpage Black in New York.

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Three more will automatically qualify for the 12-man team before Donald confirms his six captain’s picks.

Robert MacIntyre, Tyrrell Hatton and Sepp Straka are currently set to make it outright while Jon Rahm, Viktor Hovland, Shane Lowry, Ludvig Aberg and Matt Fitzpatrick are all but shoo-ins to be picked.

That leaves just one spot up for grabs and there are plenty of names competing for it.

Rasmus Hojgaard, Matt Wallace, Thomas Detry and Aaron Rai are all high on Europe’s rankings but McIlroy believes Hall could be the man to get selected.

The 28-year-old has ten top 20 finishes on the PGA Tour this season and has been performing well again at the BMW Championship this week.

Heading into Sunday’s final round, MacIntyre is leading with Hall, Aberg, Fleetwood and Hovland all in the top ten.

And McIlroy, in a tie for 14th at Caves Valley Golf Club after three rounds, is delighted to see so many Europeans in form with the 2025 Ryder Cup now just a few weeks away.

He said: “It’s good to see Bob, Ludvig, Viktor, Tommy, even Harry Hall, that maybe got a chance to play in the team. Yeah, it bodes well for a few weeks’ time.”

Asked about Hall specifically, McIlroy added: “I played with Harry in his first start as a pro at the Dunhill Links a few years ago. I know him a little bit. 

“Really nice player, great rhythm to his golf swing, and he’s sort of done it a different way. He went over to UNLV (University of Nevada-Las Vegas) and did it that way. 

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“He’s become a very consistent player, so we’ll see what happens.”

Hall won the ISCO Championship at Hurstbourne Country Club last year to announce himself at the top level.

This season, his best results have been T6 at the Charles Schwab Challenge, T8 at The Sentry and T9 at the Travelers Championship.

The world no.65 played in his first PGA Championship in May, making the top 20 at Quail Hollow Club, and then made his Open debut last month too, finishing T28.

He is up to 25th in the FedEx Cup standings and will need to finish the BMW Championship strong to secure his place in the season-ending TOUR Championship at East Lake next week.

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While it’s been all action on the PGA Tour again recently, Donald will have had more than half an eye on the DP World Tour this weekend too.

Marco Penge, another outside contender for the Ryder Cup, birdied the final two holes to beat home-favourite Rasmus Hojgaard to victory at the Danish Golf Championship.

Hojgaard, whose twin brother Nicolai played in Rome at the last Ryder Cup in 2023, eagled the final hole to pile the pressure on Penge’s birdie putt.

But the Englishman sunk his five-footer for glory and to become the only man to win twice on the DP World Tour this season.