Shane Lowry’s disappointing results at the FedEx St. Jude Championship and BMW Championship mean Rasmus Hojgaard could leapfrog him over the weekend

Shane Lowry is at risk of dropping out of the automatic qualifying spots for the 2025 Ryder Cup this weekend

Shane Lowry might lose his automatic qualifying spot for the 2025 Ryder Cup if Rasmus Hojgaard finishes in a two-way tie for 29th or better at the Betfred British Masters this week.

Currently, the Irish golfer holds the sixth and last automatic qualifying position for Team Europe for next month’s tournament at Bethpage Black. However, with no Ryder Cup points available at the Tour Championship this weekend, he could be surpassed by Hojgaard.

Lowry’s disappointing performances at the FedEx St. Jude Championship (T59) and last week’s BMW Championship (T23) have left him just 13.6 points ahead of the Danish golfer in the Team Europe rankings. This gap hasn’t been helped by the fact that Lowry hasn’t secured a Top 10 finish on the PGA Tour since May.

Regardless of how he performs at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia, this weekend, Lowry is aware that a two-way tie for 29th or better for Hojgaard at The Belfry across the Atlantic will end his chances of automatic qualification for the Ryder Cup.

This would mean that he would need to be chosen by Team Europe captain Luke Donald, as was the case two years ago in Rome. However, it seems likely that Donald will select the 38 year old when he announces his six wildcards on Monday, September 1, reports the Irish Star.

Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, Tommy Fleetwood, Robert MacIntyre, and Tyrrell Hatton have already secured their spots on the team, which is expected to closely resemble the victorious 12 from the 2023 Italian capital showdown.

Rasmus Hojgaard of Denmark could overtake Lowry in the Ryder Cup standings this weekend

If Hojgaard also qualifies this week, the six wildcard spots are likely to be filled by Lowry, Sepp Straka, Ludvig Aberg, Viktor Hovland, Matt Fitzpatrick, and Jon Rahm.

This scenario would leave Matt Wallace, Thomas Detry, Nicolai Hojgaard, and the in-form Marco Penge and Harry Hall on the outside looking in.

On the American side, Scottie Scheffler’s victory at the BMW Championship in Maryland solidified the six automatic qualifiers for Keegan Bradley’s team, which includes U.S. Open champion JJ Spaun, Xander Schauffele, Russell Henley, Harris English, and Bryson DeChambeau.

Justin Thomas, Patrick Cantlay, Collin Morikawa, Ben Griffin, and Sam Burns are likely to receive wildcard picks from Bradley, who might even select himself after a strong performance in recent months.

Regardless of the final lineup, Lowry assures that the Europeans will be “prepared” for any challenge when Donald leads them onto the Bethpage Black course at the end of September.

Even if he doesn’t secure his spot on Europe’s team later this year, Lowry is confident that his teammates can handle any hostile reception and succeed under Donald’s leadership.

“I think, if you’re prepared for something, you’ll deal with it okay. When something happens and you’re not prepared for it, that’s when it gets hard.

“We’ll be prepared. Luke Donald will prepare his team very well, and we’ll be ready to go.”