With Lowry’s destiny out of his own hands, Denmark’s Rasmus Hojgaard’s tied-13th place finish in the British Masters at The Belfry – won by Sweden’s Alex Noren – was sufficient to leapfrog him up to fifth place in the qualifying standings, moving ahead of Tyrrell Hatton, who secured the sixth automatic spot, and dropping Lowry to seventh.

Plenty of European golf fans see Shane Lowry as a sure thing for the Ryder Cup, but the Irishman himself discovered something at the Tour Championship that left him less certain. Lowry has had another strong year on the PGA Tour and currently sits inside the automatic qualification spots for Luke Donald’s side.