Noren, Molinari solidify Ryder Cup chances with wins

May 13, 2019

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Tournament results on both sides of the Atlantic likely brought a smile to the face of European Ryder Cup captain Thomas Bjorn.

Hours after Alex Noren stormed from the pack to capture the HNA French Open, Italy’s Francesco Molinari backed up his decision to play last week in the U.S. by winning the Quicken Loans National by eight shots. It was the second worldwide win in as many months for Molinari, and now both men appear likely to lock up spots on the 12-man roster this fall in France.

The top four from the European Points list in August will be joined by the next four from the World Points list, with Bjorn rounding out the team with four captain’s picks.

Here’s how things look following Sunday’s results, with both Noren and Molinari in position to qualify automatically:

European Points

1. Tyrrell Hatton

2. Justin Rose

3. Tommy Fleetwood

4. Francesco Molinari

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5. Thorbjorn Olesen

World Points

1. Jon Rahm

2. Alex Noren

3. Rory McIlroy

4. Paul Casey

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5. Matthew Fitzpatrick

On the U.S. side, there was no movement among the top 15 in the standings with many top names sitting out the Quicken Loans National and world No. 2 Justin Thomas playing in France. Beau Hossler moved from 34th to 26th with a T-6 finish, while Tiger Woods went from 39th to 28th after tying for fourth.

Here’s how things look, with the top eight after the PGA Championship qualifying automatically:

1. Brooks Koepka

2. Dustin Johnson

3. Patrick Reed

4. Justin Thomas

5. Bubba Watson

6. Jordan Spieth

7. Rickie Fowler

8. Bryson DeChambeau

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9. Webb Simpson

10. Phil Mickelson