Just days ago, Rasmus Hojgaard was paddling hard to stay afloat in Ryder Cup contention, weighed down by a tough stretch of 13 weeks without a single top-20 finish. He then bounced back with a T16 finish at The Open Championship 2025. But it wasn’t enough to sneak into the top-70 FedEx Cup playoff cut line. Strangely, that worked out in his favor.

After missing out on a total $100 million in PGA Tour playoffs, Hojgaard made his way towards the 2025 Betfred British Masters, the last event where the Europeans could earn points to grab a Ryder Cup spot. And Hojgaard made full use of his chance.

Taking an early lead at The Belfry, the 24-year-old kept his cool down the stretch, firing a closing 71 (-1) for a tournament total of -7. That was enough to book his spot on Luke Donald’s European Ryder Cup team. And the wildest part about Hojgaard’s luck? The TOUR Championship doesn’t hand out any Ryder Cup points, so heading to the Belfry helped him clinch his spot on the team for Bethpage.

He’s finished tied for 13th on Sunday at Belfry, and was safely locked in – as he only needed to finish in a two-way tie for 29th or better at the event to make it to Bethpage.

So, what makes this moment a standpoint point today? Well, it’s all about Rasmus Hojgaard’s excitement ahead of this moment. Before locking his spot in the team, Hojgaard said in an exclusive with Sky Sports, “It would be so cool to see how big and cool the team environment is,” and that “it would be amazing if it would happen.” 

Hojgaard now joins big names like Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose, Bob MacIntyre, and Tyrrell Hatton with automatic Ryder Cup berths, leaving out pros like Shane Lowry and his own twin brother, Nicolai Hojgaard.

Despite dealing with his own (slim) chances at the Ryder Cup, Nicolai did seem happy about his brother’s win. In fact, he celebrated it by giving his brother a hearty hug, as you can watch below:

On the other hand, what better way to kick off the celebration than with European captain Luke Donald himself giving props to the sixth team member? In a video call, Donald gave the 24-year-old Dane a hearty congrats, saying, “Welcome to Team Europe!” Hojgaard beamed with happiness, laughing as he replied, “Thanks.”

Donald dug deeper, asking, “how does it feel?” Hojgaard gushed, “It feels amazing! I don’t think I’ve been that stressed out before, playing those final few holes… but yeah, it was pretty cool!”

“Well, you’ve earned it,” Donald replied. “You belong, and I’m very, very excited to have you on the Team.” Certainly so. However, Donald did acknowledge Hojgaard’s standing throughout the week and reminded him that the Dane “should be proud of yourself.” But there’s still some work ahead for the European team, and Hojgaard is completely aware of that.

Nevertheless, the week is great for Rasmus Hojgaard. But not so much for his fellow European pro, Shane Lowry.

What’s next for Shane Lowry?

Denmark’s Rasmus Hojgaard has snagged the last automatic Ryder Cup spot. He booked his ticket to Bethpage Black next month with a solid showing at the Betfred British Masters. This means Shane Lowry needs a wildcard pick from captain Luke Donald to make the European team.

Hojgaard needed a strong finish at the British Masters to edge out Lowry – and he delivered despite some tension down the stretch. He wrapped up the week in good shape. Lowry had held sixth in the standings after a T23 at the BMW Championship, but with no points on the line at the TOUR Championship, he got bumped by Hojgaard.

Shane Lowry’s hoping for a third Ryder Cup appearance, but this time he’s counting on a wildcard pick from European captain Luke Donald. For the third straight time, Lowry needs this wildcard to secure his spot on Team Europe for the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black.

Despite slipping out of the automatic qualifying spots, Lowry’s expected to be high on Donald’s list of picks thanks to his consistent season on the PGA Tour. Now, Lowry and fellow pro, Sepp Straka, are waiting to hear if they’ll get one of Donald’s six wildcard picks in early September. So, what do you think of this latest mix up?