Breakfast Ball #27: The Challengers Await

A legend of the game finished his career on the European Tour this weekend. Bernhard Langer played in more than 500 events, finishing with 42 victories in a 50-year span of continued success. The two-time Masters champion will forever be one of the European greats.

In This Week’s Newsletter:

The Ryder Cup Challengers: Who has put their hat in the race for the 2025 European Ryder Cup team?

While it has not been announced yet, the points race for the European Ryder Cup team is likely to begin in September at the BMW PGA Championship. However, only six of the twelve spots on the team were determined by the points list in 2023 and this is likely to continue in 2025 with Luke Donald repeating as captain. It is likely that Donald has already started to form his thoughts on the players that will take on Bethpage Black in fourteen months. Who has broken into the conversation in the first half of 2024?

🇫🇷 Matthieu Pavon (31 years old)

Starts: 17 | Top 20s: 7 | Top 5s: 4 | Wins: 1

Matthieu Pavon has had a remarkable twelve months. After six years of relative obscurity on the DP World Tour, a surge of form in the last six weeks of the 2023 DP World Tour season that included his first professional win gave him a PGA Tour card for 2024. Pavon wasted no time taking advantage of that opportunity with a win on his third start on the PGA Tour. After going through a difficult couple of months, he returned to form with his best ever major finish at the US Open in Pinehurst. If the team was being picked today, Pavon would be on the plane.

🇩🇪 Stephan Jaeger (35)

Starts: 18 | Top 20s: 6 | Top 5s: 3 | Wins: 1

Stephan Jaeger is a prime example of the importance of persistence and hard work in the game of golf. After graduating from The University of Tennessee-Chattanooga in 2012 Jaeger found success on the Korn Ferry Tour, winning six times. This gave him opportunities to play on the PGA Tour, but he couldn’t replicate his success there. The main reason? Jaeger’s driving distance was well below average, as he finished 155th on tour in driving distance and 184th in strokes gained (SG) off the tee in 2022. He decided he needed to make a change to improve his strength and swing speed with a strict training regimen. Jaeger is 21st on tour in driving distance and 31st in SG off the tee this year. It resulted in his first PGA Tour win at the Houston Open earlier this year, and if he continues this form he will be well within consideration for a place on the team next year.

🇧🇪 Thomas Detry (31)

Starts: 17 | Top 20s: 7 | Top 5s: 3 | Wins: 0

Thomas Detry looks like a winner in waiting on the PGA Tour. He is in 27th place in the FedEx cup standings, having come close to victory at three tournaments so far this year. However, that elusive triumph continues to evade him, as he hasn't secured a professional win since his debut season on the Challenge Tour in 2016. If Detry can get a win either on the PGA Tour or the DP World Tour between now and September 2025, his consistent play should get him a spot on the team with points.

🇸🇪 Sebastian Soderberg (33)

Starts: 12 | Top 20s: 7 | Top 5s: 5 | Wins: 0

Sebastian Soderberg is probably the most in form golfer without a win in the world this year. He has led going into the final round of three DP World Tour events, most recently by eight shots at the Scandinavian Mixed. A horrific final round 77 including a gut wrenching three putt on the final hole meant that he missed out on another opportunity to win. It is clear Soderberg has all the skill necessary to win. In order to make the Ryder Cup team next year he will have to prove he has enough mental fortitude to play in one of the most high-pressured environments in sports.

☘️ Tom McKibbin (21)

Starts: 15 | Top 20s: 9 | Top 5s: 2 | Wins: 0

Tom McKibbin is one of Europe’s most exciting young talents. The Northern Irishman grew up playing at Holywood Golf Club, the home club of Rory McIlroy, and burst onto the scene with a win at the Porsche European Open last summer. He has continued that strong form this year and has put himself in a great position to secure one of the ten available PGA Tour cards given to players at the end of the DP World Tour season. While his ceiling may not be as high as his club mate, McKibbin could be a valuable asset to Ryder Cup teams for years to come.

🇸🇪 Tim Widing (26)

Starts: 14 | Top 20s: 7 | Top 5s: 2 | Wins: 2

14 months before the last Ryder Cup, very few people would have expected that Sweden’s Ludvig Åberg would make the following year’s Ryder Cup team. Despite being one of the highest ranked amateurs in the world, he was about to start his final year in college and had yet to make a professional start. Tim Widing could be the next Swede to do something similar. Widing has won twice on the Korn Ferry Tour this year, securing his PGA Tour card for 2025. He will be one to watch on the PGA Tour next year.

Results on Tour:

• 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Ewen Ferguson won the BMW International Open on the DP World Tour by two shots

  • Ferguson (27) had recently battled with Vertigo, withdrawing from the European Open last month: "You get days where you feel totally normal and think you can play again, like I tried to do in Hamburg and then it came on again and I was like, 'oh no’.”

  • The win bumped Ferguson to 17th in the Road to Dubai Rankings secured him a start in The Open Championship

• 🇺🇸 Davis Thompson won the John Deere Classic with a record score of 28-under on the PGA Tour

  • This was the 25-year-old’s first win on the PGA Tour after graduating from the Korn Ferry Tour in 2022

  • 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Aaron Rai was in the final group on Sunday for the second week in a row, but couldn’t capitalize on the opportunity and finished in a tie for 7th

  • 🇫🇮 Sami Valimaki, 🇮🇪 Seamus Power, and 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Harry hall all performed well with top 20 results

• 🇮🇪 Shoutout to Leona Maguire who was the first ever Irish winner on the Ladies European Tour with an eagle on the last hole

Coming up this week on Tour

• We begin an exciting two weeks with the Scottish Open at North Berwick Golf Club this week and The Open Championship at Royal Troon next week

  • This week’s event will feature the best of the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour in one event

• The ISCO Championship takes place in Kentucky for players ineligible for The Scottish Open

• LIV returns with its first European event of the season in Valderrama Golf Club

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