Tour pro labels European Ryder Cup qualification process 'a total joke'
French professional golfer Adrien Saddier blasted the qualification process for the European Ryder Cup team after Marco Penge claimed his second title on the DP World Tour.
French professional golfer Adrien Saddier described the qualification process for the European Ryder Cup team as a 'total joke' after Marco Penge claimed his second DP World Tour title.
Penge capitalised on Rasmus Hojgaard's collapse at the Danish Golf Championship in Copenhagen over the weekend.
England's Penge rolled in a birdie putt at the 72nd hole to defeat the Dane by one stroke at Furesø Golf Klub after Hojgaard surrendered a four-shot lead.
The 27-year-old has been in fine form since returning to the game following his suspension for gambling violations in February.
Penge won the Hainan Classic in March, finished runner-up at the Scottish Open and also fared well on his first major start at the PGA Championship in May.
Despite his strong season - and the fact he is second to Rory McIlroy in the Race to Dubai Rankings - Penge sits only 14th in the European Ryder Cup standings.
Should Penge be in the squad? Saddier certainly thinks so.
The Frenchman pointed out on X that the 'qualifying points is a total joke'.
"Marco Penge is a strong pick for Ryder Cup," he added.
The moment Marco Penge claimed his second DP World Tour victory on his 56th start #DanishGolf pic.twitter.com/vX77BfqGye
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) August 17, 2025
Marco Penge addresses Ryder Cup chances
Penge told Sky Sports in the immediate aftermath of his win in Denmark his main goal since returning to the sport was not to be complement.
He also revealed he's not giving up on making his Ryder Cup debut at Bethpage Black next month.
Rory McIlroy, Robert MacIntyre, Tommy Fleetwood and Justin Rose have already qualified for Team Europe, with Tyrrell Hatton and Shane Lowry currently occupying the final automatic spots.
The qualification period ends at this week's British Masters.
Captain Luke Donald will name his six wildcards on 1 September.
Penge said: "It's the reason why I'm here. I'm planning to play six weeks on the trot and give it my all to try and do something.
"I've got my own little goals in my mind and my own drivers. I'm just trying to play as well as I can every week and see what happens, really."
Rank | Player | Country | Points |
1 | Rory McIlroy (Q) | NIR | 3489.21 |
2 | Robert MacIntyre (Q) | SCO | 1709.94 |
3 | Tommy Fleetwood (Q) | ENG | 1622.11 |
4 | Justin Rose (Q) | ENG | 1545.72 |
5 | Tyrrell Hatton | ENG | 1279.33 |
6 | Shane Lowry | IRL | 1275.51 |
Top six qualify automatically | |||
7 | Sepp Straka | AUT | 1264.27 |
8 | Rasmus Højgaard | DEN | 1261.91 |
9 | Ludvig Åberg | SWE | 1140.44 |
10 | Viktor Hovland | NOR | 1031.34 |
11 | Matt Wallace | ENG | 869.57 |
12 | Matt Fitzpatrick | ENG | 850.78 |
13 | Thomas Detry | BEL | 817.19 |
14 | Marco Penge | ENG | 761.63 |
15 | Aaron Rai | ENG | 743.31 |
Ben Smith joined the GolfMagic team in September 2021, initially as a content executive.
These days, he assumes the position of content manager.
Sponsored Posts
Subscribe to our Newsletter
Latest News
