The European Team will then be completed at the conclusion of the BMW International Open at Golfclub Munchen Nord-Eichenreid, Munich, when the leading five players from The Ryder Cup European Points List, not otherwise qualified through the World Points List, will earn an automatic call-up and Europe’s Ryder Cup Captain Bernhard Langer chooses his two wild card selections.

The ten players currently in the qualifying places remains unchanged after the KLM Open at Hilversumche but Ireland’s Paul McGinley made up ground with an impressive performance in The Netherlands.

His joint second place finish may have only lifted him one place in the combined tables to 15th but he has closed the gap on tenth placed Joakim Haeggman significantly. Last week he trailed the Swede, who currently occupies the last automatic place on the Team, by 213,147 points but a cheque of €104,225 has closed that gap to just 108,922 points with three events to play.

“I want to desperately be in that Ryder Cup Team,” said McGinley after a final round 65 in Hilversum. “I feel I am playing well enough to be in it and I will keep chasing. I played a lot of really good golf this year. I feel I have played better in this campaign than I did in the last. I am still there with a shout, three events to go and see what happens.”

David Howell kept his nose in front of fellow Englishman Ian Poulter in eighth and ninth places respectively, although the gap between the two has closed from €29,696 to €20,920.

“I am in position and in the Team at the moment,” said Howell. “It would be a shame if I missed but a lot can still change in the next three weeks and I will be doing everything I can to make it.”

All the leading runners in the race for the European Team are in action in the US PGA Championship at Whistling Straits, Kohler, Wisconsin, this week.