Rasmus Hojgaard 14th at British Masters and in line to make Europe Ryder Cup team

BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) — Rasmus Hojgaard stayed on course to secure a last-gasp spot in Europe’s Ryder Cup team after reaching the halfway point of the British Masters in a tie for 14th place on Friday.

The Danish golfer shot 1-under 71 in the second round and was on 4 under overall, five strokes off the lead held by Marcel Siem (69).

Hojgaard needs to finish in a two-way tie for 29th or better in the tournament being held at The Belfry to earn enough points to overtake Shane Lowry, who is clinging onto sixth place in the list of automatic qualifiers in Europe’s team.

The top six get into the European team automatically. Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, Tommy Fleetwood, Robert MacIntyre and Tyrrell Hatton are already guaranteed to be at next month’s matches at Bethpage Black.

Lowry is not competing in the British Masters, the final event in qualifying, so cannot pick up any more Ryder Cup points.

Luke Donald will announce his six captain’s picks to complete the 12-man team on Sept. 1.

Rasmus Hojgaard’s twin brother, Nicolai, competed for Europe in the 2023 Ryder Cup outside Rome.

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf