Sam Torrance: Europe’s big-hitters timing their form perfectly for the Ryder Cup
The conclusion of the BMW Championship may have been delayed by heavy rain in Philadelphia on Sunday, but the weather didn’t stop Europe’s best from putting on a show.
Europe’s Ryder Cup captain Thomas Bjorn will have been delighted watching on as Justin Rose, Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood and Francesco Molinari all played to their full potential.
Rose has matured beyond belief and knows his game much better now. He’s always been a great performer with a magnificent swing and I’d love to see him win some more Majors.
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The 38-year-old has won Ryder Cups, been No1 in Europe and America and won a Major, which just shows his consistency. He will be a key player for Bjorn later this month.
McIlroy is another who seems to be hitting form at an opportune time with just two weeks to go until the transatlantic competition.
By anyone else’s standards he’s had a good year, but his expectations are so high that he’ll be disappointed with how it’s gone. The Northern Irishman been in contention often, but hasn’t been able to push victories through.
Rory McIlroy looks in good touch after a frustrating year (Source: Getty)
However, his performance at the BMW Championship and how he ends the season in America could be huge for him ahead of the Ryder Cup.
It’s great to see him playing well as success breeds success. Players train for the Majors each year but it can be that you don’t peak at the right time.
When the last Major is over some people can then find form that deserted them previously. It seems that might be the case for McIlroy.
Fleetwood, meanwhile, is absolutely on top of his game. His course record-equalling round of 62 in Philadelphia was incredible.
He’s developed so much. The next step is a Major, and I definitely think he’s got it in him. He’s got a lovely swing and is a great putter and chipper too, which all feed into his fantastic temperament.
Nothing seems to faze him. He’s happy off the course and absolutely flying on it at the moment. It’s wonderful to watch.
Molinari is undoubtedly the form man this year, but he’s getting tired as he’s played a lot of golf and dealt with plenty of pressure.
His first Major at The Open in July was bound to bring a lot of media attention and stress, so he’ll be looking forward to the end of the season.
But the Italian could be crawling out of the desert and he’d still give 100 per cent in the Ryder Cup. There will be no problem for that – he’ll have bags of energy when the competition rolls around.
Matt Fitzpatrick missed out on one of Thomas Bjorn's wildcard picks for the Ryder Cup (Source: Getty)
One man who won’t be playing for Europe at the Ryder Cup is Matt Fitzpatrick, but the 24-year-old had an excellent weekend nonetheless, retaining his Omega European Masters title in Switzerland.
He got off to a poor start, but brought it back and birdied the 18th four times in a row to reach the play-offs before holding his nerve to beat Lucas Bjerregaard and become the first player since Seve Ballesteros 40 years ago to defend the title at Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club.
Fitzpatrick was very humble in his interview afterwards, saying he doesn’t begrudge Bjorn for not picking him for the Ryder Cup. The world No44 admitted he hasn’t played well enough over the season and he’s right.
It’s hypothetical, but I don’t think it’s fair that the USA get another week to confirm their wildcard picks.
Imagine what a scenario it would have been for Bjorn if he’d only announced three of his four and Fitzpatrick then won in Switzerland. Who knows what he would have done.