Yannik Paul Looking Forward After Missing Out on European Ryder Cup Spot

The German was fourth on the European Points list, but only the top three were guaranteed spots, and Luke Donald didn’t offer a captain’s pick.

Yannik Paul will not be in Rome as part of the European Ryder Cup team, even though he was ahead of Tommy Fleetwood, Nicolai Hojgaard and Shane Lowry on the European Points list.

Sitting in fourth and just over 100 points from the third and last automatic qualifying claimed by Scotland's Robert MacIntyre, the 29-year-old German played consistently this season on the DP World Tour with six top 10s including consecutive runner-up finishes in February at the Thailand Classic and Indian Open.

Over a 15-tournament stretch that culminated with the last event counted in the points, the European Masters, Paul missed only one cut when he recorded an opening-round 77 at the British Open. That may have ultimately cost him a spot on European captain Luke Donald’s team.

“I don't really want to say too much about that,” Paul said. “Just gotta play better, then you don't need a pick.”

That’s clearly easier said than done.

Paul was part of a large pool of players who were on the borderline of being selected. Most were hoping but not knowing which way Donald was going to go.

Paul seemed resigned to the fact that he would receive a conciliatory, and not congratulatory, call from Donald on the Sunday after the final round of the European Masters.

“Just didn't finish high enough on the leaderboard the last couple of weeks where, you know, until the end of the ranking,” Paul said. “Then, obviously, it's up to the picks ... so yeah, it is what it is. I kind of moved on. So, I’m good.”

Since the missed cut at the Open he just didn’t do enough and since a pick for Paul was a pick for a rookie, he needed to do more than a 10th at the Czech Masters and 20th at the European Masters.

“I figured obviously, you still have a little bit of hope,” Paul said. “But I figured that I probably won’t get a pick. So that’s why I really wanted to finish third [in the points], and I just needed to play better.”

Paul would not change anything in regard to his schedule and now with his position on the Race to Dubai points list sitting at 12, he is almost guaranteed his PGA Tour card for 2024, which is one of his primary goals.

“I have a lot of other goals that I want to achieve,” Paul said. “So, if you play well, that’s kind of a byproduct that you have maybe have another chance in two years.”