Thomas Pieters will have the perfect platform to stake his last-minute claim for a Ryder Cup wild card as he partners European captain Darren Clarke in the first two rounds of the Made in Denmark event.
Pieters needed to defend his Czech Masters title last week to keep his hopes of securing an automatic place alive ahead of the final qualifying event.
However, the world number 54 lost out by a single shot to American Paul Peterson on Sunday to ensure that R ory McIlroy, Danny Willett, Henrik Stenson, Chris Wood, Sergio Garcia, Justin Rose, Rafael Cabrera Bello, Andy Sullivan and Matt Fitzpatrick booked their place on the plane to Minnesota in search of an unprecedented fourth straight win in the biennial event.
Clarke will name his three wild cards on August 30 and is widely expected to select the experienced pair of Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer, leaving the final spot up for grabs.
Pieters and Scotland's world number 20 Russell Knox are understood to be the favourites for that place, but Clarke said there are "six or seven" players still in contention.
" There are guys playing here this week who I'm considering and guys playing in The Barclays I'm considering," Clarke said at Himmerland Golf and Spa Resort. " I'll be paying very close attention to what happens in both.
"I would be looking maybe towards experience to balance the team up, but that doesn't mean I won't pick a rookie. Everyone I'm looking at, at the moment, would balance the team, whatever way that might be. It will be (about) finding the right blend."
Pieters, who won his maiden European Tour titles in back-to-back appearances in the Czech Masters and KLM Open last year, said: " I thought last week I did a good job of blocking out thoughts of the Ryder Cup and hopefully I can stick to my game plan again this week.
"Last year I played with Darren at the KLM Open and that worked out pretty nice. It won't change anything for me, I'll go out there and have fun.
"The Ryder Cup team is a goal of mine, if not this time then in two years, and if I make it I will be over the moon."
Kaymer, who plays the first two rounds alongside vice-captain Thomas Bjorn, secured the point which ensured Europe retained the trophy in 2012 and was also on the winning sides in 2010 and 2014.
"The reason that I came was not to convince Darren I belong on the team," the two-time major winner said. "At the end of the day he knows the way I play golf, he knows what kind of person I am.
"If he would like me on the team I would be fully in, if he thinks someone else would be better for the team that's also fine with me because it's the only tournament where it is not about us as individuals. Usually it's fairly selfish what we do every week but the Ryder Cup is more about the other 11 or 12 players."
Knox would have qualified for the team if he had been a European Tour member when he won the WGC-HSBC Champions last November, but reminded Clarke of his abilities with victory in the Travelers Championship at the start of August.
" If I do get picked I won't feel like I'm a pick in a weird kind of way, because if my points would have counted at WGC, I would have made the team comfortably," Knox said.
"So if I'm lucky enough to get picked, I'll feel like 10 people qualified and he picked two people, that's the way I'm going to look at it to take pressure off myself."
Ireland's Shane Lowry is also in contention despite missing the cut in four of his last five events and added: " It's going to be up to what Darren thinks himself but I think I tick a lot of boxes for him, so if I play well this week I might have a chance.
"I've played well in America so while I would be a rookie, I've won a massive tournament over there (WGC-Bridgestone Invitational) and I probably should have won the US Open, so I feel like I tick a lot of boxes and I think I would be a good addition to the team."
Source: PA
