Could Europe be heading for Bethpage with same 2023 Ryder Cup heroes?

As the qualifying battle enters the closing stretch, it has become a real possibility that Luke Donald, the European captain in Italy and reappointed on the back of a 16.5-11.5 win, will be leading an identical team for the event’s 45th edition on Long Island.

Rory McIlroy, who will be facing the Americans for the eighth match in a row, has already secured his spot, with Bob MacIntyre, Tommy Fleetwood, Tyrrell Hatton, Shane Lowry and Sepp Straka currently occupying the other automatic berths.

Even if that situation changes over the coming few weeks, they will all definitely be involved again as Donald bids to join Tony Jacklin as the only European captain to taste victory in both home and away encounters.

It also seems extremely likely now that Justin Rose (8th), Ludvig Aberg (9th) and Viktor Hovland (10th) will retain their spots after also being part of the victory at Marco Simone Golf Club on the outskirts of the Italian capital.

Which leaves Jon Rahm, Matthew Fitzpatrick and Nicolai Hojgaard as the ones who would complete the full set from the last match. Having not fired on all cylinders in the majors this year, Rahm sits 21st on the points list, but it’s hard to imagine that he won’t be at Bethpage Black.

Fitzpatrick, meanwhile, has found his form at just the right time, finishing in the top five in the Genesis Scottish Open and The Open, and, after being frustrated by his previous Ryder Cup appearances, he finally got the chance to shine in Rome and did so alongside McIlroy on the opening afternoon.

That would leave just one spot to fill and, fascinatingly, it could come down to a straight fight between identical twins Nicolai and Rasmus Hojgaard. It was Nicolai, of course, who played in 2023, but Rasmus currently sits seventh - 18 spots above his sibling - on the points list.

Having secured his spot through the Genesis Scottish Open, Nicolai finished joint-14th in The Open, with Ramus ending up just behind him at Royal Portrush.

On the back of those efforts, Nicolai sits 69th - the top 70 get into the FedEx St Jude Championship - on the FedEx Cup points list, with 80th.

Donald and his vice-captains will be closely watching how the pair perform over the next few weeks, with the qualifying battle ending after the DP World Tour’s Betfred British Masters at The Belfry hosted by Sir Nick Faldo and the Tour Championship on the PGA Tour on 24 August.

If Rasmus makes it, he’ll be a rookie, with the likes of Thomas Detry, Matt Wallace and Harry Hall, Aaron Rai, Jordan Smith and Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen the others still in with an outside chance if they can make a strong final push.

Meanwhile, Chris Gotterup is up to 22nd on the US points list after winning the Genesis Scottish Open then backing that up by finishing third behind Scottie Scheffler in The Open. US captain Keegan Bradley also has six picks, with Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, J.J. Spaun, Russell Henley, Bryson DeChambeau and Portrush runner-up Harris English his current automatic qualifiers.