Akron might have been a lonely place for Shane Lowry this week, but it’s not. With no Ryder Cup points or Race to Dubai points on offer at this week’s WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, and increased incentives from the PGA European Tour for players to play at the French Open, the world number 25 may have feared that his decision to defend the title stateside had left him out in the cold.
But not so. Lowry has company in choosing Ohio over Paris, with Justin Rose, Russell Knox and David Lingmerth – who all have the Ryder Cup at Hazeltine later this season on their target list – among those to also take that route. After the PGA Tour put the Bridgestone in a direct clash on the calendar with the French Open, the European Tour – making a point of its own – responded by increasing the number of points on offer in Paris.
The winner of the French Open will collect 64 points towards the Ryder Cup world points list and one million towards the European points list, with subsequent points also increased for other players who make the cut.
That incentivising of the French Open along with the European Tour’s decision not to sanction the Bridgestone (despite its status as a WGC event) has resulted in a stellar field for Paris – headlined by world number four Rory McIlroy and Masters champion Danny Willett.
Lowry, although sacrificing the chance to improve his Ryder Cup ranking, but intent on defending the title, at least isn’t on his own as far as flying the European flag in Akron.
Lowry made the decision to defend the Bridgestone at a time when he was well outside the Ryder Cup team standings but his runner-up finish in the US Open propelled him right into contention and he is currently 11th in both world and European points lists.
And even if he is missing out on the huge number of points on offer in Paris, Lowry knows time is still on his side with an upcoming stretch of events that takes in the Scottish Open, British Open and the US PGA.
The Irish contingent competing in the French Open has been increased, with Paul Dunne receiving a sponsor’s invitation. Dunne – whose tied-13th finish in the BMW moved him up to 109th on the latest Race to Dubai standings – joins McIlroy, Graeme McDowell, Pádraig Harrington, Darren Clarke and Michael Hoey in the field on the course where the 2018 Ryder Cup will be held. Harrington, incidentally, secured a top-10 finish in the Global Cup on the Japan Tour over the weekend.
Stephanie Meadow, meanwhile, has slipped outside of an automatic spot for the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro but will have an opportunity to earn some precious world ranking/Olympic qualifying points at this week’s Portland Classic on the LPGA Tour.
