England’s Matt Wallace has told Sky Sports he is “up for the fight” of making Europe’s Ryder Cup team for the first time in his career, saying there should be “no excuses” for him missing out this time around.
Europe will travel to New York and Bethpage Black seeking to defend the crown they won in Rome in 2023 under captain Luke Donald, seeking what would be the first away Ryder Cup win from any team since the ‘Miracle of Medinah’ in 2012.
Wallace, who claimed a first DP World Tour win in six years with a dramatic playoff victory at the European Masters in September, has never previously participated at a Ryder Cup.
Speaking on the latest Sky Sports Golf Podcast episode, the 34-year-old Londoner reveals how the disappointment of missing out on the 2018 Ryder Cup is driving him.
“I remember missing out then (2018), and Dave McNeilly who was caddying for me at the time said: ‘We’re in,’ so I obviously thought we’d get there and couldn’t really understand why we didn’t,” Wallace said.
“Now I look back and think: “Okay, rookie, they went on to get a great win having Sergio [Garcia] there, most points in the Ryder Cup – I understand more now.
“I’d never played against the big stars, the big players really, on a constant basis. It would have been a little bit of a risk for Thomas [Bjorn] to throw me in.
“I’m not saying I couldn’t have done it, but it would have been a risk. So I understand. And I missed the cut at the French Open that year. So those were the excuses as to why I didn’t make the Ryder Cup that time.
“But now, I came third at the PGA at Bethpage in 2019, I was behind Brooks [Koepka] and DJ [Dustin Johnson], so that’s not going to be an excuse this time. It can’t be an excuse this time.
“I will be a Ryder Cup rookie, but I have played on the PGA Tour for five years now against the best players in the world. I’ve beaten a lot of them, I’m not scared and I’m up for the fight.
“I feel like I’ve got the mentality to deal with anything over there [USA]. And I just want to make it.”
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Highlights from the final round of the European Masters at Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club in Switzerland as Wallace finished victorious
Significant changes have been made to the Ryder Cup qualification process, with the new system – which started at the British Masters – designed to be more streamlined and fairer.
For Wallace, he’s hoping a career-long goal can be accomplished.
“That’s the emotion it brings to me, and that’s what I want to do. I want to be a part of what I think is the best sporting event in the world.”
Listen to the full podcast episode above as Wallace discusses his mentality on the golf course, his win in Crans-sur-Sierre this year and more on his ambition of being selected for the European Ryder Cup team in 2025.
Ryder Cup Points List introduced
Team Europe have announced a major overhaul to the way in which their team will be selected, with performances on the PGA Tour being given far more weight than in the past.
Ryder Cup 2025 captains Keegan Bradley of the USA and Luke Donald of Europe
In previous years, the European Ryder Cup team was determined by two separate points lists: the World Points List and the European Points List. However, for the 2025 edition, Team Europe will merge these into a single Ryder Cup Points List.
This amalgamated list will be the only ranking system used to determine the top six players ranked who automatically qualify for Team Europe, with a further six picks from Donald completing his 12-man line-up.
How points are earned
The Ryder Cup Points List is based on a new banding system that assigns points to various tournaments.
This new structure replaces the previous system based on Official World Golf Ranking points and Race to Dubai rankings, with the objective of aiming to provide a clearer and more equitable path for qualification.
A total of 5,000 points will be distributed at the majors; 3,000 points at The Players Championships, the PGA Tour’s signature events and the FedExCup Playoff events: and 2,000 points from the DP World Tour’s Rolex Series events and regular PGA Tour events.
There also will be 1,500 points for the ‘Back 9’ series of events, and 1,000 points at smaller events on the DP World Tour and opposite-field events on the PGA Tour.
- Major Championships: 5,000 points per event
- PGA Tour Signature Events, The Players Championship, and FedExCup Playoffs: 3,000 points per event
- DP World Tour Rolex Series Events: 2,000 points per event
- PGA Tour Regular FedExCup Events: 2,000 points per event
- DP World Tour ‘Back 9’ Events: 1,500 points per event
- DP World Tour ‘Global Series’ Events and PGA TOUR ‘Opposite’ Events: 1,000 points per event
Sky Sports will continue to be the home of the Ryder Cup, with all three days of the 2025 contest from Bethpage Black, New York exclusively live.
Sky Sports+ has officially launched and will be integrated into Sky TV, streaming service NOW and the Sky Sports app, giving Sky Sports customers access to over 50 per cent more live sport this year at no extra cost. Find out more here.