Ryder Cup hopeful sends resounding message to Luke Donald with new career milestone

Despite coming up just short, the result is set to propel Rai into the top 20 of the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time, cementing his status as one of the in-form European players in 2024.

The Englishman is higher in the rankings than Matt Fitzpatrick, Shane Lowry, Sepp Straka, Justin Rose, Tyrrell Hatton and Nicolai Hojgaard, all of whom were part of the victorious team that defeated the Americans in Rome last year.

Rai’s performances have caught the eye of captain Luke Donald, who was the first person to send a congratulatory text to Rai after he won the Wyndham Championship in August. After that breakthrough moment, Rai declared his desire to make the team for Bethpage Black next year.

A perfect drive set the 29-year-old up with an outside chance of finding the green and an eagle opportunity, and rather than opting for the conservative play and locking up more prize money, Rai took dead aim for the flag. His execution was fractionally off, finding the greenside water hazard, and a closing bogey saw him finish at 17-under-par for the week.