Ryder Cup stars must scrap back into top 50 or face missing out at Hazeltine
Luke Donald and Ian Poulter have dropped out of the top 50
Lee Westwood has given up PGA membership in bid to halt slide
Matt Fitzpatrick, Tommy Fleetwood and Andy Sullivan are rising stars
By Derek Lawrenson for the Daily Mail
Published: 17:30 EST, 19 October 2015 | Updated: 07:35 EST, 20 October 2015
As if the fluid situation at the top of the world rankings was not intriguing enough, take a look at what is happening right now around the all-important 50th place.
Fall outside the top 50 and the invitations to the majors and World Golf Championship events rapidly become a fond memory. If they dry up, a player can all but forget qualifying automatically to play in the Ryder Cup next year at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Minnesota.
Between 46th and 66th place lie no fewer than seven Englishmen representing two different eras. On one side of the generation gap and desperate to halt their recent decline, we have Lee Westwood, Luke Donald and Ian Poulter.
Ryder Cup legend Ian Poulter has dropped out of the world's top 50 for the first time since 2006
On the other, and eager to continue their pleasing ascent, we have twentysomethings Matt Fitzpatrick, Tommy Fleetwood, Chris Wood and Andy Sullivan, the impressive winner of the Portugal Masters on Sunday.
It is going to be fascinating to see how many of these players — and from which age spectrum — are on the right side of that top-50 divide when the music stops at the end of the year, with so much at stake, including a guaranteed spot at the Masters next April.
Just now, it is generation next making all the noise. Sullivan's victory, following on from Fitzpatrick's success at the British Masters at Woburn the previous week, completed the best fortnight for English golf this year.
Lee Westwood hopes returning to the European Tour can reinvigorate his game
Tommy Fleetwood has made a steady climb up the world rankings over the past 18 months
A distant runner-up to Sullivan on Sunday was Wood, who thankfully seems to be over the multitude of injuries that stunted his progress in recent years.
Contrast this cheer with the trio of established stars, with former world No 1 Donald now the back marker among the seven in 66th place, while Poulter (51st) woke up on Monday and found himself ranked outside the world's top 50 for the first time since September 17, 2006.
And so we come to the four events comprising the European Tour's Final Series that will decide so much. Beginning in Turkey next week, they all offer big money and tons of world ranking points, and provide a fitting stage for this clash of the generations.
Time for one set of players to draw a line in the sand perhaps, and show they have still got plenty to offer; or the other to demonstrate they are ready to step out of their collective shadow. Who's your money on — the old or the new?
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Let's hope for 2019 Open at Portrush
Tuesday is a momentous one for two of the UK's most famous golf clubs.
At Portrush in Northern Ireland, a press conference will be held to announce the year the club will return to the Open Championship rota. Golf course architect Martin Ebert has been scurrying back and forth on a weekly basis, overseeing two new closing holes that will give the blessed links the finish it deserves.
Portrush in Northern Ireland set to announce a return to the Open Championship rota
Hopefully, the news will be that The Open can return to the province in 2019. With the end now in sight to that long period in exile stretching back to 1951, the members at Wentworth will learn at their annual meeting this evening whether their equally beloved establishment is hell-bent on going the other way, and — if the rumours are true — effectively closing its doors to all but the uber-wealthy.
Let's reserve comment until the plans are revealed. But when Ernie Els said earlier this year that he had heard the new Chinese owners were intent on turning it into the Augusta of Europe, we hoped he was talking about bringing the greens up to scratch, as opposed to creating another bastion of exclusivity.
Justin Rose heads to Hong Kong in good shape after finishing in a tie for sixth place at Frys.com Open
Justin Rose and Dustin Johnson are the star names lured to play in the Hong Kong Open this week but my attention will be on those players in dire need of a good tournament simply to keep their European Tour cards for next year.
I've been at this event and witnessed the devastated looks among the unsung and the desperate, when the realisation dawns their privileges have been lost. If you think it's difficult holing putts to become the world No 1, imagine what it's like when your livelihood is at stake.
So spare a thought for Englishmen Chris Paisley from Hexham and Seve Benson from Wentworth, who are currently clinging to the final two spots and fully aware that another missed cut this week would be the deepest one of all.
'I didn't want to be remembered this week as the guy who almost hit Rory McIlroy. I wanted to be remembered as the guy who walked away with the trophy.'
Emiliano Grillo claimed his first PGA Tour title with a play-off victory at the Frys.com Open in California.
On Saturday he almost took out Europe's finest with a drive that narrowly missed striking the aforementioned Rory on the fly.
Twenty-four hours later, Emiliano Grillo from Argentina was bang on target to win the Frys.com Open, the first event on the PGA Tour's 2015-16 season in California. As for McIlroy, his putting woes continued as he finished tied 26th.
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