Lawrie surges up European Ryder Cup standings

• By Ryan Ballengee
• May 29, 2012 2:35 PM ET

European Ryder Cup captain Jose Maria Olazabal will pull 10 automatic qualifiers from two separate points lists. The top 5 players on the European Points List after the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles will make the team (Click to view U.S. Ryder Cup standings).

Top 5 after the BMW PGA Championship (points in parentheses):

1. Rory McIlroy (2,584,843.51)

2. Paul Lawrie (1,933,398.60)

3. Justin Rose (1,921,969.23)

4. Martin Kaymer (1,683,932.41)

5. Peter Hanson (1,665,798.93)

The five players are unchanged this week, though four players changed positions.

Peter Hanson moved down from second to fifth, while Lawrie moved up to second on the heels of his joint runner-up finish at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth Club. Justin Rose, the other runner-up to Luke Donald, is now third. Martin Kaymer is now fourth.

The next five players will be the highest five on the World Points List not already on the team. Currently, that handful of players would consist of the following in order of their position on the list (points in parentheses):

2. Luke Donald (316.10)

4. Lee Westwood (238.22)

5. Graeme McDowell (169.49)

9. Sergio Garcia (142.49)

10. Nicolas Colsaerts (118.94)

The list is unchanged from last week.

Olazabal will finalize his team by making two picks. Here are some players not currently inside the top five of either points list who deserve consideration:

Alvaro Quiros: The big-hitting Spaniard again deserves some consideration after posting a T-10 finish at the BMW PGA.

Francesco Molinari: Molinari finished T-7 at Wentworth and won in Spain earlier this year.

Ian Poulter: Poulter continues to show improved form, finishing T-10 at the BMW PGA.

Thomas Bjorn: Bjorn finished T-43 at Wentworth, which continues a recent slide for the Great Dane.

Rafael Cabrera-Bello: RCB finished T-15 at the BMW PGA to back up a semifinal appearance in the Volvo World Match Play.