Molinari surges up European Ryder Cup standings

• By Ryan Ballengee
• Jul 16, 2012 12:47 PM ET

With his second consecutive runner-up finish on the European Tour at the Scottish Open, Francesco Molinari pulled a step closer to securing a Ryder Cup berth (Click to view U.S. Ryder Cup standings).

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.

Top 5 after the Scottish Open (points in parentheses):

1. Rory McIlroy (2,620,352.00)

2. Justin Rose (2,058,194.30)

3. Paul Lawrie (2,000,934.94)

4. Francesco Molinari (1,975,106.58)

5. Graeme McDowell (1,951,181.29)

Martin Kaymer was bumped from the top five.

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 (327.76)

3. Lee Westwood (277.72)

8. Martin Kaymer (168.99)

9. Peter Hanson (168.46)

10. Sergio Garcia (155.58)

Martin Kaymer dropped out of the top five on the European points list but remains in the top 10 as a result of his standing on the world points list.

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:

Padraig Harrington: Harrington continues to shine, finishing T-16 at the Scottish Open. He is now 20th in world points.

Nicolas Colsaerts: The Belgian is 10th in European points after a T-36 effort at Castle Stuart.

Ian Poulter: Poulter took the week off after a T-4 finish in France but looks good for a pick.

Thomas Bjorn: Bjorn's position was hurt by missing the cut at Castle Stuart.