Padraig continues push for European Ryder Cup spot

• By Ryan Ballengee
• Jun 25, 2012 1:46 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 International Open (points in parentheses):

1. Rory McIlroy (2,586,452.00)

2. Justin Rose (1,991,414.30)

3. Paul Lawrie (1,986,101.61)

4. Graeme McDowell (1,884,888.79)

5. Martin Kaymer (1,779,612.80)

The list is unchanged from last week.

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 (324.26)

3. Lee Westwood (276.22)

7. Peter Hanson (168.46)

9. Sergio Garcia (155.58)

10. Gonazlo Fernandez-Castano (128.30)

Gonazlo Fernandez-Castano overtook Nicolas Colsaerts for the last automatic spot.

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:

Fredrik Jacobson: The Swede contended at the U.S. Open and had a good week as defending champion at the Travelers Championship. Still a long shot.

Nicolas Colsaerts: He fell out of the group of 10 automatic qualifiers in his week off after a T-27 finish at the U.S. Open.

Alvero Quiros: Quiros missed a second consecutive cut at the BMW International Open, which may raise questions of consistency.

Thomas Bjorn: Bjorn notched a T-8 finish in Germany - a good bounce back after missing the cut at the U.S. Open.

Padraig Harrington: The Irishman finished T-4 at the U.S. Open and was in the thick of it at the Travelers before finishing T-11.