Justin Rose and Oliver Wilson, eighth and ninth in the European Ryder Cup race entering the penultimate tournament, will go head to head in the first two rounds of the KLM Open starting Thursday.
Rose’s failure to make certain of a place in the Nick Faldo’s side has brought him back from America, where he had been planning to play the first leg of the FedExCup playoff series with its $7 million jackpot.
“It’s a frustrating situation,” he admitted. “I don’t know whether I have done enough yet to get into the team. I hope so, but I might not have.”
Last season’s European Tour No. 1 is about $90,000 ahead of Wilson, who in turn is about $5,000 ahead of Dane Soren Hansen in the 10th and last automatic spot. The closest gap, though, is between Hansen and 11th-placed Martin Kaymer. Just about $500 separates them.
