Tommy Fleetwood moved within 0.71 points of the automatic Ryder Cup qualification spots on the World Points List after a tied third finish at the Valspar Championship on the PGA TOUR.
Rounds of 68-69-69-70 at Innisbrook Resort saw the six-time DP World Tour winner climb three places and within touching distance of Shane Lowry who currently occupies the final qualifying spot on the World Points List with 60.92 points.
Chasing his maiden PGA TOUR victory, Fleetwood started the day one stroke behind overnight leader Adam Schenk in Florida.
And when the two-time European Ryder Cup player birdied the par-five 11th hole, it looked like he may have a chance of winning for the first time on the PGA TOUR on his 112th start.
However, when he dropped a shot on the 14th after failing to escape a bunker, he was ultimately too far behind winner Taylor Moore, who fired a final round of 67 to win by one.
Should Fleetwood be part of Luke Donald’s 2023 Ryder Cup side at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club, it will be the Englishman’s third consecutive appearance for Team Europe.
Meanwhile, Frenchman Antoine Rozner climbed four places and inside the top ten on the European Points List after a tied third finish at the SDC Championship on the DP World Tour, won by England’s Matthew Baldwin.
A winner earlier this season at the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open, Rozner now claims the ninth spot on the European Points List with 916.49 points.
Runner-up Adri Arnaus climbed 13 places into 29th position, with Baldwin making the biggest jump of the week as his maiden Tour victory on his 200th start saw the Englishman climb 78 places and into 50th position.
Baldwin, who completed an 11-year journey to the winner’s circle in South Africa, said: "I'm not 100 per cent sure what's just happened! It's been a tough few years, so obviously to get the win means absolutely everything.
"I can't process it right now but it just means the world to me.”
As it stands Rory McIlroy (1,856.50 points), Jon Rahm (1,850.00 points), and Yannik Paul (1,269.97 points) would claim the three automatic qualifying spots on the European Points List, with Tyrrell Hatton (107.95 points), Viktor Hovland (102.14 points) and Lowry (60.92 points) currently sitting in the top three positions on the World Points List.
The 2023 Ryder Cup will take place between September 25 – October 1 at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club, Rome, Italy.
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