BIRMINGHAM, England — Rasmus Hojgaard stayed on course to secure a last-gasp spot in Europe's Ryder Cup team after reaching the halfway point of the British Masters in a tie for 14th place on Friday.

The Danish golfer shot 1-under 71 in the second round and was on 4 under overall, five strokes off the lead held by Marcel Siem (69).

Hojgaard needs to finish in a two-way tie for 29th or better in the tournament being held at The Belfry to earn enough points to overtake Shane Lowry, who is clinging onto sixth place in the list of automatic qualifiers in Europe's team.

The top six get into the European team automatically. Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, Tommy Fleetwood, Robert MacIntyre and Tyrrell Hatton are already guaranteed to be at next month’s matches at Bethpage Black.

Lowry is not compe

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