Robert MacIntyre and Victor Perez will continue in their quest to claim a place on the European Ryder Cup team when they tee it up at the ISPS HANDA World Invitational presented by AVIV Clinics from August 17-20 at Galgorm and Castlerock.
The duo, who have five DP World Tour wins between them, will both make their debuts in the innovative event which sees men and women play on the same courses, at the same time, while being co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour, LPGA Tour and the Ladies European Tour.
Scotland’s MacIntyre, who has top fives in each of his last two regular DP World Tour starts, currently holds the final automatic qualification spot on the European Points List.
The 27-year-old is looking to secure his place on Luke Donald’s team ahead of next month’s biennial showpiece at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome, a venue which he has also had success at following his Italian Open victory in 2022.
“I feel like I’ve found some good form over the last few events and I’m raring to go again after a couple of weeks off,” MacIntyre said.
“I’ve made some changes to my team recently and I feel much more comfortable on the course. I’m really looking forward to playing the ISPS HANDA World Invitational for the first time after seeing how successful it’s been over the last couple of years.
“I played at Galgorm on the Challenge Tour so I’m excited to go back there and also experience Castlerock as well, which looks like a quality links course.”
Frenchman Perez started 2023 with a maiden Rolex Series title at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and is hungry for more success with a big run of events coming up on the Race to Dubai.
“I’ve been building towards the second half of the season, so I feel really focused and ready to go again next week at the ISPS HANDA World Invitational,” he said.
“I think the format of the event is really cool, with both men and women playing, and it brings a different dynamic to what we’re used to.
“One of my main goals at the start of the year was to make the Ryder Cup team so I’m going to do everything I can over the next few weeks to stake my claim.”
Each player will play one round at each venue over the first two days, before all the action takes place at Galgorm once the cut falls after 36 holes. Additionally, the G4D Tour @ ISPS HANDA World Invitational will take place during the tournament week, pitting together the best players from the Word Ranking for Golfers with Disability.
In 2022, Scotland’s Ewen Ferguson picked up his second DP World Tour title in wire-to-wire fashion, while Sweden’s Maja Stark fired a stunning closing round of 63 to win the women’s competition by five strokes as she continued her magnificent ascent up the women’s ranks.
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