French Players Lead European Junior Ryder Cup Rankings after Spanish Championships

French players Hugo Le Goff and Louise Uma Landgraf lead the race to qualify for the 2025 European Junior Ryder Cup team.

Three boys and three girls will automatically earn their spots on the 12-player European team - set to take on the USA this September - through a season-long ranking system organised by the European Golf Association.

European team captain, Stephen Gallacher, was in attendance in Spain this week to watch the prestigious Spanish international amateur championships, the second counting events of the qualifying race.

Hugo Le Goff, who narrowly missed out on a spot in the European team in 2023, had a perfect week at Real Guadalhorce Club de Golf. The French junior finished in a tie for ninth in the stroke play qualifying before winning all six of his matches to claim the Copa S.M. El Rey title just a few days shy of his 17th birthday.

The points haul puts him at the top of the boys’ ranking, overtaking Louis Klein (CZE) who moves down to second position.

Björn Driessen (NED), who was defeated by Le Goff in the quarter-finals this weekend, rounds out the top-three after a strong showing in Spain.

Raúl Gómez Montalvá (ESP), Oscar Couilleau (FRA), Bruno Frontero (ITA) and 2023 European team players, Kris Kim (ENG) and Lev Grinberg (UKR) occupy spots four to eight, respectively, and are all within touching distance of the top-three after two played events.

On the girls’ side, the top-two remained unchanged after the Copa S.M. La Reina with Louise Uma Landgraf (FRA) in pole position and Sara Brentcheneff (FRA) close behind. The former reached the quarter-finals last week while Brentcheneff closed the gap to the ranking leader with a tied-for-third finish.

However, Nagore Martinez (ESP) was the standout performer in Spain. The 17-year-old came from behind in the final match at Real Club de Golf El Prat to lift the title and jump up to third position in the Junior Ryder Cup Rankings.

The top-three have opened up a sizeable gap to fourth-place, although there’s still seven events to play for the girls.

The French International Junior Championships, set to take place from 17-21 April, are the next opportunity for boys and girls to score points towards automatic team selection.