VIRGINIA WATER, England – Europe captain Luke Donald will have six picks for next year’s Ryder Cup in Italy.

That’s three more picks than Padraig Harrington had for Europe’s record 19-9 loss to the United States at Whistling Straits last year.

Ryder Cup Europe announced the qualification process for the 2023 event on Tuesday, with three automatic qualifiers coming from the leading players on the European points list and then the top three on the world points list.

The qualification period begins at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth from Sept. 8-11 and runs to Sept. 3 next year, three weeks before the Ryder Cup.

Donald said having six picks gives him “flexibility to ensure we have the strongest lineup at Marco Simone in terms of in-form players, players with Ryder Cup experience, and potential pairings.”