WORLD number one Luke Donald believes he and Justin Rose would make a formidable Ryder Cup pairing, following their duel at Wentworth.

The pair went toe-to-toe at the BMW PGA Championship, with Donald edging out the Hampshire star to successfully defend the title he won in 2011.

Both players are set to comfortably qualify for José María Olazábal’s European Ryder Cup team, which will take on the United States at Medinah Country Club, Illinois, this September.

Having played with Rose for three of the four rounds at Wentworth, Donald, pictured below, believes they would have the chemistry to be successful as a pairing.

"I think we would make a good partnership, whether it was fourballs or foursomes," he said.

Rose made his Ryder Cup debut in 2008, scoring three points out of a possible four, as Europe lost to the United States at Valhalla Golf Club, in Kentucky.

But the former North Hants member did not make Colin Montgomerie’s victorious team, which triumphed in a thrilling encounter at Celtic Manor, two years ago.

There is little chance he will miss out this time, though.

Rose is well entrenched in the European points list, lying third. A top five finish there would ensure a place in the squad.

Should he drop out, he is almost certain to qualify through the world points list.

With four months to go before the showdown with the Americans, Rose was willing to admit he has put himself in a very strong position.

He said: "I might even get the job done now, who knows?

"I look at it from the world ranking points list. That’s the list that I’ll fall back into if people overtake me on the (European) money list.

"I think from that perspective I’m going to be hard to knock out."

Donald certainly shares the same opinion.

"Justin’s a solid player. I don’t have any doubt he’ll be in the team," he said. "I think it’s shaping up nicely our team. The US guys are playing well too.

"It’s going to be a tough battle, as it always is. I think Ollie’s going to have a lot of people in form to pick (his two wildcard selections) from, and that’s always a good thing."

Rose’s tied second place finish at the PGA Championship saw him move up from number ten in the world to number six, matching his highest ever ranking.

Only Donald, Rory McIlroy, Lee Westwood, Bubba Watson and Matt Kuchar are listed above him.

Rose this week heads back Stateside, to Muirfield Village, for the Memorial Tournament – an event he won two years ago.

That will be his last competitive appearance before the US Open, at Olympic Club, San Francisco, which begins on June 14.