Only Rory McIlroy – with 20 titles – has won more times on the DP World Tour since 2009 than Noren and he needed all his nous to hold off the gutsy Saddier.
The Swede will be on the plane to New York alongside the current European stars but he proved he can still beat the best of them with this fine performance across four days at Wentworth.
Indeed, after winning his first title in seven years at the British Masters last month, there is an argument that Noren ought to have been making his second playing appearance for the team.
Ever humble, Noren was asked if he was taking his clubs to Bethpage in case any European needed to pull out through injury and simply said others were more deserving of the chance to play.
Regardless, this victory will only give him extra credence in the Team Europe dressing room.
In good news for captain Donald, before the rain set in, Europe’s two biggest players McIlroy and Jon Rahm had catapulted themselves up the leaderboard.
Both started the day a few hours before the leading groups but finished their rounds as clubhouse leader, McIlroy firing a seven-under 65 – including an eagle on the 18th – to reach 12 under par and then Rahm shooting a six-under 66 to go one better.
Also trending in the right direction are Fitzpatrick, Hatton and Hovland, although the latter two would perhaps have expected to offer more competition to Noren given their positions at two and three shots off the lead heading into the final day.
It is not all good news for Europe however.
Rookie Rasmus Hojgaard missed the cut on Friday, and he was joined in an early exit by Robert MacIntyre as the DP World Tour enacted an unusual cut after the third round.
Justin Rose was firmly in contention after two rounds before plummeting over the weekend with rounds of 76 and 73, eventually finishing 13 shots back.
Meanwhile, Ludvig Aberg, so impressive on Ryder Cup debut two years ago, was red-hot on Thursday but erratic over the weekend, albeit finishing with two birdies to post 12 under par.
Two years ago, seven players from Team Europe finished in the top 10 here before the victorious trip to Rome.
This week, it was just three.
