Darren Clarke has confirmed Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer and Thomas Pieters as his wildcard picks for the 2016 Ryder Cup.
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“It’s going to be a monumental task but I’ve got full confidence in the team we’re going to take, ” Clarke added.
“Thomas hits the ball very far, is very good with the short game and obviously proved he can play under pressure very well”.
Rumors that Luke Donald will be a wildcard pick for Team Europe in this year’s Ryder Cup led to betting on Donald being suspended on Monday, after odds on the prospect went from 5/2 to 1/100.
“I got the phone call and I was just over the moon”, Pieters said, who has had making the Ryder Cup on his “bucket list” since he was a freshman at the University of IL. After a win in Denmark last week, Belgium’s Thomas Pieters did enough to persuade Clarke to choose him over Scotland’s Russell Knox.
Rookies filled five of the nine automatic qualifying places and although one of them is Masters champion Danny Willett, Clarke has made no secret of the fact that he wants to “balance the team” with experienced players.
Westwood will make his 10th consecutive appearance in next month’s contest at Hazeltine National, while Pieters brings the number of rookies on Clarke’s side to six – the most since Europe regained the trophy at Celtic Manor in 2010. Belgian Pieters will be making his debut in the biennial competition. “I am going to leave all the big decisions up to Darren”. “I was going to look towards experience”.
Already on the European team as automatic qualifiers are four-time major champion and former world number one Rory McIlroy, current world number four and Open Championship victor Henrik Stenson, Masters champion Danny Willett, Olympic gold medalist and former U.S. Open champ Justin Rose, Sergio Garcia, Chris Wood, Rafa Cabrera-Bello, Andy Sullivan and Matthew Fitzpatrick.
“Last week I played with him (Pieters) as I have many times over the qualification period”.
“The third choice came down to Russell Knox and Thomas Pieters”.
“I’m incredibly proud. When I look back over my career, it’s has provided most of the very special moments and something that I love looking back on”, said Westwood.
“It’s hard to be a rookie on home soil when you have the crowd cheering for you, but to be a rookie in the States and be up against it, the crowd as well as the team, it’s a little extra”. The 24-year-old finished fourth at the Rio Olympics. There’s a lot of experience there and a lot of the players have strong character and they can take it, they can take a fight and a bit of stick. “I just can’t wait to get on that plane and be with the team the whole week”.
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At the conclusion of qualifying, US captain Davis Love III will have two weeks before making four captain’s picks.
