Belgian rookie Thomas Pieters and experienced duo Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer were named by Europe captain Darren Clarke as wild-card picks yesterday to complete his Ryder Cup team.
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Andy Sullivan (England), US Masters champion Danny Willett (England), Matt Fitzpatrick (England), Rafael Cabrera-Bello (Spain) and Chris Wood (England).
Thomas Pieters gave Darren Clarke a close-up view of his talent when he shot a 62 playing alongside Europe’s Ryder Cup captain in Denmark last week.
“The first time I played the Ryder Cup, it was very overwhelming”, Kaymer told reporters.
Germany’s Kaymer played a starring role in 2012 at Medinah – holing the winning putt to cap off an improbable comeback victory.
The odds on Donald, who won the 1999 NCAA Championship at Hazeltine, being selected dropped noticeably on Monday, even though the former world number one’s last victory came in 2013. “It’s certainly motivated me for the next three weeks, that’s for sure”, he said.
Clarke said Luke Donald – another former No. 1 and a four-time Ryder Cup victor – and Graeme McDowell would also have been in contention for a pick if their form had been better.
When it comes to current form, Scotland’s Russell Knox and Belgium’s Thomas Pieters have the best claims to selection, world number 20 Knox finishing 10th in qualifying, just 0.04 points ahead of Pieters. Donald has competed in four Ryder Cups and has a stellar record in the tournament, dating back to 2004.
Clarke’s team bidding for a record fourth straight victory over the Americans, which begins at Hazeltine on September 30, may look light on experience but among the rookies are this year’s Masters victor Danny Willett and PGA champion Chris Wood. “I am proud of this team and have no worries about them at all”. I have seen a lot of players.
“That call to Russell was as hard a phone call as I’ve ever had to make in golfing terms”, added Clarke, who played with Pieters for the first two rounds in Denmark and saw him shoot a 62 on Thursday.
It is tough on US-based Scot Russell Knox, who would have qualified sixth had he been a European Tour member when the countdown began last September.
Smyth was one of Ian Woosnam’s assistants when the Welshman opted to select Clarke for The K Club in 2006 just weeks after the Dungannon man’s wife Heather had died of cancer. “That’s what makes Europe the team that we are, because there’s always guys that want to learn and want to get better, and you can’t have a better guy from a playing point of view than Lee Westwood in that team room”.
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With an American father, Russell Knox is eligible for the United States of America and captain Davis Love III was quizzed about whether he would select the Scot in his team if he could. “If I hadn’t hit it in the water three times at the 17th at the Players I might have won there and then I’d definitely be on the team”.
