Ireland’s Shane Lowry and Graeme McDowell have not been included in captain Darren Clarke’s wildcard picks for the Ryder Cup.
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Clarke had sought world number 41 Pieters out as a playing partner in Denmark and witnessed at first hand the Belgian’s opening-round 62 that laid the foundations for his one-shot victory over Bradley Dredge of Wales.
Clarke’s three picks were Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer and Thomas Pieters. I had to phone Russell and tell him yesterday.
Before lunchtime, the 38-year-old Englishman was as high as 5/2 with bookmaker William Hill to be selected by captain Darren Clarke, with that falling to 2/1, then 6/4, in the minutes and hours that followed before betting was suspended on the market at around 2pm (pic below) with him at 1/100. “But I’ve done all I can now and I’m just really pleased with this win to be honest”.
Knox said: “It’s certainly motivated me for the next three weeks, that’s for sure”.
While the issue of inexperience will form the basis for most of the reasons why Europe won’t win but as golf commentator Ken Brown noted: “Going with form has produced more points than going with experience”.
Darren Clarke in jovial mood at a press conference to announce his wild card selections for the Ryder Cup.
“Thomas deserves it, 100 percent. He’s been incredible. I feel like I deserved to be there too but those guys thought otherwise”. Another source close to Clarke had also indicated that he was leaning toward Donald, who finished second at the Wyndham Championship two weeks ago and is a veteran of four Ryder Cups, all on the winning side. He’s played well this year, he was runner-up at Augusta and week in, week out he has been very solid.
If that is the case, it is a straight fight between Pieters and Russell Knox, who would have easily made it to the team if his biggest win past year – at the WGC-HSBC Champions – had come as a European Tour member.
“The third choice came down to Russell Knox and Thomas Pieters”.
He added: “It’s impossible to look back and say yes I would have done this or done that”. There’s a lot of experience there and I look at a lot of the players’ characters and I think they can take it, they can take a fight and a bit of stick.
“So I wouldn’t do anything differently. I’m playing the best golf of my life and whatever I’m doing right now is working”. “I gave him that choice by not making the team outright”.
That partly explains Clarke’s desire for more balance to the team, and therefore his call for Westwood – a longtime friend – and Kaymer.
Bad news for Irish fans, but not a huge surprise.. It was a very short phone call. It was obvious that he had made up his mind and that was final.
If Luke Donald does get the nod, both Knox and Pieters can count themselves desperately unlucky.
“I’m in good position but I want to win some tournaments”, he added.
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“The last one was very hard; I’m not going to sit here and say otherwise and I had a few different people in my mind”.
