I know just how hard it has been for Darren Clarke to finally settle on Thomas Pieters, Martin Kaymer and Lee Westwood as his three captain’s picks for next month’s Ryder Cup, which he named on Tuesday.
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Kaymer, a two-time major champion and former number one player in the world, hasn’t won in over two years and is now ranked thirty spots below Knox in the OWGR, but his play in the 2012 Ryder Cup, dubbed the “Miracle at Medinah” in which the Europeans overcame a huge deficit on the final day to win, likely played a part in Clarke’s decision. Finished tied sixth in the Portugal Masters last October and added a top 15 at the BMW Masters in Shanghai before a second place finish early in 2016 at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship.
When naming Pieters above him at Wentworth, Clarke revealed that he had asked Knox to play the Wyndham Championship two weeks ago, the last qualifying event in the European race to be held in America, but that he refused.
Pieters started the final round one shot behind the 43-year-old Dredge, who finished runner-up at Himmerland for the second time.
But equally as impressive was the way he closed the tournament at Himmerland Golf & Spa Resort, almost acing the iconic par three 16th hole but settling for birdie, and then also picking up shots on the final two holes for a round of 65 and a 17 under par winning total.
“The first time I played the Ryder Cup, it was very overwhelming”, Kaymer told reporters. “It’s certainly motivated me for the next three weeks, that’s for sure”, he said. I haven’t slept a lot.
“I’m very disappointed not to have made the team”, Knox said.
Westwood will make his 10th consecutive appearance in next month’s contest at Hazeltine, while Kaymer earns his fourth straight cap as Clarke opted to add much-needed experience to his line-up.
“I was pretty relaxed coming down the stretch, but around the middle I was having flashbacks to last week when the putts weren’t dropping, so I guess I just had to hit them close”.
The addition of Pieters meant the European team will have six Ryder Cup rookies in Hazeltine next month. “I just can’t wait to get on that plane and be with the team the whole week”.
Russell Knox may not be pencilling the Ryder Cup into his diary after he failed to gain a wild card yesterday but the spurned Scot is determined to prove that European skipper Darren Clarke was wrong not to call on his services.
Darren played alongside him for the first two rounds and I know he was hugely impressed, telling us that Pieters was awesome and would go on to be world No1, no question. The US is going to be very strong but we are equally as strong – it’s a good mix of experience of youth.
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American captain Davis Love will name three of his wildcard selections a week on Sunday, with his final pick not being announced until five days before the tournament begins.
