Belgian rookie Thomas Pieters and experienced duo Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer were named by Europe captain Darren Clarke as wildcard picks on Tuesday to complete his Ryder Cup team. The world number 20 finished 10 in qualifying ahead by 0.04 from Belgian Pieters.
Advertisement
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.
Westwood has not won a tournament since April 2015, but he came joint-second behind compatriot Danny Willett – one of Clarke’s automatic picks – at this year’s Masters.
Luke Donald and Russell Knox were the other contenders to be given the nod alongside heavy favourites Westwood and Kaymer but Clarke instead opted for Pieters following his win over the weekend at the Made in Denmark.
It was Pieters, the 24-year-old from Antwerp, who seized the moment with a rampaging run for the line which came to an ultimately triumphant finale last Sunday when he birdied his final three holes to win the Made in Denmark event and convince Clarke that he was the man of the moment and a star of the future. Donald has competed in four Ryder Cups and has a stellar record in the tournament, dating back to 2004.
Knox said Clarke and Ian Poulter called and urged him to play the Wyndham Championship, his last chance to earn world points. The captain hinted that Knox’s failure to play at the Wyndham Championship in North Carolina, from which he could have gained automatic entry into the team, was significant.
Lee Westwood believes Europe’s six Ryder Cup rookies will be ready for anything when they attempt to secure an unprecedented fourth straight victory at Hazeltine next month.
It boiled down to Pieters and Russell Knox, players who have won events on different sides of the Atlantic this month. Had a celebrated amateur college career in America, where he overcame Major victor Jordan Spieth and former world amateur number one Patrick Cantlay to win the NCAA Division I Golf Championship in his sophomore year at the University of IL.
Knox said that when he got Clarke’s call on Monday night “it was obvious within one second that it wasn’t going to be good news for me”.
“But I don’t see the sense of running round like a headless chicken to try to qualify. I am delighted to have him as part of the team”. Among those who just missed out on making the team by right were Bubba Watson and Rickie Fowler.
“Of course I feel like I deserve to be there and should be playing but I’m not, so I have to respect the decision that’s been made”. That’s the kind of guy you want on this team.
Advertisement
“Yeah, it’s going to be a very tough task”.
