File – In this Sunday, July 31, 2016 file photo, Martin Kaymer watches his tee shot on the sixth hole during the final round of the PGA Championship golf tournament at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, N.J. Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer and Thomas Pieters will fill out the European team as Darren Clarke’s captain’s picks for the Ryder Cup at Hazeltine from September 30-Oct. 2.
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Smyth did not agree with those sentiments, although he had sympathy for Knox, who finished 10th in World points, just one place behind Matthew Fitzpatrick, the last automatic qualifier from that list.
Clarke, with five debutants on his team already as automatic qualifiers, did draw on some further experience as he revealed his three wildcards to take on Davis Love III’s U.S. outfit, naming Lee Westwood for his tenth Ryder Cup appearance and two-time major champion Martin Kaymer.
Emphasizing the importance of adding veteran experience to a team already packed with rookies, Clarke chose to pick Ryder Cup veterans and former world no.1’s Martin Kaymer and Lee Westwood to add a little bit of know-how to the roster. The 43-year-old’s last victory came in Indonesia in April 2015 but he was joint second behind Willett at Augusta and has recorded four other top-15 finishes from a limited schedule.
“It’s one of the most hard periods in the whole of my golfing career”, said Clarke, who added that the phone call to let down Knox was “one of the toughest I have ever had to make”. Pieters, a 24-year-old from Belgium, played his way onto the team – in lieu of England’s Luke Donald, who had been rumored as one of the wild card choices – by winning the European Tour’s Made in Denmark title on Sunday.
“He played unbelievable and shot 62 and, on top of that, won the tournament”.
The Scot is arguably the most unlucky player to miss out on a captain’s pick for Team Europe, as he missed automatic qualifying by a single place. “I thought he might have played”, he said.
Clarke’s captain’s picks are Lee Westwood, Thomas Pieters, and Martin Kaymer.
Swallowing the disappointment he had anticipated, McDowell admitted: “I’m gutted not to be part of Darren Clarke’s Ryder Cup Europe team”.
” I’m sure we’ll see some names we recognise, friends of his”.
By picking Donald, Clarke would be overlooking two “hot hands” in Russell Knox and Thomas Pieters, both of whom have won in the past month.
Then it was down to Thomas and Russell Knox.
“The last was very hard”. I’ve always been a big Thomas Pieters fan from when I first witnessed how he hits the golf ball.
Westwood and Kaymer’s inclusions are not a surprise, but it was the selection of Pieters that seemed to cause Clarke the most problems.
Thomas Pieters found form at exactly the right time to secure a maiden Ryder Cup start and become a sixth rookie in the team. “He is going to blossom”, Clarke said.
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“Kaymer brings experience, a two time major champion, and a player I admire and respect hugely. We can say, ‘Hey, we ran the numbers and dissected the course and together you guys are unbeatable.’ Knowing why you’re playing with a guy can do so much to boost confidence”.
