On Tuesday, European captain Darren Clarke named Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer and Thomas Pieters as his three wildcard selections.
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The third pick seems to be between Pieters, Scotland’s Russell Knox and Graeme McDowell of Northern Ireland who has played in each of the last four editions.
Pieters would have been a lock, if not for the fact that out of the nine players who have qualified automatically for the team, five are Ryder Cup rookies.
Westwood and Kaymer have always been favourites to be selected, with Westwood a good friend and former Ryder Cup partner of Clarke who is seeking a 10th consecutive appearance in the event. 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.
Pieters was fourth in the Olympics and second in the defence of his Czech Masters title last week to force his name into the frame for one of European captain Clarke’s three wild cards. I gather that several players also called the captain to share their plaudits for the 24-year-old. Knox would have automatically qualified for the team if he were a European Tour member, but since he plays most of his golf in the U.S., he had to rely on a Captain’s Pick, which he was ultimately passed over for. It is the first time that Irish golf has only had one representative on the European team since coincidentally Clarke’s debut, in 1997, under the late Seve Ballesteros at Valderrama.
“He didn’t hole anything for it. Normally when someone shoots a really low number, they hole a couple of 30 footers or they chip it in”, said Clarke.
“I had a few different people in my mind, obviously Graeme McDowell and Luke Donald regarding their experience but those two haven’t quite been on top of their own games, so then it came down to the choices between Russell Knox and Thomas Pieters”.
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. “He’s played unbelievably well during the qualification period”.
But he admitted he had endured sleepless nights in deciding between Knox and Pieters, having locked in Westwood and Kaymer as his first two selections.
“However, just as significantly, picking him allows Clarke to completely side-step the “Pieters over Knox, Knox over Pieters” decision”.
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“So then it came down to the choice between Russell Knox and Thomas Pieters and it was an incredibly hard decision”. “I’m happy with the decision I made, I felt it was the best one for me, and I don’t think it would have made a difference anyway”. After his rousing Travelers Championship triumph at the start of August, Clarke had made direct contact with Knox to see if he would play in The Wyndham Championship and, possibly, lock up an automatic spot. The US is going to be very strong but we are equally as strong – it’s a good mix of experience of youth.
