Ryder Cup: Westwood, Kaymer and Pieters round out Europe’s team

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 really hard decision was choosing Thomas Pieters over Russell Knox, two guys who are in form, two guys who deserve their place in the team”, Rose told a news teleconference, as he confirmed he would defend his Hong Kong Open title in December.

That’s one of the main reasons why Clarke chose former world No. 1s Westwood, who will be playing in his 10 Ryder Cup (20-15-6 record), and Kaymer, who made his fourth team in a row (4-3-3).

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.

Kaymer, 31, has not lifted a trophy since claiming his second major title at the 2014 US Open, but delivered six top-10 finishes in his last 12 events.

Knox, meanwhile, is left kicking himself for not taking up European Tour membership before his WGC-HSBC Champions win in November.

“He finished fourth in the Olympics and then second and first in his last two events”, said Rose. (In fact, he is ranked higher than all three of Clarke’s picks.) But Pieters, 24, who won the 2012 NCAA Championship at Riviera while playing for Mike Small and IL, simply has been the hotter player. “Having to call Russell and tell him the decision was one of the toughest phone calls I’ve ever had to make”. “I haven’t slept a whole lot”.

The 30-year-old from Inverness missed out on selection as a wildcard for Darren Clarke’s European team to take on the United States of America at Hazeltine at the end of next month with the Northern Irishman opting instead to take Belgium’s Thomas Pieters in a straight choice between rookies.

“The last pick was very hard”.

Clarke was quick to point out that although the pair are very close friends that ultimately played no part in his decision. I didn’t feel like I needed to ask any questions or give my opinion on anything.

“I was going to look towards experience and in Lee and Martin I’ve got two former world number ones, guys who bring a wealth of experience to the team”.

The Ryder Cup is such a collective effort that I don’t like to single out individuals too much, but Westwood and Kaymer have many qualities. “I found it impossible to leave him off the team”.

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.

Bad news for Irish fans, but not a huge surprise..

I’m not going to sit here and say otherwise.

“It came down to the choices between Russell Knox and Thomas Pieters”, explained Darren Clarke.

“It’s going to be a monumental task but I’ve got full confidence in the team we’re going to take”.

Captain Love III will add three of his four wild card picks on September 11 before adding his final team member on September 25, five days before the event gets under way at Hazeltine.