Darren Clarke names Westwood, Kaymer and Pieters as Ryder Cup wildcard picks

European captain Darren Clarke will pick friends and Ryder Cup veterans when he names his three wild cards on Tuesday, according to opposite number Davis Love.

“With Lee and Martin they were two pretty obvious choices for me”.

(AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili, File). FILE – In this November 19, 2015, file photo, Lee Westwood of England tees off on the second hole during the round one of DP World Tour Championship golf tournament in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

(AP Photo/Chris Carlson, File). Massive congrats to the picks, especially Thomas Pieters.

“Last week I played with Thomas Pieters and Thomas knew why I was playing with him and played unbelievable and shot 62 and, on top of that, won the tournament”, Clarke added before addressing the challenge of defeating the United States of America for the fourth time in a row when the Ryder Cup matches resume in Minnesota on September 30.

Belgian Pieters wins in Denmark was posted in Sports of TheNews International – https://www.thenews.com.pk on August 30, 2016 and was last updated on August 30, 2016.

The 12-strong team has been rounded out with the inclusion of Clarke’s three wildcards.

Belgium’s Thomas Pieters admitted he had given Ryder Cup captain Darren Clarke a major selection headache after producing a brilliant finish to claim his third European Tour title in the Made in Denmark event. “He will be a star”.

“Lee and Martin were two pretty obvious choices but the last one was very hard”.

He had sleepless nights over his final selection.

“So it came down to Russell Knox and Thomas Pieters”.

“He then went through a bit of a lull, but made his case that he could get in this team, and then made that late run, finishing fourth at the Olympics, finishing second in the Czech Republic and then absolutely played incredible golf to win in Denmark”.

Pieters finished the event one shot clear of Welshman and overnight leader Bradley Dredge, who had to settle for a second runers up spot in Denmark from the past three editions.

“Having to phone Russell (on Monday) and give him the information was probably one of the toughest phone calls I’ve ever had to make”.

They join those who qualified – namely Northern Ireland’s McIlroy, Sweden’s Henrik Stenson, Spanish duo Sergio Garcia and Rafael Cabrera-Bello, and Englishmen Danny Willett, Chris Wood, Justin Rose, Andy Sullivan and Matt Fitzpatrick. “But if he needs to pull me to one side and have a chat and ask me my thoughts, I’m happy to do that; I can fall back on ten Ryder Cups”.

It is hard to leave out players like Russell Knox, Luke Donald and Graeme McDowell, while Darren also had to consider the experience in the group.

A two-time victor on the PGA Tour this season, Knox conceded he would have trouble watching the event, which begins at Hazeltine on September 30, but was determined to use the disappointment to his advantage. “I just can’t wait to get on that plane and be with the team the whole week”.

Knox’s focus on the PGA Tour – where he is ranked seventh in the FedEx Cup standings – may have cost him.

“In two years’ time, I hope myself and a couple of other Scottish guys are on the team”.

Knox is now seventh in the FedEx Cup standings on the PGA Tour and therefore in contention to win the overall title and $10m bonus at the Tour Championship, which finishes just five days before play gets under way at Hazeltine. “Those guys – the top nine – have earned their place as of right”, he said.

“It’s been a little bit insane”, Pieters said. “I guess I had to step it up a little bit and I’ve had some nice finishes”. “They can not wait to get on that plane to go to Hazeltine and do all of Europe proud”.