Ryder Cup 2016: Europe finalizes roster

Europe has finalized their squad for the 2016 Ryder Cup

With the 2016 Ryder Cup to be held this time around at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota, European captain Darren Clarke has finalized his squad after announcing his three captain’s picks at a press conference this morning in England.

Already on the European team as automatic qualifiers are four-time major champion and former world number one Rory McIlroy, current world number four and Open Championship winner Henrik Stenson, Masters champion Danny Willett, Olympic gold medalist and former U.S. Open champ Justin Rose, Sergio Garcia, Chris Wood, Rafa Cabrera-Bello, Andy Sullivan and Matthew Fitzpatrick. Along with Willett, the final four on that list are all Ryder Cup rookies and they’ll be joined by another first-timer as Clarke surprisingly selected Belgium’s Thomas Pieters, who actually almost made this Ryder Cup team on merit alone.

Many thought that Clarke would use one of his picks on Scotsman Russell Knox, who’s currently ranked 20th in the Official World Golf Rankings. He has won twice on the PGA Tour this season and sits in seventh place in the FedEx Cup standings. Instead, however, Clarke opted for Pieters, who made a valiant, last-minute case with a fourth-place finish at the Olympics, a runner-up finish at the Czech Masters and won last week’s Made in Denmark tournament on the European Tour, which included a round of 62 while playing alongside Clarke. The European captain also bypassed Knox for two Ryder Cup veterans in Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer, who will certainly bring a bit of experience to a very inexperienced team.

Kaymer, a two-time major champion and former number one player in the world, hasn’t won in over two years and is currently 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. Kaymer owns a 4-3-3 overall Ryder Cup record.

Westwood, also a former world number one and looked at by many as the dreaded “best player to have not won a major”, is easily the player on this team with the most experience. The Englishman, currently ranked 46th in the world, holds a 20-15-6 record in nine Ryder Cup appearances. He needs two points at Hazeltine to tie and three to better Sir Nick Faldo’s record of 25.

The Europeans may be young and may look like underdogs going into this year’s Ryder Cup, but that’s happened to them before and they continue to dominate this event. The Americans have won only once in this century, that victory coming in 2008, and Europe owns a 10-4-1 mark since 1985.

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American captain Davis Love III will make three of his captain’s picks on September 12 and will finalize his team with his last selection following the Tour Championship on September 25. The eight automatic qualifiers for the U.S. squad are Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth, Phil Mickelson, Patrick Reed, Jimmy Walker, Brooks Koepka, Brandt Snedeker and Zach Johnson.