Clarke picks Westwood, Kaymer and Pieters for Ryder Cup

The inclusion of 24-year-old Belgian Pieters, who won the Made in Denmark tournament on Sunday, means Europe has six rookies in its line-up for the event at Hazeltine National Golf Club.

Published : Aug 30, 2016 20:10 IST

Martin Kaymer and Lee Westwood have been included in European Ryder Cup team.
Martin Kaymer and Lee Westwood have been included in European Ryder Cup team.
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Martin Kaymer and Lee Westwood have been included in European Ryder Cup team.

Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer and Thomas Pieters are the three captain's picks named by Darren Clarke on Tuesday to complete the European Ryder Cup team.

Rory McIlroy, Danny Willett, Henrik Stenson, Chris Wood, Sergio Garcia, Justin Rose, Rafael Cabrera Bello, Andy Sullivan and Matt Fitzpatrick had already qualified automatically for the contest against United States.

The inclusion of 24-year-old Belgian Pieters, who won the Made in Denmark tournament on Sunday, means Europe have six rookies in its line-up for the event at Hazeltine National Golf Club.

Englishman Westwood is a Ryder Cup stalwart, having appeared in the prestigious biennial competition nine times, losing only twice.

Kaymer has won on all three of his Ryder Cup appearances to date, holing the decisive putt to defeat Steve Stricker and secure a remarkable comeback for Europe in 2012 in what became dubbed the "Miracle of Medinah", with United States led on that occasion by current captain Davis Love III.

"Lee and Martin were pretty obvious ones," captain Clarke said of his choices.

"The last was very difficult. I'm not going to sit here and say otherwise. Obviously Luke Donald and Graeme McDowell ... haven't been on top of their games.

"So it came down to Russell Knox and Thomas Pieters. Having to phone Russell yesterday and give him the information was one of the toughest phone calls I've had to make."

As for Pieters, the Belgian's recent form, including finishing fourth at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, sealed his inclusion.

"I found it impossible to leave him off the team," Clarke said.

Europe are defending the Ryder Cup after winning the previous edition as hosts at Gleneagles in 2014. They have not lost since the 2008 tournament at Valhalla Golf Club in Kentucky.

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