LUKE DONALD WAS the major casualty as Paul McGinley unveiled his wildcard picks for the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles this month.
The Irish captain selected Lee Westwood, Stephen Gallacher and Ian Poulter as his three captain’s picks with Donald missing out despite being ranked higher on the world points list than his English compatriots.
Donald has formerly been ranked first in the world and much was made in the lead up to today’s decision that he had been on the winning side in each of his four Ryder Cup appearances.
With the three late picks now confirmed, it leaves the 12-man team looking like this for the September 23 tee-off:
Rory McIlroy, Henrik Stensson, Victor Dubuisson, Jamie Donaldson, Sergio Garcia, Justin Rose, Martin Kaymer, Thomas Bjørn, Graeme McDowell, Lee Westwood, Stephen Gallacher and Ian Poulter.
In all there are seven players who retain their place from the team that two years ago in Chicago staged the greatest final day comeback in Ryder Cup history to defeat the Americans 14 1/2 to 13 1/2.
The five changes involve Gallacher, Donaldson, Dubuisson, Stenson and Thomas Bjorn replacing Donald, Peter Hanson, Paul Lawrie, Nicholas Colsaerts, and Francesco Molinari.
- Additional reporting by AFP.
