Europe wildcard picks
Today at 2pm is when Luke Donald reveals his six wildcard picks for 2023 Ryder Cup. Six players qualified automatically which are Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Robert MacIntyre, Viktor Hovland, Tyrrell Hatton and Matt Fitzpatrick. McIlroy, Rahm and Hovland will need to be at their best if Europe stand any chance against USA in Rome. Like America’s team there is so many players that you could pick from for the six Europe wildcard picks. Europe Ryder Cup stall wards Sergio Garcia and Ian Poulter will miss out due to playing on the LIV Tour.
Sepp Straka played excellent in the majors this year as he finished tied seventh at the PGA Championship and a tied for second at The Open. Straka shot a final round of 62 to win the John Deere Classic. The Austrian was fortunate to make it to East Lake but ended up finishing the 2022/2023 FedEx Cup season in a tie for 14th. Bernd Wiesberger was the first golfer from Austria to play in a Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits in 2021. I think Straka will be a part of Donald’s team in Rome.
Tommy Fleetwood came close to winning his first PGA Tour event this year at the RBC Canadian Open. Their was a lot of pressure on Fleetwood at The Open due to been from the area but that didn’t affect him as he finished in a tie for 10th. Fleetwood’s swing is amazing especially in having the ability to start tournaments slowly then make plenty of birdies and secure great finishes. Fleetwood had another opportunity to win at the FedEx St Jude Championship but just came up short and had to settle for a tie for third finish. Fleetwood won four out five matches at Paris National in 2018 then played three matches at Whistling Straits in 2021. I believe that Fleetwood will play in his third Ryder Cup in 2023.
Shane Lowry played in his first Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits in 2021. Lowry played three games in Whistling Straits and was one of the positives from the hammering in 2021. Since then Lowry won the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth in 2022. Lowry has been struggling lately as he failed to advance to the second FedEx Cup play-off event at Olympia Fields. The Offaly man teed it up at the Czech Masters but failed to make the halfway cut. With Lowry’s experience and battling spirit I think Lowry will get a wildcard pick from Donald.
Justin Rose returned to the winner’s circle as he won the AT & T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in 2023. Rose best major finish this year was a tie for ninth at the PGA Championship. Rose FedEx Cup season came to an end after the BMW Championship but his highlight was shooting 61 at the FedEx St Jude Championship. Rose has played in five Ryder Cup’s which includes beating Phil Mickelson in the singles at Medinah. I think Rose will play in his sixth Ryder Cup at Rome.
Adrian Meronk won the 2022 Irish Open at Mount Juliet. Meronk won this year’s Italian Open which was also played at Marco Simone Golf Club. Winning an event in the same course that the Ryder Cup will be played on counts for a lot in my opinion. Meronk finished in a tie for 13th at the recent Omega European Masters. Meronk has been consistent all year as he is currently ranked ninth in the Race to Dubai rankings. I believe that Meronk deserves to be a part of Donald’s team.
Yannik Paul had the opportunity to overtake MacIntyre in the points list but just came up short. Paul has been impressive this year as the German is currently 25th in the Race to Dubai rankings. Paul is in good form as he finished 10th at the Czech Masters. Germany had great success in the Ryder Cup especially in recent years as Martin Kaymer held the winning putt at the miracle in Medinah. My final pick is Paul.
Looking forward to see who Donald picks.