Luke Donald FINALLY announces six captains pick to finalize Europe Ryder Cup team

European Team Captain Luke Donald announced his six picks for the Ryder Cup squad that will face of Team USA later this month

Luke Donald FINALLY announces six captains pick to finalize Europe Ryder Cup team

Luke Donald, captain of Team Europe (Pic Credit: Imago)

The stage for the Ryder Cup is now set. On Monday, Team Europe captain Luke Donald announced his six captain picks to finalize his team. These six will join the automatically qualified players and head to Rome for a monumental clash with Team USA later in the month.

The European team was dealt a major blow following the announcement of LIV Golf. Their former captain Henrik Stenson was stripped of the captaincy role following his switch to the breakaway tour. Donald was then announced as his replacement. The Englishmen had his work cut out for him by selecting the players for his side. He has now announced his picks which will join Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Viktor Hovland, Tyrrell Hatton, Matt Fitzpatrick, and Robert MacIntyre.

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Joining the six names mentioned above are Tommy Fleetwood, Sepp Straka, Justin Rose, Shane Lowry, Nicolai Hojgaard, and rising sensation Ludvig Aberg. The Swedish golfer was reported to have made his way into the team following his impressive victory at the Omega European Masters.

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Compared to Team USA, several names in Europe will be making their debut at the grand tournament. Donald acknowledged the credibility of Team USA and claimed that the fight would not be easy. “They are going to be strong. They are always stronger than us on paper and world rankings,” he said. “We certainly don’t underestimate them. They are going to be extremely tough opponents. But we’ll be ready for them,” the leader of Team Europe further added.

Related: Zach Johnson FINALLY announces six captain picks to finalize 2023 Ryder Cup squad

Players who got snubbed from Ryder Cup team selection

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Notable players who got snubbed Adrian Meronk (L), Victor Perez (C) and Sergio Garcia (R) [Pic Credit: National Club Golfer/WorldWide Golf/The Guardian]

As seen in the case with Team USA, there were some who were left heartbroken by Luke Donald on Monday. He could only pick six names for the Ryder Cup which meant someone was in line for a shock snub. There were some players across Europe who felt they could have been on the team. One of the big names to miss out among them was Adrian Meronk.

The Polish currently sits third in the DP World Tour rankings just behind multi-time major champions Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm. Meronk was unable to make a direct entry into the team and had to be chosen by Donald for the squad. His exclusion from the team has come as a major shock to many. It is reported that he would have been the final pick if Ludvig Aberg had not won over the weekend.

One man’s loss is another man’s gain. It was an unfortunate moment as he got snubbed from selection. His exclusion though gives the chance to Aberg to shine and impress the fans. Other notable names to have missed from the squad are Victor Perez and veteran Sergio Garcia.

Perez is currently fourth in the rankings behind Meronk. He even sat at the automatic qualification for a while but was unable to hold his place. Meanwhile, Garcia’s chances appeared to be slim following his move to the LIV Golf and resignation from the DP World Tour. The teams are now locked in and fans have started to count down the days for the event. Who will get their hands on the Ryder Cup trophy this year will be interesting to watch.

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