Luke Donald has this afternoon named his wildcard picks for Europe’s Ryder Cup team, with Offaly’s Shane Lowry among the captain’s choices.
It will be a second time in the Ryder Cup for Lowry, and a first of European soil, having played at Whistling Straits in the USA two years ago.
Donald has also chosen Ludvig Åberg, Tommy Fleetwood, Nicolai Højgaard, Justin Rose and Sepp Straka for the European Ryder Cup side. This year’s competition place at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club, Rome, from September 29 – October 1.
The six captain’s picks join Matt Fitzpatrick, Tyrrell Hatton, Viktor Hovland, Robert MacIntyre, Rory McIlroy, and Jon Rahm, all of whom qualified automatically for the contest against the United States.
Sweden’s Åberg, Denmark’s Højgaard and Austria’s Straka will all make their Ryder Cup debuts at the end of the month.
For England’s Tommy Fleetwood it will be a third consecutive Ryder Cup, following his debut in 2018 when he won four points out of five in Paris. Justin Rose, another English player, will be making his sixth appearance at the Ryder Cup, and his first since Paris five years ago.
Luke Donald
European Captain Donald said: “I am delighted to announce Ludvig, Tommy, Nicolai, Shane, Justin and Sepp as part of Team Europe for the Ryder Cup, joining the six players who qualified automatically. “We have great depth of talent in Europe, and that is perfectly illustrated with the team we now have confirmed for Rome, which is a strong blend of players with previous Ryder Cup experience combined with exciting and talented rookies. “I’m really pleased to have this team now in place, and we are all looking forward to going to Rome later this month and trying to win back the Ryder Cup.”
EUROPEAN TEAM FOR THE 2023 RYDER CUP
Ludvig Åberg (Sweden). Age 23. Previous Ryder Cup appearances: 0 (Rookie)Matt Fitzpatrick (England). Age 29. Previous Ryder Cup appearances: 2 (2016, 2021)Tommy Fleetwood (England) Age 32. Previous Ryder Cup appearances: 2 (2018, 2021)Tyrrell Hatton (England). Age 31. Previous Ryder Cup appearances: 2 (2018, 2021)Nicolai Højgaard (Denmark). Age 22. Previous Ryder Cup appearances: 0 (Rookie)Viktor Hovland (Norway). Age 25. Previous Ryder Cup appearances: 1 (2021)Shane Lowry (Ireland). Age 36. Previous Ryder Cup appearances: 1 (2021)Robert MacIntyre (Scotland). Age 27. Previous Ryder Cup appearances: 0 (Rookie)Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland). Age 34. Previous Ryder Cup appearances: 6 (2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2021)Jon Rahm (Spain). Age 28. Previous Ryder Cup appearances: 2 (2018, 2021)Justin Rose (England) Age 43. Previous Ryder Cup appearances: 5 (2008, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018)Sepp Straka (Austria). Age 30. Previous Ryder Cup appearances: 0 (Rookie)
