04 September 2023 , 12:46
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European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald has confirmed his six captain's picks to complete his 12-man team to take on their American rivals later this month.
Following the end of qualification on Sunday, it was confirmed Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Viktor Hovland, Tyrrell Hatton, Robert MacIntyre and Matt Fitzpatrick had all secured their place automatically. The second half of the team was decided by Donald, who released his selections on Monday afternoon.
The former world No. 1 confirmed the expereinced Tommy Fleetwood, Shane Lowry and Justin Rose had been added to the team, as well as three rookies in Ludvig Aberg, Nicolai Hojgaard and Sepp Straka.
There are several glaring omissions from Team Europe, with a number of the continent's most experienced players missing out on a spot in Rome. Ian Poulter, Sergio Garcia and Lee Westwood are absent from the team, three players who have been mainstays in the European set-up over the past two decades.
This comes after the trio of stalwarts opted to join the controversial LIV Golf setup last summer. Joining the LIV setup does automatically ban a player from competing at the Ryder Cup. Europe's arch rivals Team USA are evidence of that, with LIV star Brooks Koepka included in Zach Johnson's 12-man team.
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The decision to join the Saudi-backed series has not cost Poulter and co their potential place on the European team, but the actions they have taken since have. To qualify for the European team a player must have DP World Tour membership, something Poulter, Garcia and Westwood gave up earlier this year.
Ian Poulter is a stalwart of the European team (Getty Images)In April, Sports Resolutions finally settled a lengthy dispute between the DP World Tour and the LIV setup, ruling that the Wentworth-based circuit were able to sanction players for making the Saudi switch. The DP World Tour handed out £100,000 fines to each rebel player, as well as a three-event ban.
Poulter was one of a number of players who initially challenged the sanctions with the LIV players applying for conflicting event exemption, a request that was denied by the Tour. On the back of the upheld punishments, a number of LIV players handed in their DP World Tour memberships, including four of Europe's 2021 Ryder Cup players in Poulter, Garcia, Westwood and Paul Casey.
Not only does this stop some of Europe's most experienced players from competing this time around, but it also stops them from being involved in future Ryder Cups in any capacity.. This will no doubt be a bitter pill to swallow for the the players and fans alike, with Poulter and co shoe-ins to be European vice-captains and captains later down the line