August 30, 2016: European Captain Darren Clarke has named Martin Kaymer, Thomas Pieters and Lee Westwood as his three captain’s picks for The 2016 Ryder Cup at Hazeltine National.
Former World Number Ones Kaymer and Westwood, who have 12 previous Ryder Cup appearances between them, will add a wealth of experience to the nine already-confirmed automatic qualifiers, while Pieters’ stunning recent form, which culminated in his impressive victory at last week’s Made in Denmark, is rewarded with a rookie appearance in Minnesota next month.
The trio join Rafa Cabrera Bello, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Sergio Garcia, Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, Henrik Stenson, Andy Sullivan, Danny Willett and Chris Wood in Clarke’s 12-man line up to face Davis Love III’s United States team, as Europe seeks to earn a record fourth consecutive victory from September 30-October 2.
Englishman Westwood will make his tenth appearance in the biennial contest, joining Christy O’Connor Snr and Bernhard Langer on that mark, just one behind Sir Nick Faldo’s European appearance record. Germany’s Kaymer will also be aiming to extend his unblemished record in Minnesota after featuring in each of the last three European victories.
Clarke said: “The past few days have been some of the toughest in my golfing career. It’s been wonderful to see the team take shape.
“In Lee Westwood, we have one of the most experienced Ryder Cuppers of all time. This will be his tenth appearance. He’s played well this year, runner-up at Augusta, playing well at US Open again, another solid Open performance, but week-in, week-out he has been very, very solid.
“Martin Kaymer, six top-tens in his recent events, and another Ryder Cup stalwart. None of us can forget the putt that he holed at Medinah a few years ago, but again, a man I have a massive amount of trust and belief in.
“And Thomas Pieters. Last week, I played with him, again, as I’ve done many times over the qualification period, and obviously when we teed up on Thursday morning, Thomas knew exactly why I was playing with him. Prior to that, there was a few other contenders that I was thinking about, as well. But Thomas went out and played unbelievable, shot 62, one of the finest 62s I’ve ever witnessed and made it look very easy.
“And then on top of that, he finished in the manner in which he did on Sunday to win the tournament. I’m very pleased and proud to have somebody of Thomas Pieters’ talent, undoubted talent, part of that team.”
Since making his debut in the 1997 contest at Valderrama, Westwood has been an ever-present in The Ryder Cup, having played a part in seven winning European teams during that period. The 43 year old has contributed 23 points to Europe’s cause, winning 20 of his 41 matches, and requires just two points at Hazeltine National to equal Faldo’s Ryder Cup record haul of 25 points.
Westwood said “I’m incredibly proud. When I look back over my career, it’s has provided most of the very special moments and something that I love looking back on.
“It was great to get the call yesterday and get a pick. I would have liked to have played my way on. But obviously I was very relieved and thrilled at the same time to get the pick.”
Like Westwood, Kaymer has an impressive Ryder Cup pedigree, and he played a hugely significant role at Medinah in 2012 when the biennial contest was last played on American soil, famously securing the point which ensured Europe retained The Ryder Cup.
The 31 year old, who had contributed 2 ½ points from four matches in his debut in Wales in 2010, holed a nerve-testing eight foot putt to win his singles match against Steve Stricker and complete one of the most famous comebacks in Ryder Cup history. He then contributed two points from four matches at Gleneagles two years ago, including an impressive 4 and2 victory over Bubba Watson, as Europe retained the trophy.
Kaymer said: “I had two goals, making the Olympic Games and making The Ryder Cup Team. Fortunately Darren helped me with one. The other one I did on my own.
“It was a relief, but now the time starts again to prepare, prepare for the biggest event in our sport. I’m really excited, because it gives you a little bit of motivation again, even though it’s almost the end of the year, but it’s still a massive highlight coming up, especially playing in America.”
The experienced pair will be joined by Pieters, who becomes just the second Belgian after Nicolas Colsaerts to represent Europe in The Ryder Cup. Colsaerts was also a captain’s pick on American soil at Medinah four years ago, making a stunning debut alongside Westwood in the fourballs, firing eight birdies and an eagle to defeat Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker, and Pieters, who finished 11th on the World Points List, will be looking to make an impact of his own as one of six rookies in Clarke’s team.
After winning twice in 2015, at the D+D Real Czech Masters and KLM Open -the latter at the start of the Ryder Cup qualification campaign, Pieters ended the points race in impressive fashion, finishing fourth in the Olympic Games before coming runner-up in his defence in the Czech Republic and then going one better for this third European Tour title last week in Denmark.
Pieters said: “It’s been a little bit crazy, especially closing out the tournament like I did on Sunday. I was just really proud of myself and just actually winning another tournament – you try to win tournaments every week and to do it at that point, with a little bit of pressure on me, was very satisfying.
“I just can’t wait to actually tee it up and give it a 110 per cent and earn points.”
The final words fittingly went to Europe’s Ryder Cup Captian. “This is the team that we have,” said Clarke. “This is the team that I’m massively proud of. Those guys are all hungry for success.
“I’ve spoken to every one of them via on the phone or via text this past 24 hours. They are all extremely excited. They cannot wait to get on that plane to go to Hazeltine and do all of us, all of Europe, proud, and I certainly know that they will do their best and hopefully we will bring this trophy back home with us.”
