Ryder Cup: Padraig Harrington admits picking his Team Europe wild cards was a tough task
Justin Rose missed out as Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter and Shane Lowry were selected.

European Ryder Cup captain Padraig Harrington admitted it was āincredibly difficultā to leave Justin Rose out of his side after selecting Sergio Garcia Ian Poulter and Shane Lowry as his three wild cards.
Bernd Wiesbergerās tie for 20th in the BMW PGA Championship saw him secure a debut at Whistling Straits at the end of the month, knocking Lowry out of the side.
Lowry could have replaced Lee Westwood with a top-eight finish and began the day in a tie for seventh, but faded to a tie for 17th with a final round of 71.
Westwood therefore qualified for a record-equalling 11th Ryder Cup despite a closing 77, the 48-year-old joining Wiesberger, Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton, Paul Casey, Rory McIlroy, Matt Fitzpatrick, Tommy Fleetwood and Viktor Hovland in the team.
Rose eagled the 18th in a final round of 65 to finish in a tie for sixth, but that was not enough.
āIt was incredibly difficult with JR,ā Harrington said. āClearly he was in contention in his last two events.
āDid I need more? Maybe not but the fact of the matter is, with who he was going up against, the consistency of Shane Lowry, the heart of the team has been Ian and Sergio over the years, somebody had to lose out.
āIt really is as close as that. If you donāt play your way in itās a tough place to be. It easily could have been JR or Alex Noren.
āIām delighted for Bernd Wiesberger. Heās a great player and anybody who makes their way into the team fully deserves it, but ultimately it was a spot gone that could have gone to a JR or an Alex Noren.
āI had a chat with him (Rose) and he was an absolute gentleman. I certainly would have been happy with him there but it was just one spot too far.ā
Speaking before the announcement was made, Rose said: āIt would be disappointing. You reflect on why. Is there something bigger at play because on the surface I feel pretty confident.
āI think it will be hard for him not to pick me but I had that with Monty (Colin Montgomerie in 2010), as well, and it went a different way.
āFrom my point of view, you can only blame yourself if you donāt get in and donāt get picked, because obviously Iāve never had a pick for the Ryder Cup.ā
Poulter, who has now been picked as a wild card five times, said: āI feel for Justin. We all know what a class golfer he is. Itās a hard call to take from the captain. Iāve been in that situation myself a couple of times and the last thing you want is to be on the outside looking in.ā
As for his own selection, Poulter said: āItās surreal. To know we are going to go again is amazing. This trophy has meant a lot to me through the years. For Paddy to call me and say āI want you to be part of my teamā ā itās emotional.
āItās an honour to get a pick. The focus the next seven days gets ramped up.The mindset changes, the phone goes off, not so much social media until itās go time.ā
Lowry had made no secret of his desire to make the team, but had hoped to qualify automatically and avoid the need for his good friend Harrington to give him a wild card.
āItās been a career-long dream to play in the Ryder Cup,ā Lowry said. āI remember when the points race started here, I said it was my number one goal and it has been for the last two years.
āIām just incredibly proud of what I have achieved. But thereās no point going over there to make up the numbers. I want to win points and help bring the cup back.ā
Garcia, who is the record points scorer in the Ryder Cup with 25.5, said: āIt feels amazing. Just canāt wait to get there, see the guys and get going.
āTo be able to win six Ryder Cups, to me thatās more important than 25.5 points. I would rather go 0-5 and win the Ryder Cup than 5-0 and lose. Thatās never going to change.ā