European Ryder Cup Captain Paul McGinley has mirrored the decision of USA Team rival Tom Watson in today announcing three ‘wildcard’ picks for his 2014 European Team.
McGinley travelled last fortnight to the Players Championship in Florida and return with the unamimous agreement of all the leading Europeans competing on the PGA Tour to increase the number of picks to three.
Watson announced earlier this year in March he will also select three ‘wildcard’ picks for his USA Team that will compete at Gleneagles in Scotland.
Paul McGinley making a point during his press conference here today at Wentworth. (Photo – Fran Caffrey/www.golffile.ie)
McGinley’s decision is an increase from the two picks his predecessor José Maria Olazábal opted for before the trip to Medinah last September.
“I have said on a number of occasions that if something ain’t broke then don’t fix it, and I think that applies to the qualification process for the European Ryder Cup team,” said McGinley today at Wentworth and venue for this week’s European flagship BMW PGA Championship.
“You only need to look at the record books to see that we haven’t done too badly of late so I didn’t see the need to make sweeping changes.
““I’ve kept the qualification list order the same as Olly had it for Medinah, the only difference being that I’ve increased the number of picks from two to three. I’ve done that to give myself a little bit of extra flexibility when it comes to making my selections. Hopefully this will ensure that I have the right players to face the examination paper that Gleneagles will set out next September.”
It leaves nine automatic places up for grabs in McGinley’s team, with the first four coming from the Ryder Cup European Points List, while the remaining five will come from the Ryder Cup World Points List.
McGinley’s decision means that of the 18 Ryder Cup that have featured players from Europe since 1979, the Captain will have selected three wildcard picks on seven occasions while there has been two wildcard picks on 10 occasions.
