Ryder Cup Diary

Paul McGinley and Jose Maria Olazabal can both breathe a sigh of relief as they have both automatically qualified for the Ryder Cup Team. None of the other potential qualifiers could manage to do what was required to displace McGinley and Olazabal at the BMW Open.

Woosnam has also announced his two captains wildcard picks they are unsurprisingly Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood.

So the final lineup of the European Ryder Cup Team is as follows:

Paul Casey, Darren Clarke, Luke Donald, Sergio Garcia, Padraig Harrington, David Howell, Robert Karlsson, Paul McGinley, Colin Montgomerie, Jose Maria Olazabal, Henrik Stenson and Lee Westwood

Technorati tags ryder cup, golf

And then there were two! Padraig Harrington today secured his place to become the eigth member of the European Ryder Cup team by making the cut at the BMW International Open in Munich leaving only two places still up for grabs. Irish people will breathe a sigh of relief that there will be at least on Irish player on the team as the Ryder Cup is played for the first time in Ireland this year. He may not be the last Irishman to qualify however.

Paul McGinley didn’t make the cut which means it is still possible for him to be caught by Edfors, Bickerton or Broadhurst in the Ryder Cup standings. (more…)

Darren Clarke has confirmed that he would like to play in the Ryder Cup and would like to be considered for one of the two wildcard picks.

Amid lots of media speculation that Woosnam has offered Darren one of the places on the team, Darren’s management team have now confirmed his interest in playing. In the aftermath of his wife Heather’s tragic death everyone wondered whether he would need more time to be with his family, but clearly Clarke feels that it’s best to get back out there and start playing again. He has a great Ryder Cup record having been on three winning Ryder Cup teams in four appearances.

Woosnam will announce his two wildcard picks on Sunday evening once he knows the exact composition of the automatic qualifiers (three positions are still to be filled at the BMW open). He’s playing his cards very close to his chest and refuses to confirm who he may pick or whether Darren Clarke is one of the picks.

The rumour mill has it that Darren Clarke has been offered one of the European Team wildcard slots by Ian Woosenam.

Darren will not make the top ten automatic selection places this time around as he has been focusing his attention on his wife Heather who recently passed away.

Woosnam could really use Clarke’s Ryder Cup experience (he has been on three winning Ryder cup teams since 1997) but it’s unclear whether Darren will accept the offer. Everyone is certainly rooting for him but I think that all Ryder Cup fans will accept that even though the tournament would be better with Darren on board, he may understandably need more time to grieve his wife and be with his sons.

Darren Clarke has announced that he will now be taking a break from golf and is not now considering the Ryder Cup. He’s taking time to prioritise his wife and family. I know that all of our thoughts are with him and his wife Heather as she battles with cancer. Darren is auctioning his European Tour Shot of the Month trophy in aid of breast cancer research the current bid is £5500 – go on! make a bid here on his website.

I’m sure Ian Woosnam will be disapointed not to have the option of playing Darren, who is currently lying just outside the automatic qualification places for Team Europe.