Team Europe Captain for the upcoming Ryder Cup, Luke Donald, has named Tommy Fleetwood, Sepp Straka, Justin Rose, Shane Lowry, Nicolai Hojgaard, and Ludvig Aberg as his captain’s picks for the tournament.
Rookies Hojgaard and Aberg will be competing in their first Ryder Cups alongside Straka while Lowry will make his second appearance, Fleetwood his third, and Rose his sixth.
“It’s fine to have rookies in the Ryder Cup, you always want that chance to shine,” said Donald.
“In 2004 we had five rookies and look at how that ended.
“They are a strong pedigree of golfers. Look at Nicolai and Ludvig, they are the future of European golf.”
Aberg boosted his chances of being named in the squad thanks to his victory in last weekend’s European Masters. Meanwhile, Hojgaard earned his spot with top-five finish in back-to-back DP World Tour appearances.
The six wildcard picks will join the six automatic qualifiers Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Robert MacInytre, Viktor Hovland, Tyrrell Hatton, and Matt Fitzpatrick to complete the squad in hope of regaining the title off of Team USA in the tournament’s 44th edition in Rome.
“We don’t underestimate them, they are extremely tough opponents. But we’ll be ready,” Donald added.
The 2023 Ryder Cup will take place between 29 September – 1st October at the Marco Simone Golf Course in Rome. This is the first time the biennial team competition between the U.S. and Europe will be hosted in Italy.