Ian Poulter and Nicolas Colsaerts have, as expected, been selected as Jose Maria Olazabal's wildcard picks for the Ryder Cup.
No shocks as Olazabal adds Englishman and Belgian to line-up
Ian Poulter and Nicolas Colsaerts have, as expected, been selected as Jose Maria Olazabal's wildcard picks for the Ryder Cup.
The pair complete the 12-man line-up for the European team, who defend the trophy against the United States at Medinah, Chicago starting on September 28.
For Englishman Poulter it will be a fourth Ryder Cup appearance after finishing as the highest points scorer for either side in the 2008 defeat at Valhalla, when he also made the team as one of Nick Faldo's wildcards.
He scored three points out of four at Celtic Manor two years ago and after finishing 11th in the table, as well as top-10 finishes in three of this year's four Majors, the 36-year-old was an easy choice for Olazabal.
Colsaerts, who won the World Match Play Championship in May, could have sealed an automatic place with a top-two finish at Gleneagles at the weekend.
A tie for 19th meant he ended up just outside automatic qualification in 12th, but his recent run of form made him difficult to overlook and he becomes the first Belgian to compete in the Ryder Cup, as well as the only rookie on this year's team.
"Everyone of you guessed Ian was going to be there. He has a great Ryder Cup record and he's playing well," Olazabal said.
"Nicolas is going to be the only rookie in the team but his match play record is very good - he won the World Match Play Championship in Spain this year."
The announcement means disappointment for Padraig Harrington who has been part of every Ryder Cup since his debut in 1999.
However, his omission came as no real surprise after Olazabal said last Thursday that not even a win at The Barclays - the first of the FedEx Cup play-off events in America - would guarantee Harrington a spot.
The Dubliner led at the time, but could only finish tied 19th on Sunday.
US skipper Davis Love has four wildcard picks and will reveal them on September 4.
