Jamie Donaldson rode Thomas Bjorn like a bull as the winning European Team entered the post-tournament press conference. Spirits were high, laughs were plentiful, and champagne even more so. To the victor go the spoils, indeed.
Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed impressed the golfing world on Friday morning, giving Ian Poulter and Stephen Gallacher a proper whupping and beating the Europeans 5&4 in the first fourball match.
The pair of American Ryder Cup rookies played brilliantly together, doing a beautiful job of dovetailing off each other. They took turns as to when it was their time to shine, trading birdies, with a total of six — three each in the first 11 holes.
European Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley announced his three wildcard picks on Tuesday afternoon at Wentworth, home of the European Tour’s headquarters. McGinley had been rather open about his choices, saying on Sunday he had narrowed it down to five names: Luke Donald, Stephen Gallacher, Ian Poulter, Francesco Molinari and Lee Westwood.
Turns out McGinley went with form and experience in selecting Gallacher, the local hero who missed out qualifying automatically by a stroke, Ian Poulter, the Ryder Cup wizard, and Lee Westwood, the experienced veteran with a strong record.
Scotland’s Stephen Gallacher came up just short of making the European Ryder Cup on merit. In the final qualifying event for the European side, the Italian Open, the 39-year-old needed a top-two finish to knock out Graeme McDowell for the last automatic berth on the team.
Gallacher started out hot in Turin on Sunday, rolling off six birdies in the first eight holes, but then cooled off, with only one more in the remaining 10. Though he fired a seven-under 65, he ended up merely one shot out of second place, having to settle with third — and more important, now he’ll need to rely on one of Captain Paul McGinley’s three wildcard picks to secure a coveted spot on the team.
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