8 Ryder Cup Wildcard Contenders Who Missed Out On A Pick From Luke Donald

Luke Donald has named his six wildcards for the European Ryder Cup team for the match at Marco Simone. Among them are Swedish rising star Ludvig Aberg, Shane Lowry and Tommy Fleetwood as the 12-player team to take on the US in Italy is now confirmed.

However, for some players, there was disappointment as they missed out on the chance to play for Team Europe in its effort to regain the trophy it lost to Team USA at Whistling Straits in 2021.

Here are some of the players who didn’t quite do enough to convince Donald they were worthy of a place on his team.

Seamus Power

As far back as last October, the Irishman’s thoughts were turning to the possibility of representing Team Europe in the match when he admitted his Ryder Cup dream meant he wouldn’t consider joining LIV Golf.

Back then, he said: “Every European just dreams of playing the Ryder Cup. It won’t be at the back of my mind but right at the forefront of my mind for the next 12 months so hopefully I can play good golf and give myself a chance to make that team.”

Unfortunately, it didn’t quite transpire for the 36-year-old. Despite a solid start to the year, which included a T14 at the Genesis Invitational, Power’s form was inconsistent, and his PGA Tour season finished with 48th in the BMW Championship.

Adrian Meronk

After securing the Italian Open title at the venue for the match in May, the Pole had seemed a lock for the Ryder Cup.

At that point, Meronk was firmly in contention for an automatic qualification position, and looked a good bet for a wildcard even if he fell short. Donald himself was also clearly keeping an eye on his progress, and following his win in Rome, tweeted: “Superb win for @AdrianMeronk. Some solid golf played all week and came up with the right shots when he needed them most, starting to make winning a habit. Well done Adrian."

However, despite further top 10 finishes in the KLM Open and BMW International Open, he didn’t quite make a strong enough case for inclusion and misses out on becoming the first Pole to play in the Ryder Cup.

Rasmus Hojgaard

The Dane has impressed on the DP World Tour this year, with a win in the Made In Himmerland the highlight so far among several other top-10 finishes. However, his two Major appearances weren’t as successful, where he failed to make the cut in either the PGA Championship or The Open.

There was bad luck for the 22-year-old in an early chance to impress Donald, too. Hojgaard had been in the Continental Europe team for January’s Hero Cup, but he withdrew because of injury, and was replaced by his twin brother, Nicolai, who did make the team.

Hojgaard fell five places short of an automatic qualifying spot, which left him hoping for a wildcard pick. With stiff competition for the six places, though, he didn’t quite do enough to reach Donald’s team.

Alex Noren

The Swede made his maiden Ryder Cup appearance in 2018 and emerged on the winning team as Europe won by 17.5 points to 10.5 points against Team USA at Le Golf National in France. He performed well, too, with a record of 2–1–0, which included a win over Bryson DeChambeau in his singles match. 

He didn't do enough to join compatriot Ludvig Aberg in the 2023 team, though, despite an excellent start to the year with a T5 in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. That was as good as it got for the 41-year-old, who suffered inconsistent form as the year progressed. 

Adrian Otaegui

After the Spaniard cruised to a historic Andalucia Masters title last October, he appeared to be making a strong case for a maiden Ryder Cup appearance. 

There have been high points in 2023, too, including runner-up finishes in the Alfred Dunhill Championship and KLM Open. 

Another top-10 finish came with a T4 in the ISPS Handa World Invitational, but Otaegui never really threatened Robert MacIntyre for the final automatic qualifying position in the European points list.

With the likes of Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose and Shane Lowry always likely to be named wildcards once they missed out on automatic qualification, he was up against too much strong competition for only a few remaining captain's picks.

Yannik Paul

The German is likely one of the players feeling somewhat hard done by in missing out on a wildcard. That's because he came closer than anyone to catching MacIntyre for the final automatic qualifying position, finishing one place beneath him in the European points list. 

There have been some real high points during the qualifying period, too, including victory in the Mallorca Open and back-to-back runner-up finishes in the Thailand Open and Hero Indian Open. 

In the end, though, Paul fell short not only of automatic qualifying but also a wildcard for Donald's team. 

Victor Perez

Perez must have felt confident of his chances of making the team after claiming his maiden Rolex Series title with victory in January's Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, but the remainder of the qualifying period never really took off for the Frenchman. 

He did perform well at the venue for the match with a T9 in May's Italian Open to keep himself in Donald's thoughts, but ultimately, it wasn't enough and the wait for a maiden Ryder Cup appearance for the 31-year-old continues.

Pablo Larrazabal

The Spaniard secured back-to-back DP World Tour titles earlier in the year, which appeared to make him a good bet for a maiden Ryder Cup appearance.

However, since the most recent of those wins, the KLM Open in May, Larrazabal’s form has all but deserted him, with five missed cuts in his seven subsequent appearances.

While compatriot Jon Rahm will tee it up in Rome, there’s no place for Larazzabal, who will instead look back on what might have been.