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Darren Clarke facing tough decision on Ryder Cup wild cards

Dungannon man Darren Clarke is Europe's Ryder Cup captain  
Dungannon man Darren Clarke is Europe's Ryder Cup captain   Dungannon man Darren Clarke is Europe's Ryder Cup captain  

EUROPEAN captain Darren Clarke faces arguably the most difficult decision of his career when he must decide between form and experience in naming his three Ryder Cup wild cards.

Rookies filled five of the nine automatic qualifying places and, although one of them is Masters champion Danny Willett, Clarke has made no secret of the fact he wants to "balance the team" with experienced players.

That points towards the likes of Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer, who finished 13th and 14th on the world points list respectively, or perhaps even Francesco Molinari, Graeme McDowell or Luke Donald, who were 18th, 19th and 21st.

Westwood and Kaymer are understood to be the favourites from that list, with Westwood a long-time friend and former Ryder Cup partner of Clarke who is seeking a 10th consecutive appearance in the event.

The 43-year-old's last victory came in Indonesia in April 2015, but he was joint-second behind Willett at Augusta National and has recorded four other top-15 finishes from a limited schedule.

Kaymer's most recent win came when he claimed his second major title in the 2014 US Open, but six top-10s in his last 12 events - including sixth in the final event in Denmark - is coupled with experience of Europe's last three Ryder Cup wins, including securing the point which retained the trophy at Medinah.

It is understood McDowell feels his slim chances disappeared by missing the cut in the Barclays last week, an event where Molinari - who has not won since 2012 - also made an early exit. Donald's last victory came in 2013, but he has never been on the losing side in four Ryder Cup appearances and was second in the Wyndham Championship earlier this month.

When it comes to current form, Scotland's Russell Knox and Belgium's Thomas Pieters have the best claims to selection, world number 20 Knox finishing 10th in the world points list, just 0.04 points ahead of Pieters.

Knox would have qualified if he had been a European Tour member when he won the WGC-HSBC Champions last November and boosted his case by adding the Travelers Championship earlier this month.

Pieters was fourth in the Olympics and second in the defence of his Czech Masters title the following week before winning in Denmark last Sunday, the 24-year-old having carded opening rounds of 62 and 71 while playing alongside Clarke.

Kaymer played the final round alongside Pieters and was quick to back the Belgian for a wild card, which Clarke will announce at 12:30pm at Wentworth on Tuesday: "If I would be the captain, he would be my pick for sure because he brings something special to the team, he hits the ball very far, is very good in the short game and obviously proved he can play under pressure very well," Kaymer said.

Knox has the backing of two-time major winner Jordan Spieth, who believes it would be "ridiculous" if Knox is overlooked, while Clarke's opposite number Davis Love knows just what the former Open champion is going through.

"I know Darren well and he is not sleeping much right now," Love said in a teleconference on Monday.

"It's the most fun and nerve-racking time of being a captain. He got a lot of guys he wanted and has the luxury of picking players who are hot and veterans. I'm sure we are going to see some friends and names we recognise."