Europe’s 2021 Ryder Cup team? Who are the wildcard picks and why was Justin Rose left out?

Justin Rose has been left out of Europe’s Ryder Cup team by captain Padraig Harrington after he named his wildcard picks.

Ian Poulter, Sergio Garcia and Shane Lowry got the nod for this month’s Ryder Cup against the United States as Harrington finalised his squad for the contest at Wisconsin.

Garcia is the record points scorer while Poulter has been a talisman in his six previous appearances.

Lowry joins Viktor Hovland and Bernd Wiesberger as one of three debutants.

“I am absolutely thrilled with my team, we have the strongest 10, 11 and 12 we’ve ever had,” said Harrington.

Why was Justin Rose left out of Europe’s squad?

The notable absence from Harrington’s team is Englishman Justin Rose, a veteran of five Ryder Cups, winning three times.

Rose missed out despite a fine finish at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, where he eagled the par-five 18th to finish joint sixth on 16 under par.

Harrington said: “I had a chat with him (Rose) and he was an absolute gentleman. I certainly would have been happy with him there but it was just one spot too far.

“The fact of the matter is, with who he was going up against, the consistency of Shane, the heart of the team has been Ian and Sergio over the years, somebody had to lose out.

“It was incredibly difficult with JR. Clearly he was in contention in his last two events.

“It really is as close as that. If you don’t play your way in it’s a tough place to be. It easily could have been JR or Alex Noren.”

Europe’s Ryder Cup squad

Bernd Wiesberger, Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton, Paul Casey, Rory McIlroy, Matt Fitzpatrick, Tommy Fleetwood, Viktor Hovland, Ian Poulter, Sergio Garcia, Shane Lowry.

When is the 2021 Ryder Cup?

The 43rd Ryder Cup Matches will be held in the United States on September 24 to 26, 2021, on the Straits course at Whistling Straits, Haven, Wisconsin.