Bjorn ponders wild card picks as USA team takes shape for Ryder Cup

Thomas Bjorn faces the first tough decision of his Ryder Cup captaincy as he prepares to name his four wild cards this afternoon for the contest with the United States.

And the Dane could have as many as 10 names in mind as he looks to finalise a Europe team which will seek to regain the trophy at Le Golf National in Paris from September 28-30.

Ian Poulter, Henrik Stenson, Sergio Garcia and Paul Casey all failed to qualify automatically, as did the likes of Thomas Pieters, Matt Fitzpatrick and Rafa Cabrera Bello, who made their debuts in the defeat in 2016.

Also in the frame are Scotland’s Russell Knox and the English pair of Matt Wallace and Eddie Pepperell, with Wallace pushing his claims by winning for the third time in 15 starts in front of Bjorn in the Made in Denmark event on Sunday.

Speaking while Wallace was carding five birdies in the final six holes before winning a play-off with two more birdies, Bjorn revealed he had one major decision to make.

“I’m pretty set on two or three names and then we’ve still got a bit of discussion to do and a bit of golf to watch from America over the next few days and then we’ll see,” Bjorn said.

“I’m pretty much there in my head in how I see this team being and how I want to try and mix and match everyone. But there’s still one little doubt in my head.”

The golf in America to which Bjorn made reference was the conclusion of the second FedEx Cup play-off event on Monday, where Cabrera Bello briefly held the lead before finishing tied seventh.

In the Spaniard’s favour is the fact that he won twoand-a-half points from three matches at Hazeltine and has two top-five finishes in the French Open at Le Golf National.

Knox was second in that event this year and won in Ireland the following week, while Garcia’s tie for eighth in the same event– after a third round of 64 – is his best finish since March.

The eight automatic qualifiers are Rory McIlroy, Francesco Molinari, Justin Rose, Thorbjorn Olesen, Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton, Tommy Fleetwood and Alex Noren.

And with those last five players all Ryder Cup rookies, Bjorn could be forgiven for preferring experience over current form.

Thomas Bjorn: Four picks to add to his team.