Golf: Horschel wins at Wentworth, Lowry gets Ryder Cup nod

VIRGINIA WATER, ENGLAND— Padraig Harrington has long been conscious of what the reaction would be if he picked Shane Lowry, his good friend and fellow Irishman, to play for Europe at the Ryder Cup.

“It’s always been the elephant in the room,” the European team captain said. “If anything, that pushed it away from me.”

In the end, Harrington still made Lowry the third rookie in Europe’s lineup for its defence of the Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin, starting

Sept. 24 — a captain’s pick along with veterans Sergio Garcia and Ian Poulter.

Making it all the harder was that Justin Rose, another Ryder Cup stalwart, closed the BMW PGA Championship, the final qualifying event, with a 65 on Sunday to finish in a tie for sixth — three shots behind winner Billy Horschel, but four better than Lowry.

“Playing all year, really all I wanted to do was make the Ryder Cup team,” Lowry said. “That’s all that’s mattered to me all year.”

The other European rookies will be Bernd Wiesberger and Viktor Hovland, compared to six

American first-timers. That contributes to a huge imbalance between the teams in terms of experience, with Europe having 38 past Ryder Cup appearances compared to 12 for the U.S.

Wiesberger, Lee Westwood, Matt Fitzpatrick and Tyrrell Hatton secured the final automatic spots. It will be Westwood's 11th Ryder Cup appearance.

They’ll join Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood, Hovland and Paul Casey when Europe tries to defend the title won outside Paris in 2018.