The American Ryder Cup team is certainly no state secret.
We know the first eight and the four captain’s choices?
First Bryson DeChambeau has cemented his pick. Add Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson and the only slight mystery might be the 12th man and Tony Finau is sure making a more-than-strong case for that final spot.
Meanwhile, across the pond, we now know the first eight for the European side.
Francesco Molinari, Justine Rose, Tyrrell Hatton and Tommy Fleetwood were the first four based on the European Points List.
The world points list closed on Sunday with Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Alex Noren and Thorbjorn Olesen locking up the next four spots based on their World Points List.
That leaves the four captain’s picks for team captain Thomas Bjorn and he was sitting there watching an incredible finish to the Made In Denmark event Sunday on the European Tour.
At the end of regulation play you had four — count ’em — four players tied for the lead at 19-under par.
Then add the fact that all four were from England. Biggest name was Lee Westwood, who is one of Bjorn’s Vice Captains for the European team. Then there was Jonathan Thomson, who has to be the biggest player ever on the European Tour — he’s 6-foot-9, 270 pounds. And his golfing idol is Westwood. Then there was Steven Brown and finally Matt Wallace, who has already won twice this season on the European Tour.
Wallace also had the most amazing finish. He trailed Westwood by six shots going to the final nine then birdied five of his final six holes to shoot 67 and post 19-under.
The playoff on the 18th at Silkeborg Ry Golf Club was fast and furious. Brown stuck his approach from the rough to three feet for birdie then Wallace, hitting last, stuffed his to seven feet. Westwood and Thomson were both outside 20 feet and missed. Brown and Wallace made theirs.
On the second time down it was just Wallace and Brown. Brown’s approach was about 20 feet, Wallace hit a brilliant shot inside three feet and would make that after Brown’s miss to take his third European title of the season, all this with Thomas Bjorn standing there, grinning as he watched the proceedings.
So Bjorn will unveil his captain’s picks on Wednesday, all four and you’d think Wallace has made on helluva an impression on The Great Dane.
Some of the names Bjorn will mull over are: Ian Poulter, Paul Casey, Rafa Cabrera-Bello, Thomas Pieters, Russell Knox, Sergio Garcia and Henrik Stenson — and yes, the hot hand — Wallace.
Wallace knew he made a statement on Sunday.
“I’ve stepped up to the mark and I’ve shown him exactly what I’m about,” he said. “If he doesn’t pick me then that’s absolutely fine but if he does, he knows he’s going to get exactly that in his team.
“I set myself positions where I have to do things and, more often than not, I get it done. I’m very fortunate to have done it when I needed to in a few tournaments now. When my back’s against the wall, I don’t shy away from pushing myself off there and trying to get the job done and I kept saying to myself at the end there, ‘you can make this, you have done everything to be able to make this putt’, and I did it. Super happy.”
So consider that Wallace is a three-time winner on that tour this year and all he did was birdie five of six coming in then went birdie-birdie in the playoff pressure.
Yes, those are a lot of big names to choose from and it’s a head scratcher for Bjorn.
But after watching Wallace, you’d think this guy just might have played his way onto that team.
Made In Denmark Final Results:
