Darren Clarke & Lee Westwood are Ryder Cup wild cards
Northern Irishman Darren Clarke and England's Lee Westwood were named as the European Ryder Cup team's wild cards for the Sept. 22-24 defence against the United States by captain Ian Woosnam on Sunday.
Clarke has missed much of the season because of the illness and subsequent death of his wife Heather and is not due to make his playing comeback until the week before the biennial match at the K Club in Ireland.
Woosnam said he only discovered that Clarke wanted to be considered for the team through the media and quickly made up his mind he should be picked as a wild card.
"He is really raring to go," he said. "I don't think it's a risk at all. I know he's been practising every day and I'm sure he will be up for it."
The other choice was less clear-cut, Woosnam said. "It's most probably the hardest decision I've ever had to make. I had to go with my gut feeling."
He continued: "Lee has won twice around the K Club and that's made the difference but it is only in the last few minutes that I have made the decision."
Woosnam said that he had not had the chance to speak to Westwood who was already flying home.
Clarke and Woosnam have played in the last four Ryder Cup teams.
Unusually, Europe are expected to start the match as favourites after a record 18-1/2 to 9-1/2 points victory in the last match near Detroit in 2004. They are aiming to win three-in-a-row having regained the trophy in 2002 at the Belfry.
"I expect it to go down to the wire again," said Woosnam.
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