Shane Lowry has hit back at criticism of his selection as one of Luke Donald's wildcard picks for Europe's Ryder Cup later this month.
Lowry partly silenced the doubters with a timely third-placed finish at the Irish Open, but it was only his second top-five finish since February.
On the eve of defending his BMW PGA Championship, the 36-year-old said: "I know there was a little bit about that last week. Didn't sit very well with me.
"I feel like, yes, my results have not been amazing this year but, if you purely go down to statistics and go down to the 12 best players in Europe, I'm one of them.
"I feel like I deserve my place on the team. I didn't feel like I had to go out and prove anything to anyone last week. If I showed a few people up, so be it, but I wasn't trying to do that last week.
"I wasn't trying to finish third last week. I was trying to win. So, last week was disappointing for me. I deserve to be on that team and I'll be good in Rome in a couple of weeks, and I'm very excited for it.
"I'm a good player. I'm not going to be afraid of anyone that comes to stand on the first tee in two weeks' time. I'll be good for the rookies… I'll be good for team morale and in the team room. I'll be passionate, I'll show my emotions."
The 2019 Open winner joined skipper Donald and the rest of his European team for a Ryder Cup recce at Rome on Monday before he headed to Wentworth for this week's tournament.
Of the experience in Italy, Lowry said: "It was amazing. Obviously, it was a get-together for the 12 lads and vice captains, and I think that it was a very, very worthwhile exercise.
“Just to get everyone involved and everyone feel like the Ryder Cup is almost starting.”
