Darren Clarke believes Thomas Pieters is a future world No1 with a talent comparable to Tiger Woods after confirming the Belgian will make his Ryder Cup debut for Europe at Hazeltine next month.
Pieters was given a wild card pick by Clarke, as were Martin Kaymer and Lee Westwood, with the selection of the 24-year-old the cause for understandable debate. Russell Knox, who won on the PGA Tour in early August to back up a WGC victory from late 2015, was overlooked, as were Luke Donald and Graeme McDowell. Half of Clarke’s 12-man team will be making Ryder Cup debuts.
Pieters triumphed at the Made in Denmark event on Sunday, having opened that tournament by shooting a 62 when playing alongside Clarke. The European captain replied with a firm “yes” when asked whether Pieters will top the world rankings and win multiple majors.
“I’ve been on tour for a long time and I’ve seen massive talent come along,” Clarke said. “I played with Tiger Woods when he was an amateur in the Open. I’ve seen Rory McIlroy up close since he was a very young kid. Thomas Pieters impresses me in the same league as those guys. He has that amount of talent.”
Clarke said his call to Knox, the world No20, was “really, really difficult to make”, with the Scot seeking to make a rookie appearance of his own. The captain hinted that Knox’s failure to play at the Wyndham Championship in North Carolina, from which he could have gained automatic entry into the team, was significant. “I thought he might have played,” he said. “I spoke to him the day after he won the Travelers Championship and suggested to him that he might want to go and play. He decided not to do that. He wanted to be fresh for the FedEx [play-offs]; that was obviously very important to him and that’s fine.
“If he had gone to the Wyndham, maybe we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now. If Russell had gone, he may have forced his way into the automatic spots, which would have changed the conversation. We won’t know.”
Pieters, a three-times European Tour winner, immediately exuded confidence. “There’s no fear factor,” he said. “It’s going to be a matter of dealing with the crowds. I haven’t really played in front of a crowd that’s against you, so that will be interesting, but I’ll be up for the task.”
Knox offered his support to Europe but did little to hide his disappointment. The 31-year-old will now look to refocus through the FedEx series. “It’s certainly motivated me for the next three weeks, that’s for sure,” he said. “I have to use this as a springboard to try and win the FedEx Cup. I’ve never wanted to prove someone wrong so badly in my life. It’s not sour grapes or anything, Darren had an extremely difficult decision and all of those three guys were worthy of a pick.
“It’s going to be difficult for me to watch it but I probably will – and I’ll be rooting for the team, of course. I wish them all the best and hope they win.”
