NORTON — The Yanks will use most of September to finalize the red-white-and-blue Ryder Cup team, but the Europeans rounded out their dozen picks on Tuesday, with team captain Darren Clarke naming Lee Westwood, his partner during the 1999 Ryder Cup at Brookline, among the final three choices.
Westwood, 43, whom Clarke labeled his “general,’’ was selected along with Germany’s Martin Kaymer, 31, and former University of Illinois star Thomas Pieters, 24, from Belgium.
Davis Love III, captain of the US squad, noted just prior to Clarke’s picks that the European captain would be sure to “upset some guys’’ with his final choices. Such is the lot of the guy charged with picking from an embarrassment of riches.
“But he’s like me,’’ Love noted during a Golf Channel interview. “He’s got 10-12 guys he can pick from and any of them would be great.’’
Nine European players, including superstar Rory McIlroy, qualified for the European team prior to Clarke making his captain’s choices.
Eight Americans, including Patrick Reed, Sunday’s winner at The Barclays, already have qualified for the United States. Love will make three of his captain’s picks on Sept. 11, upon the conclusion of the BMW (No. 3 in the FedEx Cup playoff order), and then reveal the No. 12 pick on Sept. 25 — an attempt to catch more eyeballs during NBC’s broadcast of “Sunday Night Football.’’
Rickie Fowler, the defending Deutsche Bank champ, is among those playing here this week who are still under Love’s consideration for the US team. He and Matt Kuchar are fairly solid bets to fill two of the four spots, with the likes of Bubba Watson, J.B. Holmes, Justin Thomas, and Jim “58’’ Furyk in the scrum for the other two selections.
“Everybody’s still in it,’’ Love told the Golf Channel. “Anyone in the Top 100 that made it to Deutsche Bank can win the FedEx Cup. They win three in a row — they’re the hottest player in the game and just won $10 million — we want to take that guy to the Ryder Cup.’’
The Ryder Cup, won the last three times by the Europeans, will be played Sept. 30-Oct. 2 at Hazeltine National in Chaska, Minn., southwest of the Twin Cities.
“Everybody is still in the mix,’’ noted Love. “I would just tell everybody . . . to go play and try to win the FedEx. That’s the best thing you can do for yourself, for your game, and don’t worry about the Ryder Cup.’’
The Deutsche Bank Championship plays out each year as stage two in the playoffs, followed by the BMW and then the Tour Championship, which will wrap up Sept. 25 at East Lake in Atlanta.
Reed, 26 and a five-time Tour winner, pocketed 2,000 FedEx points with his $1.53 million win Sunday in The Barclays, Fowler losing his grip slightly after three rounds of sub-70 play. Fowler finished T7 at 6 under par, three strokes off Reed’s winning pace.
Reed’s victory vaulted him to the top of the FedEx standings. Emiliano Grillo and Sean O’Hair finished T2 at The Barclays, good for 980 FedEx points apiece. O’Hair jumped from 108th to 15th in the process.
Early to rise
Tournament play begins Friday, preceded by Thursday’s pro-am, with Phil Mickelson (No. 1 tee) and Adam Scott (No. 10) first off at 6:50 a.m., followed by Grillo (1) and Thomas (10) at 7 a.m. and McIlroy (1) and Steve Stricker (10) at 7:10 . . . McIlroy and Scott enter slotted 5-6, respectively, in the World Golf Rankings. The top four: 1. Jason Day; 2. Dustin Johnson; 3. Jordan Spieth; 4. Henrik Stenson. Fowler, who treated media members to champagne (yes, we remember) a year ago, is a Yaz-like No. 8 in the world rankings.
Kevin Paul Dupont can be reached at kevin.dupont@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeKPD.
