Shane Lowry selected for the Europe Ryder Cup team as Donald's first Captains pick

European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald has named Jon Rahm, Shane Lowry, Viktor Hovland, Ludvig Aberg, Matt Fitzpatrick and Sepp Straka as his selections to complete the team which will defend the trophy in the United States later this month.

It means 11 of the victorious side in Rome will reassemble at Bethpage in New York with Rasmus Hoijgaard replacing his twin Nicolai as the only change.

Masters champion Rory McIlroy, newly-crowned FedEx Cup winner Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose, Bob MacIntyre, Tyrrell Hatton and Hoijgaard all previously secured automatic qualification.

England’s Matt Wallace, who missed out on a captain’s pick in 2018 despite three victories that season, suffered more heartbreak.

The 35-year-old finished 12th in the European team rankings, while Rahm’s position on the LIV Golf tour meant he did not accrue enough points, finishing 24th.

However, such is Rahm’s stature as a big occasion player – he had two top-10s in this year’s majors and only Hatton and Hovland scored more points than him in Rome – and Donald’s desire to include him that a spot had to be made available and that proved costly for Wallace.

Hatton is also a LIV golfer but in the last year has won the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship and Dubai Desert Classic, finished runner up at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and a tied for fourth at the US Open.

Being available for Ryder Cup selection was a major factor in the pair’s appeal against heavy fines imposed by the DP World Tour for playing on the LIV circuit without obtaining an official release as tour members.

That hearing has conveniently been pushed back until after the Ryder Cup, which spared Donald any difficult decisions.

“Jon really sets the standard for us. He is usually the first