Matt Wallace said little. Just 16 words in total. But his thoughts were unmistakable.
Moments after finishing play on Sunday at the Omega European Masters, he was asked about the Ryder Cup and broke down.
After 35 seconds, he answered.
“I’ll never give up on the Ryder Cup, you know,” he said.
“I just won’t, so that’s it.”
On Monday, what Wallace likely already knew was confirmed, as Luke Donald named Shane Lowry, Jon Rahm, Sepp Straka, Viktor Hovland, Ludvig Aberg, and Matt Fitzpatrick as his six captain’s picks for the European team. When asked about Wallace and other snubs, Donald acknowledged on Sky Sports that he had seen Wallace’s interview.
“Obviously, an extremely difficult call to make to Matt,” Donald said. “I watched all the golf yesterday and saw his emotion. It just shows what it means to Europeans to represent their country, their flag, and that crest.
“It’s so sad. It’s a difficult part of the job to call these people who have played their hearts out for 12 months and think they’ve done enough. I really hope that some of those near-misses will be part of the team in two years’ time.”
Here is a look at nine bubble players left off the European Ryder Cup team.
Matt Wallace
Rank in the final European Ryder Cup team standings: 12th
Why he is considered a snub: Wallace is the highest-ranked player in the European Ryder Cup team standings to be left off the team. His enthusiasm for the Ryder Cup was clear on Sunday after he broke down when asked about the biennial event.
Why he was left off the team: Wallace has not won this year on either the PGA Tour or the DP World Tour, and he has never played on a Ryder Cup team. He is also ranked 115th this season on the PGA Tour in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee.
Thomas Detry
Rank in the final European Ryder Cup team standings: 13th
Why he is considered a snub: Detry won the WM Phoenix Open and posted five other top-25 finishes this season on the PGA Tour.
Why he was left off the team: All of Detry’s top-25 finishes came before the U.S. Open, and he has never played on a Ryder Cup team. He is also ranked 99th this season on the PGA Tour in Strokes Gained: Total, 111th in SG: Tee to Green, 123rd in SG: Approach the Green, and 110th in SG: Around the Green.
Marco Penge
Rank in the final European Ryder Cup team standings: 14th
Why he is considered a snub: He has won twice this year on the DP World Tour and finished second at the Genesis Scottish Open. He is also ranked eighth this year on the tour in driving distance.
Why he was left off the team: Inexperience. The wins were the first of his career on the DP World Tour, and he has played in just four major championships.
Aaron Rai
Rank in the final European Ryder Cup team standings: 15th
Why he is considered a snub: He has posted 10 top-25 finishes this year on the PGA Tour and won last year’s Wyndham Championship.
Why he was left off the team: Rai has not won this year and has never played on a Ryder Cup team. He is also ranked 120th this season on the PGA Tour in Strokes Gained: Putting.
Jordan Smith
Rank in the final European Ryder Cup team standings: 16th
Why he is considered a snub: Smith made the cut in the two majors he played this year and posted two runner-up finishes this season on the DP World Tour.
Why he was left off the team: Smith has not won since 2022 and has never played on a Ryder Cup team.
Harry Hall
Rank in the final European Ryder Cup team standings: 17th
Why he is considered a snub: Hall posted 15 top-25 finishes this season on the PGA Tour and qualified for the Tour Championship. He has not missed a cut since the Players Championship. He is also ranked fifth this year on the PGA Tour in Strokes Gained: Total and second in SG: Putting.
Why he was left off the team: Inexperience — Hall has never played on a Ryder Cup team. He is also ranked 112th in SG: Off the Tee and 101st in SG: Approach the Green.
Nicolai Hojgaard
Rank in the final European Ryder Cup team standings: 18th
Why he is considered a snub: Hojgaard was a member of the team two years ago, and his brother, Rasmus, is on this year’s team. He also tied for second two weeks ago at the Betfred British Masters, and the Hojgaard brothers were runners-up at the Zurich Classic, the PGA Tour’s only team event.
Why he was left off the team: He has not won since 2023. He is also ranked 146th this season on the PGA Tour in Strokes Gained: Around the Green.
Alex Noren
Rank in the final European Ryder Cup team standings: 26th
Why he is considered a snub: Noren is the highest-ranked player in the Official World Golf Rankings to be left off the team and played on the 2018 team. He also won the Betfred British Masters two weeks ago and played in the final pairing at this year’s PGA Championship.
Why he was left off the team: Noren lost strokes this year on the PGA Tour in Off the Tee and Approach the Green. He has also never won on the PGA Tour.
Sergio Garcia
Rank in the final European Ryder Cup team standings: 140th
Why he is considered a snub: Garcia is the all-time points leader in Ryder Cup history. He also won this year’s LIV Golf Hong Kong event.
Why he was left off the team: Garcia’s best finish in three major appearances this year was a tie for 34th at the Open Championship. Over his last eight LIV Golf starts, he posted one top-10 finish.
This article originated on Golf.com
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