3 biggest omissions from the European Ryder Cup team as Luke Donald reveals his captain's picks ft. Nicolai Hojgaard 

Luke Donald has finalised his picks for the European Ryder Cup team. Today (September 1), in a media interaction Donald announced the names of Ludvig Aberg, Matt Fitzpatrick, Viktor Hovland, Shane Lowry, Jon Rahm, and Sepp Straka. These six golfers will join the six automatic qualifiers led by Rory McIlroy.

However, the 12-man European squad missed out on some big names. Some of these golfers were also speculated to be picked up by captain Luke Donald.

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3 biggest omissions from Luke Donald's picks for Bethpage Black

Here's a list of all three golfers who would not get the chance to tee off in the upcoming biennial men's golf tournament at Farmingdale from September 26, 2025.

#3. Nicolai Hojgaard couldn't make it to the European Ryder Cup squad

Rasmus Hojgaard qualified for the European Ryder Cup team by finishing inside the top 20 at the Betfred British Masters. Nicolai Hojgaard was hopeful to join his brother and described playing in the biennial tournament with his brother as a 'dream'. However, Donald didn't pick Nicolai for the biennial tournament at Bethpage Black.

In 2023, Hojgaard was a part of the winning European Ryder Cup squad at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome, Italy. In three matches, Nicolai earned 0.5 points with an overall record of 0-2-1 (0-1-0 in singles, 0-0-0 in foursomes, 0-1-1 in four-ball). He lost the singles match against Xander Schauffele on Sunday.

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#2. Marco Penge

Penge is having a good run in the ongoing season of the DP World Tour. The Englishman has won the Danish Golf Championship, the Hainan Classic, and secured a runner-up at the Scottish Open. The golfer also admitted that although he doesn't hold much hope regarding his chances at Bethpage Black, he was confident in himself.

Despite standing in the 14th spot of European Ryder Cup Team Standings, Penge was not picked by Luke Donald on September 1. Ranked 60th in the Official World Golf Rankings, Penge was showcasing consistent form this season. The English professional golfer secured a T6 at the Betfred British Masters and a T8 at this year's Omega European Masters.

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#1. Matt Wallace

Omega European Masters 2025 - Day Three - Source: Getty

Despite standing in the 12th spot of the European Ryder Cup team standings, Wallace was left out of Donald's final picks. The Englishman has bagged strong performances in 2025, including a T3 at the 3M Open and a T2 at the Omega European Masters on Sunday.

While talking about the upcoming biennial tournament, Wallace had a short media interaction post-round (OEM). These are the words he could only manage to say before being engulfed in emotions (as quoted by GolfWeek):

"I'll never give up on the Ryder Cup. I just won't."

However, Wallace is going through the same heartbreak he had to endure seven years ago. Back in 2018, despite winning three times on the DP World Tour, the Englishman was not picked by the 2018 captain, Thomas Bjorn.