“I am obviously disappointed” - Yannik Paul says ‘not finish high enough’ on the leaderboard cost him his Ryder Cup spot

Yannik Paul was one of the big names snubbed by the European Ryder Cup team. Skipper Luke Donald deserted the 29-year-old German golfer despite his impressive early season form. Following this, Paul himself has come out to note that he’s disappointed with the snub.

Paul missed the final automatic qualification spot into Donald’s team by a small margin. The golfer, who arrived at the Omega European Masters last weekend with 1,836.37 points, only managed a T20 instead of the two way tie for third or better needed to go through. He lost the spot to Robert MacIntyre.

Opening up on missing the Ryder Cup, Yannik Paul wrote on X:

"I am obviously disappointed to not make the team. If you are in 3rd place for 90% of the time you want to end up being on the team. I just didn’t finish high enough on the leaderboard the last few events to earn my spot back. Good luck to @RyderCupEurope - bring the back."

It is noteworthy that Paul had a strong start to the season. The golfer finished runner-up at the Thailand Classic and Hero Indian Open in February. He followed it up with three top-10 finishes. However, his form fell off later in the year as he tied 49th at Made In HimmerLand and tied 25th at the Scottish Open. The German pro shocked many by missing the cut at The Open 2023.

Once the picks were announced, team skipper Luke Donald addressed the omissions of players like Paul and stated that “there were a number of players” for him to choose from. He noted that the picks were “difficult decisions” and claimed that each dropped player handled the rejection with class.

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2023 European Ryder Cup Team

Donald seemingly opted for a younger team with his picks. The European side skipper announced the final six picks for his side on Tuesday which included the likes of Tommy Fleetwood, Sepp Straka, Justin Rose, Shane Lowry, Ludwig Aberg and Nicolai Højgaard.

While the picks were welcomed by many, several questions were raised on the selection of players like Aberg and Højgaard over the likes of Paul, Ian Poulter, Sergio Garcia and Thomas Pieters, among others. However, the Ryder Cup team skipper seems happy with his side headlined by Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy.

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Here is the 2023 European Ryder Cup Team:

• Rory McIlroy (European Point List)
• Jon Rahm (European Point List)
• Robert MacIntyre (European Point List)
• Viktor Hovland (World Point List)
• Tyrrell Hatton (World Point List)
• Matt Fitzpatrick (World Point List)
• Tommy Fleetwood (Captain's pick)
• Sepp Straka (Captain's pick)
• Justin Rose (Captain's pick)
• Shane Lowry (Captain's pick)
• Nicolai Højgaard (Captain's pick)
• Ludwig Aberg (Captain's pick)

The 2023 Ryder Cup will tee off on September 29 in Rome, Italy, and will conclude on October 1. More details on the team event will be updated soon.