Team Europe Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald chose Matt Fitzpatrick as his final pick to play in Bethpage. He was asked by Donald to compete in both the British Masters and the European Masters over the past two weeks. Fitzpatrick delivered, finishing inside the top six in both events, and was the last of the picks to be revealed.The moment of his selection was indeed an emotional one for Fitzpatrick. The official X account of Team Europe shared a video of the call he got from the captain. After a few exchanged formalities with each other and Donald appreciating him for playing the last two weeks, he said:“Not exactly what you wanted to do, but final pairing in the last two weeks. That’s pretty impressive. You’ve been playing as good as anyone statistically the last three or four months, so welcome to the team.”To this, Matt Fitzpatrick replied:“Thank you. Looking forward to it. Appreciate it.”This will be the fourth Ryder Cup that Matt Fitzpatrick will be participating in. Three at home, and one away. Luke Donald ended the call saying:“It’s your time to shine. I think you’re gonna have a great Ryder Cup. Can’t wait to get stuck in.”On Monday (September 1), Donald finalized his roster by naming six captain’s picks, all of whom played key roles in Team Europe’s 2023 victory at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club. The remaining selections included Shane Lowry, Jon Rahm, Sepp Straka, Viktor Hovland, and Ludvig Åberg. This marks the first time Europe has brought back 11 of the 12 players from a previous Ryder Cup squad.The only new face is Rasmus Højgaard of Denmark, who secured his spot during the final qualifying week. Interestingly, his identical twin brother, Nicolai, was part of the team in Rome two years ago.Luke Donald on his reasons for choosing Matt Fitzpatrick for Ryder Cup teamLuke Donald's final pick went to Matt Fitzpatrick, whose Ryder Cup track record has been far from impressive. In three previous appearances, Fitzpatrick has managed to earn just one point across eight matches. Despite the numbers, Donald stood firmly behind the choice, pointing to what he felt were strong and convincing reasons for including the former U.S. Open champion."Matt himself said he didn't get off to the best start this year and was struggling with his game a little bit," Donald said after announcing Fitzpatrick's selection, adding, "but he's one that's turned it around impressively.Luke Donald explained that from a statistical standpoint, few players had matched Matt Fitzpatrick’s form over the past few months. He shared that he had specifically challenged Fitzpatrick to compete in the final two European events, and being in the final group at both tournaments demonstrated just how well he was playing.Donald highlighted Fitzpatrick’s recent consistency, noting he had six top-10 finishes in his last eight starts. He further added that it was impressive to see how much Fitzpatrick’s game had developed in his push to make the team.