Padraig Harrington Reduces Ryder Cup Wildcards

Europe's Ryder Cup captain has cut the number of wildcards for next year's big event at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin.

The Irishman has chosen to reduce the wildcards from four to three, allowing for nine players to secure automatic qualification.

The 12-man European Team will comprise the first four players from the European Points List, followed by the leading five players from the World Points List

Harrington will select the final three names as wildcards to complete the team.

"I have said on many occasions that one of the reasons for recent European success in The Ryder Cup is continuity," he said. "It is a theme that will be prevalent across my captaincy and I think you can see that in the overall qualification process for the 2020 team.

"Having said that, I am pleased that the Tournament Committee agreed to the change of Wild Card numbers. I have spoken to a number of people regarding the ninth player automatically qualifying for the team and in my experience, a player is more comfortable when he has qualified, hence my reasoning behind this change.

"I am also delighted to be starting and ending the process at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth. It is one of our most prestigious events, played at an iconic venue and the home of the European Tour itself, and will help give a real narrative to the qualification race."

The 43rd Ryder Cup will be played at Whistling Straits from 25-27 September, 2020.

(CM/JG)