Bad news for Shane Lowry as Darren Clarke names his three wildcard picks for the Ryder Cup

Bad news for Irish fans, but not a huge surprise.

Darren Clarke named his three wildcard picks for the Ryder Cup on Tuesday lunchtime and unfortunately for fans of Shane Lowry they were as predicted in many places this morning. Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer and Thomas Pieters make the cut which means there's no place for the popular Offaly man, who was always up against it in his hopes to play, while Graeme McDowell, Luke Donald and Russell Knox have also been overlooked.

"In Lee Westwood I have one of most experienced Ryder Cuppers of all time - it's his 10th appearance," Clarke said. "Martin Kaymer is somewhat of a Ryder Cup stalwart and another man I have enormous trust in. "Last week I played with Thomas Pieters and Thomas knew why I was playing with him and played unbelievable and shot 62 and, on top of that, won the tournament. I am very proud to have someone of that talent in the team. “The last one was difficult. Luke Donald and Graeme McDowell with their experience. They will admit that they have not been on top of their game. Then it was down to Thomas and Russell Knox. Phoning Russell yesterday was one of the hardest things I have ever done."

Europe Ryder Cup team in full: Rory McIlroy, Danny Willett, Henrik Stenson, Chris Wood, Sergio Garcia, Rafa Cabrera-Bello, Justin Rose, Andy Sullivan, Matt Fitzpatrick, Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer, Thomas Pieters. The 2016 Ryder Cup takes place in Hazeltine from September 30 to October 2.