Wednesday 5 September 2018 16:26, UK
Rich Beem discusses Matt Wallace's omission from Thomas Bjorn's European Ryder Cup wildcard picks and explains why it was right for Sergio Garcia to be selected.
I thought those four names [Paul Casey, Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter and Henrik Stenson] have been standing out for the last few weeks and when those four didn't make it on their own merit, you had to look at them.
The only one you could take a hard look at before picking would be Sergio Garcia, but in my mind's eye I thought he was always going to be in the team because of his Ryder Cup record and the experience he brings.
I think going for the experienced name was necessary, especially with all the rookies Europe have on the team this year, so it was no great surprise. The five rookies made it more difficult to weed out the guys that Bjorn wasn't going to pick.
Matt Wallace fell underneath that list and, as a three-time winner this season, you feel tragic for him. He brought everything that he possibly could, but I don't how much his performance at the Open de France and his play over the summer came into the equation.
Unfortunately, I can understand why he's not there, as to add another rookie might have been a little bit tough, especially then if you have to leave out Garcia and all his Ryder Cup experience.
People talk about having to have form, but part of it has to do with the fact there is so much pressure on an individual when it comes to Ryder Cup play. You have to understand how that pressure is going to impact, and there's no better player in that spotlight for me than Garcia.
If I were the captain, it would have been a pretty simple task to pick him, just because he knows what it takes and what is going to be required of him to get up at the first tee of the Ryder Cup.
I think it's going to be interesting to see how Thomas Bjorn pairs the rookies with the picks, but I don't think we're going to much more than that until we see who goes out for practice rounds in France.
