Henrik Stenson, Ian Poulter, Paul Casey, and Sergio Garcia were all named by Thomas Bjorn as captain's picks to join Team Europe for the 2018 Ryder Cup, finalizing the squad that's set to compete in Paris, France, later this month.
The four golfers will join Justin Rose, Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood, Jon Rahm, Francesco Molinari, Tyrrell Hatton, Alex Noren, and Thorbjorn Olesen on the team.
Stenson will make his fourth appearance in the event after his status was up in the air because of a lingering elbow issue. Bjorn emphasized Stenson's importance to the squad by saying that Rose "would find it difficult" if the Swede was not there, as the two have become a dominant duo over the years in the team competition.
It will be Poulter's sixth time representing Europe, and he was an easy selection for Bjorn given the Englishman's year and his Ryder Cup history. Poulter is 12-4-2 overall at the Ryder Cup, including an incredible 4-0-1 record in singles matches.
After a 10-year absence from the event, Casey is back in the blue and yellow. He finished 11th in the world points rankings thanks to his win at the Valspar Championship earlier this season.
To the surprise of some, Garcia cracked the European roster despite having one of the worst seasons of his career. Ever since his meltdown at the Masters in April, Garcia has missed seven of 12 cuts with only one top-10 result. Bjorn opted for experience over form, however, as this will be the 38-year-old Spaniard's ninth career Ryder Cup.
Meanwhile, Team USA announced three captain's picks on Tuesday - Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, and Bryson DeChambeau - with the final selection coming Sept. 10 after this week's BMW Championship.
The Ryder Cup will begin Sept. 28 at Le Golf National in Paris. The last time Team Europe lost on home soil was in 1993, and it has since won eight of the last 11 competitions.
