Ryder Cup Wildcards: Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and Stephen Gallacher Selected for Gleneagles

Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and Stephen Gallacher will be Europe's three Ryder Cup wildcards, captain Paul McGinley has confirmed.

Following the confirmation of the nine automatic qualifiers following the weekend's Italian Open, the trio complete Europe's 12-man team for Gleneagles.

Gallacher, who finished narrowly outside the top nine, will appear in his first Ryder Cup while Poulter and Westwood will face the United States in the three-day event for the fifth and ninth time respectively.

"I'm a very lucky man to have such a variety of talent to choose from," said McGinley. "It was a very difficult call. I think we have three players that will make the European team as strong as it needs to be to compete with the might of America."

Luke Donald, Francesco Molinari, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Joost Luiten are among the high-profile players to miss out.

The 39-year-old Gallacher was unable to knock Graeme McDowell out of qualifying during the Italian Open, finishing one shot behind the Northern Irishman to rely on a wildcard to play at Gleneagles.

But while Gallacher's selection comes on the back of an impressive run of form, the same can't be said of Poulter and Westwood, who have both suffered disappointing seasons.

Both players failed to make the cut at The Open Championship at Hoylake and though Poulter finished ninth on the European points list, Westwood ended the qualifying period a lowly 19<sup>th.

However, with nine Ryder Cup wins between them, including a significant contribution in Europe's final day comeback in the singles competition at Medinah in 2012, the duo will bring a great deal of experience if not form to the European team.

USA captain Tom Watson will confirm his three wildcard picks later on Tuesday.

The 2014 Ryder Cup takes place on 26-28 September.

Europe's Ryder Cup team: Rory McIlroy, Henrik Stensson, Victor Dubuisson, Jamie Donaldson, Sergio Garcia, Justin Rose, Martin Kaymer, Thomas Bjørn, Graeme McDowell, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood, Stephen Gallacher