5 golfers snubbed by Luke Donald who deserved a spot in the Europe Ryder Cup team

The 2023 Europe Ryder Cup team was finally unveiled on Monday, with captain Luke Donald finalizing his picks. Now, all that remains is for the US and Europe team to play off at the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome just shy of a month from now.

Captain Luke Donald had a tough choice to make with an impressive talent pool for the European team. Donald is happy with the team that he has chosen. The Europe Ryder Cup team is as follows:

Rory McIlroy
Jon Rahm
Viktor Hovland
Robert MacIntyre
Tyrrell Hatton
Matt Fitzpatrick
Nicolai Hojgaard
Tommy Fleetwood
Justin Rose
Sepp Straka
Shane Lowry
Ludvig Aberg

However, picking just six players meant that he had to leave a lot of good players behind as well. Some of the choices were met with disappointment by fans and experts alike. Here are five players that were snubbed by Luke Donald who deserved a spot on the 2023 Europe Ryder Cup team.

5 players that deserved a spot on the 2023 Europe Ryder Cup team

1. Adrian Meronk

When it came to the last pick for the team, the decision was between Adrian Meronk and Ludvig Aberg. One of the hot favorites to make the captain's pick this time, Meronk's exclusion received quite a bit of backlash and was met with a lot of criticism.

Meronk was expected to make the team, especially with his win at the Italian Open. His strong campaign this year ended with disappointment after he was left off the team.

2. Yannik Paul

Another surprising name that was left off the Europe Ryder Cup team list was that of Yannik Paul. He stood fourth on the Rankings list, just 100 points off automatic qualifier MacIntyre.

He did skip a DP World Tour event last month, withdrawing from the ISPS Honda World Invitational - this did not help his chances of making the team. Regardless, he has six top 10 finishes on the DP World Tour this year, but they were not enough for him to make his Ryder Cup debut.

3. Victor Perez

Victor Perez was sixth on the European Rankings list and was another golfer who was expected to make the Europe Ryder Cup team. He took a win at the 2023 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and was even sitting in the automatic qualification spot for a while.

4. Rasmus Hojgaard

While his twin Nicolai Hojgaard made the team, Rasmus unfortunately had to be left off. While Rasmus has not had the most consistent season, the 22-year-old did pick up a win this year at Made in HimmerLand. However, Donald could not make space for both brothers on the team this year.

5.Sergio Garcia

Sergio Garcia was heavily involved in the Ryder Cup in the past. However, as he departed from the DP World tour for the LIV Golf Series last year, his chances of making the Ryder Cup team also departed with him.

Needless to say, he will be missed on the course, but his involvement in the breakaway tour took away his chance at making the team.