Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley has put back the announcement of his wild cards for next year’s contest at Gleneagles by 24 hours due to a clash with a FedEx Cup event in the United States.
McGinley had originally planned to name his three picks on Monday, September 2, the day after the final qualifying event the Italian Open finishes.
However, he will now do so a day later after it was pointed out to the Dubliner last month that the Deutsche Bank Championship, the second of the four FedEx Cup play-off events in which many of his team are likely to be playing, is due to finish on the Monday.
Although qualifying from the World Points List will already have ended, it was reminiscent of the situation four years ago when Justin Rose and Paul Casey were told they had not been selected by Colin Montgomerie ahead of the final round of a tournament they were trying to win.
“With no actual qualification points counting in the Deutsche Bank Championship, I was initially prepared to make my wild card announcement on the Monday the day after the final counting event, the 2014 Italian Open,” McGinley said.
“But I have had a rethink and I now want to delay 24 hours as I realise that some potential members of the team might well be playing in Boston that week.
“Realistically, I think it will have minimal effect, but out of respect for any players involved, I want to allow them to finish that tournament before I call them with news, one way or another.”
The decision means both teams will announce their wild cards on the same day, with American captain Tom Watson revealing his three selections at a venue yet to be announced.
McGinley will reveal his choices at Wentworth, which was also the venue when Gleneagles was named as the host venue in 2001.