‘Oh my f****** God!’ Ryder Cup rookies react live to wildcard picks

Ryder Cup Europe have given fans a unique peak behind the curtains by showing the moment captain Luke Donald told his rookies they have made his team.

Donald has four debutants heading to Rome and three of those were named among his six captain’s picks on Monday.

Sepp Straka, Nicolai Hojgaard and Ludvig Aberg joined qualifier Robert MacIntyre in being selected for the first time in the famous match.

• Luke Donald names six wildcard picks

• 6 players who missed out on Ryder Cup

Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Viktor Hovland, Tyrrell Hatton, Matt Fitzpatrick, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose and Shane Lowry make up the rest of Donald’s team.

The inclusion of the youthful Aberg and Hojgaard have certainly caused the most excitement among Donald’s wildcards.

Sweden’s rising star Aberg shot 64 to win the Omega European Masters at Crans-sur-Sierre, but, in truth, Donald had likely seen enough without his incredible maiden DP World Tour victory.

Denmark’s Hojgaard, meanwhile, was a controversial selection given it was at the expense of Adrian Meronk, the towering 30-year-old who was overlooked despite winning the Italian Open at Marco Simone back in May.

Few greater honours can be bestowed upon European golfers than representing the blue-and-gold in the Ryder Cup and Europe’s social media team gave us a brilliant insight into what it means for Aberg and Hojgaard with live reactions to Donald’s call-up.

The moment Luke Donald let Ludvig Åberg know he was on the team. pic.twitter.com/JWXCSi7dwe

— Ryder Cup Europe (@RyderCupEurope) September 4, 2023

“Just calling to say, you earned it, you’re on the team Ludvig,” Donald told Aberg.

Aberg replied: “Thank you, wow that’s unbelievable.”

“I asked you to come over these two weeks and you had a chance last week and you did what you did this week,” Donald continued.

“That’s super impressive to me. I think all of us, myself and my vice-captains have seen the talent you have, I think you’re ready, it’s going to be a hell of a week and you’re going to be a big part of it. I could not be more happy to have you on the team.”

Hojgaard, meanwhile, was equally delighted after two-top five finishes at Crans and the Czech Masters in Prague secured his spot in Rome.

"I can't describe how this conversation feels."

The moment Nicolai Højgaard found out he was on Luke's team. pic.twitter.com/VcYdlQrF3B

— Ryder Cup Europe (@RyderCupEurope) September 4, 2023

“I’m going to cut to the chase – I want you in Rome,” Donald told Hojgaard.

“Oh my f****** God,” Hojgaard reacted. “I was hoping for it to be honest but after today it was a little bit mixed. I can’t describe how this conversation feels!

“I’ve said all along and talking with Thomas (Bjorn) about this all season, I said to him the biggest goal was to obviously get to Rome. It’s been a long season but I can’t describe how it feels.

“One thing is to be part of it and one thing is trying to get that trophy back again. I can’t wait, I can’t wait Luke.”

Donald’s 12-man European team will bid to wrestle back the Ryder Cup trophy in the highly-anticipated match from September 29-October 1 at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club.

Team Europe 2023

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