Sepp Straka picked for Ryder Cup despite 'personal issues' last month

Sepp Straka will play in his second Ryder Cup for Europe after being named as one of Luke Donald's six captain's picks for this months competition at Bethpage Black.

Donald completed his team by adding Jon Rahm, Shane Lowry, Straka, Ludvig Aberg, Viktor Hovland and Matt Fitzpatrick to the six players who had already secured qualification automatically. 

Rory McIlroy, Bob MacIntyre, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose, Rasmus Hojgaard and Tyrrell Hatton were confirmed starters when qualifying finished at the Betfred British Masters, and Donald will now have 11 of the 12 players who roared to victory in Rome two years ago.

Lowry, Rahm, Hovland and Aberg had long-been regarded as certainties to make the team this year, while Fitzpatrick’s recent good form and previous Ryder Cup experience ensured he would earn a fourth straight appearance.

Straka was expected to be a lock after winning twice on the PGA Tour this year, but doubts surfaced last month when he withdrew from the BMW Championship due to “personal reasons”.

A statement from his management team read: “Sepp is unable to play this week. He intends to compete at the TOUR Championship, but requests privacy at this time as he attends to a family matter at home.”

The Austrian did return the following week for the final event of the FedExCup Playoffs, but he was clearly distracted as he finished bottom of the 30-man field on 7-over par - 21 shots behind champion Tommy Fleetwood.

Straka was also a notable absentee from the confirmed entry list for next week’s BMW PGA Championship despite previously announcing that he would be competing at Wentworth.

But whatever issues he is dealing with in his private life will not prevent him from playing in his second Ryder Cup having made his debut in Rome two years ago, where he formed an impressive partnership with Lowry.

"It’s incredible," said Straka on Sky Sports. "You’d think that making the Ryder Cup would just be checking off a list, but it just makes you want to be there so much more the next time around, so I’m just really thrilled to be a part of this team.

"In Shane, I could not have picked a better partner. I felt we had an instant connection from the practice trip onwards, and he was incredible in leading me around for my first time.

"He brought a lot of energy and he was always kind of fun to lean on during those pressure moments. I’m looking forward to making some more good memories in New York."

Donald pointed out that Straka's two wins in the US this year made him a standout choice, and he had no doubts about adding the 32-year-old to his line-up.

"You always want to see who you’re up against, and outside of Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy, nobody has won more times on the PGA Tour this year," Donald said.

"Sepp has been performing at a very high level, he’s had five top-10s in elevated events this year, so his record speaks for itself. He’s a quiet, reserved character but he has so much fire in his belly and I’m really excited to have him back in the team room."