How concerned Luke Donald and his team are about Sepp Straka ahead of announcing Europe’s six captain’s picks

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Sepp Straka is perhaps the player with a question mark hanging over him as Luke Donald prepares to name his six captain’s picks for the Ryder Cup on Monday.

While there seemed to be plenty of debate over which six players Keegan Bradley would select, Luke Donald appears to face a much easier choice.

For much of the year, the European lineup has looked incredibly settled. There will be at least one change to the lineup from Rome, with Rasmus Hojgaard managing to qualify automatically. But it would not be a surprise if Donald’s team included 11 of the players who regained the Ryder Cup at Marco Simone.

However, there may have been one or two players feeling the pressure as they awaited a call from Donald.

How concerned Luke Donald is about Sepp Straka ahead of the Ryder Cup

It is hard to see any way Jon Rahm, Shane Lowry, Viktor Hovland or Ludvig Aberg miss out. Meanwhile, Matthew Fitzpatrick has enjoyed a real upturn in form in the last couple of months.

But perhaps it would not be the biggest shock if Sepp Straka was left out.

Straka missed the BMW Championship due to a personal matter before finishing last at the Tour Championship. And he is not expected to be involved at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth this month.

Some believe Straka could be the man to make way if Donald decides to include someone like Matt Wallace or Harry Hall.

However, The Telegraph is reporting that Donald and his team are not concerned about Straka, with the Austrian poised to receive one of the picks for Bethpage.

The stats which will encourage Luke Donald to pick Sepp Straka for Bethpage

Straka played both foursomes sessions in Rome two years ago, winning one match alongside Shane Lowry. And you would imagine that Donald will have him pencilled in for the same format in New York.

The 32-year-old is nowhere near being one of the longest drivers of the ball on the PGA Tour. But he is inside the top 25 for driving accuracy, as well as inside the top 10 for strokes gained approach.

Of course, his best form came much earlier in the year as he won The American Express and the Truist Championship. And Straka missed three cuts in the majors in 2025.

But perhaps Donald is still confident that Europe would be better off with Straka in the ranks as they look to pick up where they left off in Italy.