European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald shared he had a ‘difficult’ phone call with hopeful Matt Wallace, who gave a tearful address when asked by Sky Sports about missing out on the team once again

Luke Donald revealed he had a tough phone call with a tearful Ryder Cup hopeful(Image: Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)

Luke Donald revealed he had a “difficult” phone call with Ryder Cup hopeful Matt Wallace, after the latter seemingly confirmed via an emotional message on X that the decision had been made before Donald’s announcement.

Donald announced his picks for the European Ryder Cup team, with the 47-year-old selecting Jon Rahm, Shane Lowry, Sepp Straka, Viktor Hovland, Ludvig Aberg and Matt Fitzpatrick. Those six join Rory McIlroy, Bob MacIntyre, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose, Rasmus Hojgaard, and Tyrrell Hatton, the automatic qualifiers.

That said, Wallace had to settle for not being chosen by Donald, whose team will go against the squad led by US captain Keegan Bradley. Speaking after making his selections, Donald shared the conversation he had with an emotional Wallace, telling the 35-year-old that he did not make the cut.

“It was an extremely difficult call to make to Matt,” Donald explained, per Bunkered. “I watched the golf yesterday, I saw his emotion.

“It just shows what it means to Europeans, to represent the flag, to represent that crest. It is the difficult part of the job to call these people that have played their heart out for 12 months and think they have done enough.

“I really hope some of those near misses will be part of the team in two years’ time at Adar [Manor]. Just make it more inspirational and give them more confidence to keep going. It certainly could have gone different ways this time, but I am thrilled with the 12 we have.”

Matt Wallace couldn’t contain his emotions when asked about the Ryder Cup and not being selected(Image: X: @SkySportsGolf)

Regarding the “emotion” he saw from Wallace, Donald is referring to the interview the 35-year-old had with Sky Sports when pressed on his thoughts on missing out on the Ryder Cup.

“I’d never give up on the Ryder Cup! I just won’t,” a tear-stained Wallace said.

Wallace’s emotional response comes after he posted a lengthy message on social media, with his feelings seeping through his words as he shared his thoughts on missing out on a spot.

“It’s been a year since we were last here in Crans Montana, Switzerland,” his post on X began. “A year of dedication to my craft, all in the hope of trying to get a spot in Europe’s Ryder Cup team. I’m coming back with such a heavy heart but one full of pride and gratitude towards my team.

“We have given it everything. The drive and feeling I get within when the Ryder Cup is mentioned is quite surreal, especially when it’s a match I’ve never actually managed to be a part of. I’ve said on record that I will never stop trying to be a part of it until I quit playing.

“We have given it everything. The drive and feeling I get within when the Ryder Cup is mentioned is quite surreal, especially when it’s a match I’ve never actually managed to be a part of. I’ve said on record that I will never stop trying to be a part of it until I quit playing.

“In the meantime it’s back up the mountain to a tournament that means the world to me and I’m excited to enjoy it with my family and loved ones. Thank you @british_masters and @TheBelfryHotel and congratulations to Alex and Rasmus. See you at work. Wally. Go team [Europe flag emoji].”