Paul McGinley surprised few with his wildcard picks and continued his so far impeccable Ryder Cup captaincy by choosing Scottish rookie Stephen Gallacher, Ryder Cup talisman Ian Poulter and veteran hard-man Lee Westwood to do battle at Gleneagles.

Luke Donald can have few complaints if he's driving a buggy rather than a Titleist in the Ryder Cup later this month. But while most observers believe it will be Lee Westwood and Stephen Gallacher who get the nod to joined Ryder Cup talisman Ian Poulter at Gleneagles, it may well prove to be a very painful decision for Paul McGinley.

First the big news — Graeme McDowell and his wife Kristin have named their first child Vale Esme. Discovering the names of Paul McGinley's three wildcard picks will have to wait until Tuesday afternoon but if McDowell's comments on Stephen Gallacher's sprint for the line carry any weight, the Scot will be one of them.

Darren Clarke showed signs of life with a 67 but as Hennie Otto took a two stroke lead into the final round of the 71st Open d’Italia, Stephen Gallacher’s bid to steal the last available qualifying place on Europe’s Ryder Cup team looks likely to go to the wire.

Rory McIlroy was no more than afterthought for a change as European and American Ryder Cup wildcard hopefuls shuffled themselves in the deck on Friday with Stephen Gallacher emerging as the clear ace for Paul McGinley.Rory McIlroy was no more than afterthought for a change as European and American Ryder Cup wildcard hopefuls shuffled themselves in the deck on Friday with Stephen Gallacher emerging as the clear ace for Paul McGinley.

Paul McGinley wants to see Stephen Gallacher, or any other player on the periphery of his team, step up to the mark and show they really want to be at Gleneagles by putting in a huge performance this week.

European Ryder Cup skipper Paul McGinley is not going to tie himself up in knots studying the form of his potential team members at this week's WGC-Accenture Match Play in Tucson.

Rory McIlroy is clearly back in form despite producing a loose performance with the driver and the green-reading skills of Stevie Wonder in the final round of the Omega Dubai Desert Classic.

Rory McIlroy must come from two shots behind Stephen Gallacher if he's to win the Omega Dubai Desert Classic and his 11th official title as a professional. Can he do it? The statistics will certainly give him hope.