Rory McIlroy on Luke Donald's controversial Ryder Cup pick? "A no-brainer"

Rory McIlroy says when he first saw Ludvig Aberg play in person he thought it was a 'no-brainer' to select the young Swede for the Ryder Cup. 

European captain Luke Donald named his six captain's picks for the 2023 showdown on 4 September. 

Alongside Tommy Fleetwood, Shane Lowry, Justin Rose, Sepp Straka and Nicolai Hojgaard, Donald decided to roll the dice with 23-year-old Aberg. 

McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Viktor Hovland, Tyrrell Hatton, Matthew Fitzpatrick and Robert MacIntyre were the six players who qualified automatically.

Aberg only turned professional in June 2023 and played his maiden PGA Tour event at the Canadian Open. 

In July, he posted a top-10 finish at the John Deere Classic and most recently grabbed his first win on the DP World Tour at the Omega European Masters. 

His maiden win was off the back of a top-10 finish at the Czech Masters.

He has also never played in a major championship but that is not a problem for McIlroy. 

How many points will Rory McIlroy earn at the 2023 Ryder Cup?

— GolfMagic (@GolfMagic) September 5, 2023

The Northern Irishman told BBC Sport the Swede - who was described by Donald as a 'generational talent' - has one of his favourite golf swings in the world. 

McIlroy also stated that at the beginning of the year he believed Europe were going to have a difficult time in the 29 September to 1 October contest at the Marco Simone Golf & Country Club. 

But now his view has changed. 

"I thought we were going to have a really tough time but the closer we've got to the cup, the more I'm liking what the team has become," McIlroy said before the Irish Open. 

Of Aberg, McIlroy said:

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Europe will be without their record points scorer Sergio Garcia in a few weeks' time. 

Garcia resigned his DP World Tour membership amid the disruption of LIV Golf and was ineligible for selection. 

Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood will also not be involved. 

McIlroy, who has now made up with Garcia after the duo fell out over the rival league, said it was always going to be a transitional period for Europe. 

He continued:

Read more:

• Lee Westwood reveals real reason why Adrian Meronk was snubbed by Luke Donald
• Sepp Straka quashes rumour ahead of making European Ryder Cup debut
• Ryder Cup 2023: Predicting the pairings for Team Europe and Team USA
• Tommy Fleetwood says sorry for comment about Ryder Cup skipper Luke Donald

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