How the captain’s picks performed

The pressure mounts when you’re a wild card selection and have the added stress of feeling the need to justify your place in a Ryder Cup.

Darren Clarke plumped for Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer and Thomas Pieters as his picks and all three suffered defeats in the opening foursomes session.

Westwood and Pieters were played together in their foursomes match but came unstuck spectularly in a 5&4 defeat to Dustin Johnson and Matt Kuchar, Westwood sitting out the fourball session. Pieters, though, redeemed himself in the company of Rory McIlroy, exacting vengeance in the early stages against Johnson and Kuchar while Kaymer was not enjoying himself in either of his matches.