Stars und Sternchen! » Donald that he was being left off

VIRGINIA WATER, England - It was not an easy phone call for European Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley — breaking the news to Luke Donald that he was being left off the team to face the United States at Gleneagles this month. Donald is a former No. 1 who has lifted the trophy with Europe on each of his four Ryder Cup appearances. But he was the big omission when McGinley picked Stephen Gallacher, Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter as his three wild-card selections Tuesday. "That was a very, very difficult conversation — my relationship with Luke is very close," said McGinley, who was Donalds playing partner for the Englishmans first Ryder Cup match. "He was very, very disappointed, and rightly so. ...His record in the Ryder Cup stands with anybody in the game." Donald has one of the best short games in the world and is a brilliant putter, making him a key player in Europes wins in 2004, 06, 10 and 12. But he has struggled for form this year after making changes to his swing. Second place at the RBC Heritage in April was his last top-30 finish on the PGA Tour, a shadow of the player who rose to No. 1 and was the leading money-winner on both sides of the Atlantic in 2011. McGinley said Donald reacted in classy fashion when told he wasnt being selected. "Even though you have not picked me, I still believe youll be a great captain," McGinley quoted him as saying. "His last few words were: Go Europe. I think that says a lot about Luke." McGinley has three rookies in the 12-man team that will face the U.S. in Scotland from Sept. 26-28, with Gallacher joining Victor Dubuisson and Jamie Donaldson. The other players who qualified automatically for McGinleys team were Rory McIlroy, Henrik Stenson, Sergio Garcia, Justin Rose, Martin Kaymer, Thomas Bjorn and Graeme McDowell. McGinley announced his captains picks at European Tour headquarters at Wentworth hours before U.S. captain Tom Watson was to reveal his. McGinley said it came down to a choice between Donald and Westwood. "Lee just slightly pipped him," McGinley said. For McGinley, the fact Gallacher lives only 35 miles (56 kms) from Gleneagles and would be a crowd favourite did not factor into the decision-making process. "Theres no doubt Stevie Gallacher has proved himself and earned his spot on this team," McGinley said. The 39-year-old Scot narrowly missed out on automatic selection after finishing third at the Italian Open on Sunday. A top-two finish would have seen him oust McDowell as the final qualifier. But it was Gallachers eighth top-10 finish in 2014, leaving him as the form player of the four in contention. Gallacher has played well at Gleneagles in recent years, losing out in a three-man playoff at the Johnnie Walker Championship in 2013. "Of course its a concern to me that hes a rookie, and its very difficult to pick a rookie for a Ryder Cup," McGinley said. "But Ive said all along from day one, Im not afraid to pick a rookie if he proves himself." Gallachers uncle, Bernard, captained Europe in the Ryder Cup in 1991, 93 and 95. "Its massive for me and my family," Gallacher said after calling into the news conference. "It was a long day yesterday (waiting for the call) ... A couple of drinks settled me down nicely." Europe is defending the trophy after its 14 1/2-13 1/2 win over the United States at Medinah in 2012. Poulter, Westwood and Donald have been stalwarts for Europe over the past decade, helping the team win five of the last six cups, but havent been in top form this year. Poulter usually saves his best performances for the Ryder Cup. He has 12 wins from 15 matches, and is on a seven-match winning streak — the last four coming at the "Miracle in Medinah" when Europe came from 10-6 down on the final day to retain the cup. "Ian Poulter is a bundle of energy whenever you speak to him. You could feel the energy coming down the phone," McGinley said. Westwood will be playing in his ninth straight Ryder Cup, with his accuracy from tee to green likely counting in his favour. He has played well below his best for much of 2014 but won the Malaysian Open in April and responded to calls from McGinley to show some form by shooting a final-round 63 at the Bridgestone Invitational last month before finishing tied for 15th at the PGA Championship. "I think Paul has picked me for my experience," Westwood said. "I have played under eight different captains and pretty much seen all it can throw at you." Adidas Nmd China Wholesale . Adam Lind provided the power and rookie starter Marcus Stroman had the best start of his young career as the Blue Jays dumped the Yankees 8-3 at Rogers Centre. Stroman, making his fifth start for Toronto, allowed one earned run and three hits over a career-high eight innings. 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Dylan Blujus and Vincent Praplan also scored as North Bay took a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinal series. Goaltender Jake Smith made 25 saves for the win. Andreas Athanasiou was the lone scorer for Barrie. Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 24 of 28 shots in 49:05 of work. He was pulled after Blujuss power-play goal. Daniel Gibl turned aside all three shots he faced. All five goals were scored in the third period, with Goodrows second goal at the 7:43 mark of the period standing as the winner. The Battalion went 1 for 6 on the power play, while the Colts were 0 for 6. --- GENERALS 2 PETES 0 OSHAWA, Ont. — Daniel Altshuller made 22 saves as the Generals blanked the Petes to take a 2-0 series lead in their best-of-seven playoff Eastern Conference semifinal. Dylan Smoskowitz opened the scoring with a power-play goal 2:10 into the game, and Jacob Busch added another for Oshawa less than eight minutes later.dddddddddddd. Peterborough goaltender Andrew DAgostini stopped 30 shots in the losing effort. --- KNIGHTS 7 STORM 2 GUELPH, Ont. — Chris Tierney had two power-play goals and three assists and Jake Patterson made 32 saves as the Knights evened their Western Conference semifinal series with the Storm 1-1. Nikita Zadorov added a short-handed goal and two assists, Josh Anderson and Mitchell Marner had a goal and an assist apiece, and Ryan Rupert and Brett Welychka also scored for London, which tallied four power-play goals on seven chances. Tyler Bertuzzi and Pius Suter replied for Guelph, which failed to score on six opportunities with the man advantage. Justin Nichols started in net for the Storm but left the game after giving up four goals on 18 shots in just over 25 minutes. 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