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Donald expected Casey to steal his Ryder Cup spot

Luke Donald is in PGA Tour action this week © Getty Images

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Betting Bunker: Tour Championship selections

Luke Donald has revealed that he expected Paul Casey to be picked ahead of him for the Ryder Cup.

European skipper Colin Montgomerie chose Padraig Harrington, Edoardo Molinari and Donald as his three wildcard picks - meaning world No. 7 Casey was controversially omitted from the team, having failed to snatch an automatic qualification spot.

After Casey's exclusion, Donald was vociferous in his criticism of the European selection system, which is weighted in favour of those who compete on the European Tour instead of the PGA Tour.

He believes that those who play most of their golf in America - including himself and Casey - should not be penalised for wanting to test themselves at what he perceives to be a higher level of competition.

Nonetheless, Donald expected Casey - a former World Matchplay champion - to make the team, probably at his expense. "I thought his name would have been before mine," Donald told the Guardian. "He's a great match player, with a great matchplay record. He hits the ball long and straight off the tee, which is not a bad thing to have around [Ryder Cup venue] Celtic Manor, and he is a decent putter. I'm not sure if we should blame Monty or the selection process for what happened."

Turning his attention to the Ryder Cup, which gets underway next week, Donald echoed the sentiments of Rory McIlroy - and gave Montgomerie a potential selection headache - by confirming that he would be eager to team up with Lee Westwood.

"Well, I wouldn't mind playing with [Martin] Kaymer, I guess. Or [Lee] Westwood," he said. "Whatever Monty wants me to do, really."

Donald is in action at the Tour Championship over the weekend as he completes his preparations for the Ryder Cup.

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