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Golf: Clarke's wildcard phone call was agony for rookie Pieters (Reuters)

CHASKA, Minnesota (Reuters) - Belgian Thomas Pieters fulfilled a lifelong dream by making his first Ryder Cup team but he had to endure a nervous wait before learning he had been handed a wildcard spot for Hazeltine National.

Twenty-four hours after Pieters had won his third European Tour title at last month's Made in Denmark tournament, he received a phone call from Europe captain Darren Clarke who initially seemed to be the bearer of bad news.

"I got the call on the Monday afternoon after Denmark, and I had no idea if I was in," Pieters told reporters at a sunny Hazeltine on Thursday.