Olympic gold medallist Justin Rose gave Ryder Cup rookie Thomas Pieters a ringing endorsement Wednesday after the big-hitting Belgian was picked for the biennial match against the US next month. "The really difficult decision was choosing Thomas Pieters over Russell Knox, two guys who are in form, two guys who deserve their place in the team," Rose told a news teleconference, as he confirmed he would defend his Hong Kong Open title in December. "Choosing one of them was always going to be very, very difficult but I think what Thomas has shown Darren (Clarke) in the last few weeks has been incredible," added Rose.
