Europe’s Ryder Cup golf captain Paul McGinley announced on Tuesday that he would have three wildcards at his disposal instead of two for the showdown with the United States at Gleneagles, Scotland next year.

The Irishman’s predecessor, Jose Maria Olazabal, had just the two world card picks available for his team that defeated the Americans in Chicago last September to retain the trophy.

However, McGinley has been given more of an opportunity to tailor his side with the addition of the third wildcard.

The decision was taken following unanimous backing late on Monday from the European Tour’s Tournament committee.

That means nine automatic qualifying places will be available for the 12-man team, four via the European Tour points list and five from the world points list.

The Americans, who will be skippered in Scotland by Tom Watson, have gone the other way, cutting the number of wildcard picks in the team from four to three.

The Americans moved from two to four captain’s choices in 2008 when Paul Azinger was at the helm. The move was rewarded with a win on home soil at Valhalla over a European squad captained by England’s Nick Faldo.

Europe won back the Ryder Cup two years later at Celtic Manor in Wales before successfully defending the trophy with a sensational final-day comeback at Medinah, outside Chicago.