Olazabal’s picks ensure Europe are at their best

Olazabal negotiated the first major hurdle of his captaincy with relative ease as he made what had become the anticipated announcement of the two men to complete his team to defend the trophy in Chicago.

Poulter is a player who thrives on the high-pressure environment of the Ryder Cup while Belgian Colsaerts may be a rookie, but he is the defending World Match Play champion and a young man bang in form.

If there is a contentious omission it is that of Padraig Harrington, but support for his inclusion was based more on past accomplishments than current form.

The luxury of a straightforward announcement could only have been dreamt of by James, who, by naming Andrew Coltart as one of his two picks for the 1999 match, swelled the number of rookies in his 12-man team to seven.

Colsaerts is the only European Ryder Cup novice on Olazabal’s 2012 version, a fact that James believes not only underscores the strength of European golf, but justifies their status as favourites against the United States.

“This is the strongest team it could have been,” said James, whose European team were beaten 14½-13½ in the infamous ‘Battle of Brookline’ 13 years ago.

“I don’t think we have had any team stronger than this one.

“It’s got all our best players. The only one missing who has been a regular over the last few matches is Harrington, and he’s only shown glimpses of form and not at a consistent level. He wasn’t worthy of a spot. Apart from that, we’ve got everyone.

“The US team is a step up from previous years as well and both captains will say the other team is favourite.

“But if you look at the world rankings, we have got some guys right at the top with Rory McIlroy, Luke Donald and Lee Westwood – and it was good to see Lee do well at the weekend. The US have got home advantage but we’ve got the better team and are favourites.”

Poulter, 36, was a natural choice, given his tenacity in the matchplay format.

Olazabal said the Englishman’s ‘spirit’ and ‘attitude’ were vital components in his decision.

And the ‘extra effort’ that Colsaerts, 29, went to in order to make the team – criss-crossing the Atlantic in the final two weeks to try to qualify by right – went down well with Olazabal.

The only question mark over a team in which Colsaerts is the lowest ranked player at world 
No 35, is Martin Kaymer’s form.

A rookie on the victorious 2010 team at Celtic Manor, the German was carried for large parts of the match by Westwood.

Olazabal was asked yesterday if he would consider naming a reserve player in the event that Kaymer’s form – which shows no top-10 finish since June – does not turn around in time. But the Spaniard refuted such a notion, something James believes was the best course of action.

“You would certainly never say you’ve got a reserve, no captain would even think it,” said James. “Martin is part of that team and Olly wants to show that to him.

“Besides, it would be a miracle if you ever turned up at Ryder Cup with 12 players in form.

“So Olly has to work with Martin. Saying there’s a reserve player would show a complete lack of faith in Martin.”

Olazabal added: “I’ve spoken to Martin. He’s been working really hard over the last couple of weeks.

“I don’t think I’m going to have an issue with him.”

How he handles Kaymer in the intervening weeks will be the next big issue for Olazabal, with the 2010 US PGA champion set to play tournaments in Holland and Italy before the flight to Chicago ahead of the September 28-30 contest.

Olazabal’s counterpart, Davis Love III, is to announce his four wild card picks next Tuesday.

Tiger Woods – who two years ago was himself reliant on captain Corey Pavin’s pick – headlines a United States team that is bolstered by major winners Webb Simpson and Bubba Watson.

But just as Europe have concerns over Kaymer, so too the United States have an inspirational figurehead in Phil Mickelson who is lacking his usual spark.

Form comes and goes in golf. Eleven months ago Malton’s Simon Dyson began the Ryder Cup selection process with victory at the Dutch Open, but with the birth of his first daughter and a stop-start schedule in 2012 he never generated enough momentum to mount a sustained challenge for a place.

Speaking of his team as a whole – which is completed by Sergio Garcia, Justin Rose, Graeme McDowell, Peter Hanson, Francesco Molinari and Paul Lawrie – Olazabal said: “We have a huge amount of experience. They have proven that they can handle the pressure of a Ryder Cup.

“Selecting wild cards is never an easy decision. I talked to the vice-captains, I talked to the next four or five guys on the list.

“I have been in that equation before. I was very straight and to the point.”

James added: “It’s important to ensure you’re picking people who get on, who get on with the rest of the team. I believe it’s a strength Europe has over the Americans.

“Choosing your wild cards can be an absolute nightmare. This time it was extremely easy.”

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