Jose Maria Olazabal most likely to be 2012 Ryder captain for Europe
With the 2010 Ryder Cup ending with great news for the Europeans, the Captain informally chose Jose Maria Olazabal to be the next Ryder Cup Captain. Monty and all the players think that ‘Olly’ will have the ability to do his part well as a captain. Even
though the formal decision will not be made until next year, right now Jose seems like the best candidate.
After the European defeat at Valhalla in 2008, the person set to lead the team in 2010 was actually supposed to be Olazábal. However, due to his health, he didn’t feel like he could really do the job well and hence Monty was chosen to lead at Celtic Manor.
Two years after the defeat as the team has emerged as champions once again, it didn’t take much to figure that Olazábal will definitely lead the show at Medinah. The 2012 Ryder Cup is scheduled to take place at Medinah, Illinois in the United States.
In a press conference when Monty was asked why he had Olazábal as one of his vice captains, jokingly he said that since he is the representative of Nespresso Coffee, he didn’t want all the talent and expertise going to waste.
Colin, who is very firm about not standing next year, is fully supportive of Olazábal leading the team in 2012. The players were also backing this notion due to the way Jose had been on the course and in the team room.
Monty said that Captaincy is more or less for young players now. Olazábal will be 46 in 2012 and hence would be at a decent age to help the team retain the trophy. Monty also says that Olazábal is passionate for the European cause. They have played in various
Ryder Cups together and hence he seems very capable of this honour.
This idea was supported by Colin’s two important players as well. Padraig Harrington and many players can reminisce about the eve of the singles matches in Valhalla and how Olazábal’s speech brought the players to tears. "I think Olly would be all the players'
choice. He's had a great Ryder Cup career and brings a lot of passion to the game”, said Harrington.
World Number two, Lee Westwood, thinks that it is about time that Jose has a shot. He thinks that Olazábal would a make a great captain since he is very inspirational and gets everybody on-side. Olazábal has had the best companionship with Seve Ballesteros
and has definitely picked up his passion.
With such great remarks by the players and the previous captain, everything is really up to Jose now. In 2008, he wasn’t really up for it. But things are different this time. Even though he is much more focused this time, the only obstacle in his way could
be his health. Jose Maria is diagnosed with rheumatism. Even though he has put up a very resilient fight, this disease has strained the Spaniard’s career to some extent.
"I would love to do it", Olazábal stated. "It all depends on my physical situation, but it's much better than it was a few months ago".
After Nick Faldo’s failed captaincy, The Ryder Cup officials made it very apparent that the captain needs to be very active during the tournament. Jose was aware of this and agreed that the captain needs to accompany the players and even play with them
during the qualifying rounds.
Therefore, the only ambiguity right now is his health. He only participated once this season, but he will take part in the Castello Masters later this month. Jose and Sandy Lyle are the only two remaining of the ‘big six’ Major winners other than the 1980’s
and 90’s, who haven’t captained the team. This so-called group includes Bernhard Langer, Ballesteros, Ian Woosnam and Faldo.
With everyone’s choice set on Jose Maria, the decision is still not 100 percent confirmed. In case Jose fails to be fit for the role, Paul McGinley, Darren Clarke and Thomas Bjorn are next in line. Only time will tell, who the captain of Europe’s 2012 Ryder
team will be.
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