Ryder Cup Captain Jose Maria Olazabal answer questions on the selection procedure
European Team Ryder Cup Captain, Jose Maria Olazabal was present at the 40 year celebrations of The European Tour and the centenary of the Reale Seguros Open de Espana on Wednesday where he answered the questions regarding the upcoming event at Medinah Country
Club in Chicago.
The ceremony was attended by the representatives of the Spanish Golf and European our Chief Executive George O’ Grady.
Olazabal highlighted the process of selection and said that he is going to delay the process of selection as much as possible to finally pick the suitable 12-member team for the event.
Olazabal gave an example of his personal choice of the Dane Thomas Bjorn who won several European Tour titles last year and has done well so far in the current year.
The Spaniard said that Bjorn is a strong candidate for the choice of the Vice Captain but will delay his decision till the last stage.
He also cited the example of Miguel Angel Jimenez and said that Jimenez has been very consistent from tee to green and has been a strong support which can be relied upon in times of trouble.
Asked whether there is a special technique Olazabal will be using in order to motivate his team members in the event, he replied that playing in the Ryder Cup and being part of more than a 100 years old history is itself the biggest motivation.
On another question regarding players over confidence in the event, he said:
“Don't worry; I'll make sure our players don't feel overconfident. If you look at the cold hard facts, although the first three players on the OWGR are from Europe, in the top ten there are five European players and five American players, and we are still
in April and there are a lot of tournaments left”.
Olazabal also remembered the late Seve Ballesteros who has a gigantic contribution in the development of the sport in continental Europe.
He added, “Seve was unique and although there are some similarities, we are also very different”.
The event is scheduled in October this year and the American team will try to clinch the title from the Europeans which they won at Celtic Manor in 2010.
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