Olazabal happy with new Ryder selection criteria

NEW Ryder Cup captain Jose Maria Olazabal has been given what he wanted for next year’s defence of the trophy in Chicago — only two wild cards and a change to the qualifying system.

Colin Montgomerie asked for three wild cards for Celtic Manor last October, but still faced a situation where he had to choose between Pádraig Harrington, Luke Donald, Paul Casey, Justin Rose and Edoardo Molinari. Casey and Rose missed out despite the former being the world number nine at the time and the latter having won twice in America.

Olazabal believes that by selecting five players off a European Tour money list first and then going to a world ranking points list for the next five, he’ll select the best team.