Olazabal picked to captain 2012 Ryder Cup team

This comes as no surprise as my pal Gordie Simpson of the European Tour has sent out this press release..

Jose Maria Olazábal has accepted an invitation from the Tournament Committee of The European Tour, ratified by The European Ryder Cup Players and Stakeholders Board, to captain the European team in The 2012 Ryder Cup at Medinah Country Club, Medinah, Illinois, United States of America, from September 28-30, 2012.

Olazábal, who was born in Fuenterrabia, Spain, on February 5, 1966, becomes the 23rd golfer to captain a Ryder Cup team against the United States and the second Spaniard following Seve Ballesteros, the winning captain in 1997 when Europe triumphed 14 ½ - 13 ½ at Club de Golf Valderrama, Sotogrande, Spain.

Olazábal made the first of seven Ryder Cup appearances in 1987 when Europe created history by winning on American soil for the first time and he was also on the winning European team in 1997 and 2006 in a Ryder Cup playing career that spanned 19 years. Olazábal and Ballesteros formed the most successful partnership in Ryder Cup history in the fourballs and foursomes with 11 wins and two halved matches from 15 played, and with 18 wins and 20½ points, Olazábal stands fifth in the European lists for most matches won and most points won respectively.

Following Europe’s 14 ½ - 13 ½ win at The Celtic Manor Resort, City of Newport, Wales, Olazábal succeeds Colin Montgomerie as captain with the aim of retaining The Ryder Cup which Europe has won eight times and the United States seven times with one match tied since players from the Continent of Europe became eligible in 1979. Europe’s victories were achieved under the captaincies of Tony Jacklin (1985, 1987), Bernard Gallacher (1995), Ballesteros (1997), Sam Torrance (2002), Bernhard Langer (2004), Ian Woosnam (2006) and Montgomerie (2010) with Jacklin being the captain when the match was tied in 1989.

Olazábal said: “The two Masters wins at Augusta National are the highlight of my playing career but this is my proudest moment. Golf has been my life and representing Europe in The Ryder Cup has given me so much enjoyment. So to be named the European Ryder Cup captain is something very special and I am looking forward to the next 20 months before we reach Medinah.

“Seve was also our Captain at Valderrama in 1997 and that was especially significant because the match was played in Spain and on the Continent for the first time and, of course, we won. In all I’ve played under five Captains – Tony Jacklin, Bernard Gallacher, Mark James, Ian Woosnam and Seve – and the last in 2006 with Woosie was one to remember because we won 18 ½ - 9½. I played two fourball matches with Sergio (Garcia) and we won both and then I beat Phil Mickelson in the singles which was the last match I played.

“It was also a wonderful experience to be involved as a vice captain with Nick Faldo in 2008 and then again with Colin Montgomerie when we regained the Cup at Celtic Manor last year. I’ve learned a lot along the way and linked to my own experiences I look forward to drawing on all that knowledge with the aim, of course, to keeping the Cup in our possession. We all know The Ryder Cup is one of the most exciting and important competitions in the golfing calendar, and that it always inspires team members and spectators alike, but there is nothing like holding that trophy at the end of the week.

“I have accepted the captaincy but I think my desire to keep playing is known by everyone. This is the first of four tournaments in succession I am playing on the Desert Swing of The European Tour International Schedule. I am looking forward to competing again and giving myself the chance to win.

Olazábal, who won the Masters Tournament in 1994 and again in 1999 after recovering from rheumatoid polyarthritis in three joints of his right foot and two in his left, struck his first shots at the age of two at the Real Golf de San Sebastian, set in the lush foothills of the Pyrenees. He was drawn to the golf course because it was where his father, Gaspar, worked as the greenkeeper and his mother, Julia, as wardrobe mistress. It was on the practice range at Real Golf de San Sebastian in 1979 that Olazábal also met Sergio Gomez, who would go on to become his long-time friend and manager.

Olazábal has won 23 times on The European Tour International Schedule with 30 wins in all worldwide and he became the second Spaniard to be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame when he joined his great friend Seve Ballesteros (inducted in 1999) in that illustrious group during a moving ceremony at St Augustine, Florida, in November, 2009.

Medinah Country Club’s Number 3 Championship Course, close to Chicago, has hosted three Major Championships – the US Open in 1949, 1975 and in 1990 when Olazábal finished tied eighth and the US PGA Championship in 1999 and 2006. It has also staged a US Senior Open. The course was designed by Scotsman Tom Bendelow and carved out of an oak tree forest in rolling terrain and opened in 1928. After the 1999 US PGA Championship Rees Jones, the renowned architect, undertook a modification project and the course played to more than 7,500 yards from the championship tees in the 2006 US PGA Championship.

Bryan Angus