Ollie's Picks

Bill Elliott on Jose Maria Olazabal's wildcard selections for the Ryder Cup at Medinah.

Jose Maria Olazabal
(Image credit: Getty Images)

No surprises then from Captain Ollie. By picking Ian Poulter and Nicolas Colsaerts the wily Spaniard effectively didn't pick anybody. Instead he just went down to numbers 11 and 12 on the list. Smart. Very smart and also very typical of a man who sees life in shades of black and white, not much grey. Jose-Maria wanted to be fair and this he has achieved. It's also the first time the top twelve have made up the side since it went European in 1979 and it's also the first time everyone of the players is in the top 35 of the World Rankings.   Now it's over to Captain America. Davis Love selects his four skipper's picks next week and, naturally, he has a headache. Four is just too many. In my view these sides should either be off the top of the deck as has happened or the captain should be able to select all twelve. Oh, I know the system in Europe is designed to encourage more particpation in more genuine Euro Tour events by the big names but, really, it is unnecessarily complicated at present. Not that it's going to change any time soon.   A week or so ago it seemed Love would also choose his four men from the next available places on the USA Money List, but guys like Brandt Snedeker have messed things up. It will be interesting to see which way Love goes but right now I'd be surprised if Snedeker didn't make it ahead of Rickie Fowler with Hunter Mahan, Jim Furyk and Steve Stricker sliding into the uniform as well. But a week's a long time in these matters and, for now, all bets are off.

Editor At Large

Bill has been part of the Golf Monthly woodwork for many years. A very respected Golf Journalist he has attended over 40 Open Championships. Bill  was the Observer's golf correspondent. He spent 26 years as a sports writer for Express Newspapers and is a former Magazine Sportswriter of the Year. After 40 years on 'Fleet Street' starting with the Daily Express and finishing on The Observer and Guardian in 2010. Now semi-retired but still Editor at Large of Golf Monthly Magazine and regular broadcaster for BBC and Sky. Author of several golf-related books and a former chairman of the Association of Golf Writers. Experienced after dinner speaker.