The same happens when spending an hour one-on-one with Tyrrell Hatton in the buggy, making a comment to Matthieu Pavon, giving a hug to Thorbjorn Olesen, or sharing jokes with Luke Donald and Nicolas Colsaerts. The Team Cup is about this. Sharing. Whether Great Britain and Ireland or Continental Europe wins is not important; the only goal here is the Ryder Cup. José María Olazábal knows this and is all in. He is the free man of the European team. He moves with his electric cart from match to match in the Team Cup. He doesn’t need statistics or notebooks. His eyes, mind, and experience are enough. He is the heart of the team. The intuition. The street wisdom. He is the history and the respect. The man of the intangibles.
Olazábal doesn’t stop for a minute, yet he reserves some time to chat with Ten Golf. It’s appreciated. The conversation takes place in the corridor connecting the practice range of the Abu Dhabi Golf Club with the putting green, just a few minutes before Tommy Fleetwood and Matthieu Pavon start the singles. No one needs to convince him of the importance of this week. “Yes, it is useful. It helps the captain see the potential players who might join the Ryder. Some already know about this, but there are new ones who have come from the Challenge Tour like Petersen, although he kept his card in the DP World Tour, but many people haven’t played this type of team format. We are used to playing individually, and this is different. You have to adapt to a teammate’s personality, and it’s very beneficial. It’s a good idea,” he assures.
Olazábal argues that the Team Cup should be maintained over time, along with its philosophy. It’s a week for the rookies, a kind of training camp. “It always helps, you acquire certain information, not so much from the gameplay perspective, since the golfers, except for Tommy Fleetwood or Matthieu Pavon, who come from playing the Sentry in Hawaii, are not fully prepared, but it’s always beneficial because somehow you get information that is useful. The idea of this tournament concept is to see the potential future players. We know that if Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy come, it would be fantastic for the tournament, but that’s not the philosophy. The idea is to prepare and see the potential future players, and it fulfills that objective,” he states.
The double Masters champion and best pair in Ryder Cup history alongside Seve Ballesteros explains better than anyone what is analysed and pursued in the Team Cup. “You see things in some players, the intangibles, how they fit within the locker room, body language, attitude on the field, determination, almost the game is the least of it, there’s a long way to go for the Ryder. For Dodo Molinari, it helps to accumulate more statistics, but the game is more or less seen throughout the year; here it’s about the intangibles, attitude, personality, character, determination. We take notes,” he explains. In case you hadn’t noticed, Olazábal repeats the word determination twice. It’s no coincidence. Among the newcomers, note Pavon’s name in this category.
There are no Spaniards in the Team Cup, and one might wonder if we will have any more competing in the European team in the Ryder Cup, beyond Jon Rahm, a fixture for Bethpage unless something strange happens. No one better than Olazábal to answer that question. A name naturally arises in the conversation. “Sergio García could be another potential player in Bethpage depending on how he plays this season,” José Mari points out. Beyond the Castellon native, the task of playing fortune teller becomes complicated, but Olazábal reminds us that nothing is impossible and refers to the latest example from Italy. You have to believe. “You never know. Last time Ludvig Aberg played, who came from nowhere. It’s going to be difficult; there are players who, if they play at their level, will be on the team, like Rory, Hatton, Fleetwood… You have to do very well. You have to get into the top six to be able to join the team. It’s going to be complicated, but hope is the last thing you lose,” he notes. So now you know, Campillo, Larrazábal, Elvira, Hidalgo, Ayora, and company. To have a chance, you have to be in the top six. Beyond that, even though the captain has another six picks, it’s going to be very difficult.
On a personal level, the golfer from Fuenterrabía takes things more calmly than before, although he doesn’t lose sight of the goal of winning a tournament on the Champions Tour and continuing to enjoy the week of the Masters. Enjoying and competing, which is how this gentleman enjoys the most. “I am calm, I will play the Champions Tour again, half of the season, I don’t aim to win the Champions ranking, I prefer to play half the season and spend the rest with my family. The philosophy is different. What I do want is to raise the level of play and, if possible, fight for a victory. And for now, yes, I will keep trying in Augusta. The goal, although it’s super complicated, is to make the cut like last year, as well as enjoy a week that is very special for me.”
The chat ends, he puts on the earpiece, and rushes to the buggy to follow Fleetwood and Pavon. Europe needs him.
