Perthshire, Scotland – Jose Maria Olazabal selected Ian Poulter and Nicolas Colsaerts as his picks on Monday morning to round out his European Ryder Cup team.
Poulter will compete in his fourth Ryder Cup next month at Medinah, while Colsaerts will be the lone rookie on the European team.
"I think everyone of you pretty much guessed that Ian was going to be there, that was a pretty good guess, not a difficult one," Olazabal said at the press conference.
"For obvious reasons, he has great Ryder Cup record, he's playing well. He had some issues early in the season, but his attitude and his spirit on the Ryder Cup team has been great. He's one of those players that likes to be in that situation.
"Nicolas, obviously, he's a rookie, but if you look at the team he's going to be the only rookie. His match play record is very good. He's had a very solid season and on top of that, he's made the extra effort trying to make the team. He really showed me he wanted to be part of that team."
The duo will join a team that includes Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, Paul Lawrie, Graeme McDowell and Francesco Molinari, who made the team via the European Points list, as well as Luke Donald, Lee Westwood, Sergio Garcia, Peter Hanson and Martin Kaymer, who made the team through the World Points list.
Poulter has a stellar Ryder Cup record. He went 3-1 in 2010 to raise his record to 8-3 overall and he is 3-0 in singles play.
The Englishman's last win was at the 2011 Volvo Match Play Championship. This season, Poulter's best finish was at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, where he took third place. He has also collected three top-10 finishes at the majors.
"I was absolutely thrilled to get the call last night from Jose, it was a great moment and I'm going to be thrilled again to pour some passion over 18 holes at Medinah," Poulter stated.
Colsaerts claimed his second European Tour win earlier this year at the Volvo World Match Play Championship. He lost to Poulter in the semifinals at that event in 2011.
Along with his victory this season, Colsaerts has collected eight other top-10 finishes worldwide, including a runner-up at the China Open and a share of seventh at the British Open.
"This has been something I've wanted since I was a little kid. To be part of such a big team with a captain with such a great history is something I'm very proud of," Colsaerts commented.
With the selection of Poulter and Colsaerts, there were no real snubs. Of one the biggest names that failed to make the team was 3-time major champion Padraig Harrington.
"I talked to him last night. I was very straight and to the point," Olazabal said. "I know he tried hard and he played well at the Masters, he finished eighth, he had a good U.S. Open and a great Irish Open. You know, he was 19th on the list, he was just a little bit down the list."
The United States team will be led by Davis Love III. He will make his picks next week. The eight automatic qualifiers for the U.S. squad were Tiger Woods, Bubba Watson, Jason Dufner, Keegan Bradley, Webb Simpson, Zach Johnson, Matt Kuchar and Phil Mickelson.
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