Nick Faldo has expressed his satisfaction at the 12-man Ryder Cup Team that he will lead to Valhalla Golf Club.

The European Captain, who selected the English duo of Paul Casey and Ian Poulter as his Captain’s Picks to join the ten automatic qualifiers to Team Europe after the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles, is confident that he has assembled a squad capable of winning a fourth successive Ryder Cup against Paul Azinger’s American Team.

He said: “Looking at the characters that we've got on our Team, we've got Padraig who I think has moved onto a new level. Sergio brings great passion to the Team. Many of the guys will be contributing in their own way.

“I feel that new roles will be coming into this Ryder Cup. I think that Lee Westwood will probably take a new role on, very much like I had, looking after some of the rookie players when Lee and I played together years ago.

“You know, for me, it's the important thing is that I think they are riding a wave. My first role will be probably be to bring the guys back down to earth and we start from zero, start from the bottom line and we work forward.

“I know every player in the Team is passionate, more than passionate about The Ryder Cup and how much commitment they have given this year, and the number one goal is to go and win.”

Faldo admitted he found it extremely difficult to make his Captain’s Picks with so many worthy contenders vying for just two places in the Team, but he believes he has found the right balance to help Europe to victory on American soil for the fourth time since the competitions inception in 1927.

“I had to make the call. What I saw through the Majors this year have been very important to me. I think obviously the Ryder Cup is a Major, it really is. It's taking you to another level.”

Asked if he thought Europe could repeat their dominant nine-point winning margins from the last two Ryder Cups, Faldo responded: “14 ½ will do me very nicely! Obviously we've been on an extraordinary run for these last few years, but winning is the most important thing to me. Points are really not important."

To return to the main News page click here