Players Beyond Giddy To Have Ollie As Their Captain
/I don't remember praise quite like this for the Faldo and Monty announcements. Alistair Tait reports:
“Ollie’s the only man who’s ever made me cry in the Ryder Cup,” said Paul Casey, who played with Olazabal in the ’06 Ryder Cup at the K Club and was on the ’08 team at Valhalla. “He made speeches at both matches and I cried both times.
“I think it’s a wonderful decision. He’ll bring passion to the Ryder Cup. He’s got so much respect from the players. I can’t think of anybody who’s more respected than Ollie on the tour, and more well liked. Everybody feels so comfortable around him. Anybody can go up to him and he’ll help them out.”
Ian Poulter played at Valhalla and Wales. He first saw Olazabal play in the Ryder Cup when Poulter was 17 years old and attended the 1993 match at The Belfry.
“Jose Maria Olazabal is the Ryder Cup,” Poulter said. “Simple as that. When I was growing up he was one of two players I thought about when I thought of the Ryder Cup, along with Seve (Ballesteros). I mean they lived and died for the Cup. No one brought as much passion to the match as those two did."