Thomas Bjorn admits all five Ryder Cup vice-captains could make team
By Keith Jackson at Wentworth
Last Updated: 23/05/18 4:02pm
Thomas Bjorn is prepared for the possibility of his Ryder Cup assistant captains qualifying for the team as players, describing the prospect as a "positive problem".
Bjorn has completed his line-up of vice-captains after adding the experienced quartet of Lee Westwood, Graeme McDowell, Padraig Harrington and Luke Donald to his earlier appointment of Robert Karlsson.
But the European captain insisted all five had the ability to hit form over the summer, and Bjorn is not ruling out the chances of his backroom team making a late run up the Ryder Cup rankings.
"This is a conversation we've had in this group, and every player that sits at this table is capable of making the team," said Bjorn after making the announcement ahead of this week's BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.
"You know, if that happens, that's a very positive problem because what they can achieve as players, if they are in that form and they do those things over the summer that they have been able to do in the past in their careers, then you want them in the Ryder Cup team. But we'll deal with that problem when we get to it.
"Opportunities arose for me to have these guys on the backroom team, and when I looked at these players, I thought these are the people I want to have there. They bring all the right things to the team and they bring everything I believe in, and I took that chance now and I strongly believe that it's better to have the team together now.
"All the preparation we can do together from now to the Ryder Cup is extremely important for those 12 players that are going to play, because it's all about them and it's all about what they can achieve.
"We can lead and we can talk and we can do all the things that we can do to help them. But if one of these guys makes the team, I'll be proud to have them on that team and I'll wish them all the best of luck with that."
Bjorn is also happy with the way his team is taking shape, although he is fully aware much could change from this week onwards with plenty of points up for grabs.
"When you start looking at who is probably already in the team and who is very close, I've got good probabilities of what that team is going to look like," he added.
"And then, as always, the last few spots can change and that's the way it should be. That's why the system is the way it is. I want people to go out and play golf with someone, I want them to get in.
"I want to see a Thomas Pieters make the team with the run that he made the last time. I wanted him to make it into the team and not having to use a pick on him; the way he was playing at the end of the qualification period.
"I think that's important, that those guys at the end that are playing very well, they can actually make the team instead of having to use a pick on them."
