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Olazabal impressed by duo

European captain Jose Maria Olazabal has hailed Ian Poulter's Ryder Cup "spirit" and also admitted he was impressed by Nicolas Colsaerts's effort to make the team.

Ian Poulter: Plenty of spirit

Poulter and Colsaerts were on Monday confirmed as Olazabal's wildcard picks for the showdown against the United States in Medinah from September 28-30.

They will be joined by automatic qualifiers Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, Graeme McDowell, Paul Lawrie, Francesco Molinari, Luke Donald, Lee Westwood, Sergio Garcia, Peter Hanson and Martin Kaymer.

World number 23 Poulter will be competing in his fourth Ryder Cup since making his debut at Oakland Hills in 2004, while Belgian Colsaerts will be the only debutant in the team.

"Everyone of you guessed Ian was going to be there for obvious reasons," said Olazabal.

"He has a great Ryder Cup record, he was playing well - he had some issues earlier in the season, he got ill and he couldn't play as much - but he is cured and his attitude and spirit in the Ryder Cup team has always been great.

"He likes to be in that situation, it gets the best out of him playing the Ryder Cup."

The 29-year-old Colsaerts had a chance to secure automatic qualification with a top-two finish at the Johnnie Walker Championship, but ultimately fell well short.

However, Spaniard Olazabal was impressed with the fight from the Belgian.

"Nicolas is a rookie, the only rookie in the team, we have an experienced team," he added.

"His matchplay record is very good, he has a very solid season.

"And on top of that he has made the extra effort to try to make the team. He showed me he wanted to be a part of the team."

golf365.com