Olazabal not keen on another dose of Ryder Cup ‘torture’ in 2014

LONDON: Jose Maria Olazabal announced yesterday that he would not be available to lead Europe into the next edition of the Ryder Cup in 2014 after steering the team to a famous against-the-odds victory over the United States at the weekend.

The Spaniard explained that the tension made it “torture” to skipper a side that came back from 10-4 down to pull off an astonishing 14½13½ win at Medinah, Illinois, on Sunday.

“I won’t do it again,” he told a press conference at London’s Heathrow Airport. “I can assure you that’s going to be a no, period.

“(Being captain) is difficult; in a way, it’s torture.

“It’s really tough on your nerves, but that’s the beauty of the Ryder Cup. It’s a huge adrenalin flow, and that’s what we live for: the pressure, the tension. The adrenalin flow makes us feel alive.”

The 46-year-old said there were several good candidates to lead the European team at Gleneagles in Scotland in two years’ time, naming Darren Clarke, Paul McGinley and Thomas Bjorn, three of his vice-captains, as well as Paul Lawrie, Lee Westwood and Padraig Harrington as viable contenders.

“There are a lot of players who should have the opportunity to be in my spot,” he said. “It would be unfair of me to just name one for the next Ryder Cup. All of them deserve that position.”

Olazabal hailed his team’s fightback, which has been widely dubbed the “Miracle of Medinah”.

“I don’t know if it’s a miracle, but it’s something extraordinary. We haven’t seen that before,” he said.

“What the players achieved that day was just amazing. It’s up to you to decide if it’s the greatest moment or the greatest comeback in history, but (the players) deserve all the credit.

“We have this wonderful trophy here with us because of the huge achievement of those 12 men. They didn’t stop believing, and the performance they showed on Sunday was just incredible.”

Olazabal has been deluged with messages of congratulations from the likes of tennis star Rafael Nadal and Spain’s King Juan Carlos.

“(King Juan Carlos) was, like me, pretty much over the moon,” he said. “That was a nice one.”