• Ryder Cup

Montgomerie willing to unleash his rookies

ESPN staff
August 30, 2010
Edoardo Molinari, along with the other five Ryder Cup rookies, will be played before the singles on the last day, Montgomerie has confirmed © Getty Images
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European Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie has pledged to field all his rookies at least once before the singles at Celtic Manor - to avoid the problems Mark James encountered in 1999.

There were seven debutants in the biennial event in Boston, and captain James left out Andrew Coltart, Jean Van de Velde and Jarmo Sandelin until the final day - a ploy that was to prove unsuccessful as all three lost.

From 10-6 ahead, Europe succumbed to an American fight back - which culminated in Justin Leonard sinking a long putt against Jose Maria Olazabal and an infamous premature invasion of the 17th green.

Half of Montgomerie's 12-man squad have never played in the match before, but the Scot insists the same mistakes will not be made.

"I will try to play everybody as soon as possible," he said and when reminded of what James did at Brookline, he added: "That won't happen.

"They are not really rookies in my eyes. When I played for the first time in 1991 I felt very much an underling to the likes of [Nick] Faldo, Seve [Ballesteros], [Bernhard] Langer and Woosie [Ian Woosnam] - gods of the game.

"Now we have a major winner in Martin Kaymer, another who has gone so close in Rory McIlroy, a world match play champion in Ross Fisher."

The other Ryder Cup first-timers are Peter Hanson and Italians Edoardo and Francesco Molinari - the first brothers to play in the same team since Bernard and Geoff Hunt in 1963.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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