European Ryder Cup captain Thomas Bjorn is refusing to concern himself with the talent in the US team and believes his side will have enough quality to win in Paris (Europe 6/5 Outright Betting).
The US currently boast four of the top five players in the world, with Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson and Jordan Spieth making up the top three and Rickie Fowler in fifth, while Spain’s Jon Rahm is Europe’s only representative.
However Bjorn, who completed his backroom team by selecting Lee Westwood, Padraig Harrington, Graeme McDowell and Luke Donald to join Robert Karlsson as his vice-captains on Tuesday, has no concerns over what quality Jim Furyk will have at his disposal.
“We know what we are up against,” Bjorn said. “We know they have a very strong team. They have extremely strong players.
“But when I look at the list of 25, 30 players (in contention for Europe’s team) it’s hard to say that Europe is not in a very good place. That we don’t hold the major trophies, is that a coincidence? Maybe and maybe not.
“But that’s not really what I’m focusing on. I’m focusing on can I see us winning with the players that we have? Absolutely we can.
“You go and you prepare yourself as well as you can, and you go and do it with belief in your players and belief in the team around, and then we do it together, like we always do.”
Bjorn was also speaking ahead of the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, where Rory McIlroy is priced at 8/1 to win.
Odds subject to change
