VIRGINIA WATER, England: Rookie trio Jonas Blixt, Victor Dubuisson and Joost Luiten will be welcome additions if they manage to qualify for Europe’s Ryder Cup team later this year, according to four-times skipper Tony Jacklin.
The 69-year-old Englishman, however, is less complimentary about Scotland’s Stephen Gallacher who is another player on the fringes of selection for the side that will defend the trophy against the United States at Gleneagles in September.
Florida-based Swede Blixt followed up his fourth place at the 2013 U.S. PGA Championship by finishing joint second behind Bubba Watson in last month’s U.S. Masters at Augusta on his first appearance at the opening major of the season.
“There is no doubt Europe have some quality players,” Jacklin told Reuters.
“This guy Blixt impresses me, I must say. He is a determined individual, he’s mentally tough and I loved the way he contained himself at Augusta.
“I always look out for the determination and mental toughness of today’s players and Blixt to me looked totally engaged in the job at hand last month,” added Europe’s most successful Ryder Cup captain.
“There was no suggestion of him backing off, he looked as tough as” ... and Jacklin’s voice suddenly trailed off as he banged his palm on a wooden table.
The former 1969 British Open and 1970 US Open winner added he liked Frenchman Dubuisson, who claimed his first European win when he eclipsed the likes of Tiger Woods and Justin Rose at last year’s Turkish Open, and Dutchman Luiten.REUTERS
