Waching daily Nov 7 2018

Ryder Cup captain Thomas Bjorn launched a passionate defence of his contentious wild card picks, insisting: 'it's more important to have the best team rather than the best players

' The Dane went for the tried in Sergio Garcia, Henrik Stenson, Paul Casey and Ian Poulter but whether the first two can be trusted after enduring a year to forget is another matter

Spaniard Garcia could become the all-time leading points scorer for either side if he delivers three wins - but he also goes into the biennial dust-up in Paris later this month as the first player in Ryder Cup history to make it having missed the halfway cut in all four majors

'I can't pinpoint what a European team is, but I know he is right at the centre of it,' argued Bjorn

'He's the heartbeat of this team and going into this match without him would be like a football team without its captain

He makes everyone around him a better player and I have so much belief that he will go to France and deliver

' Bjorn revealed he was so desperate to have Garcia in the team it didn't matter that he's missed the cut in eight of his last 11 events

'I felt like I had to go a long way in my mind before I left him out,' he said. 'Somebody would have had to do a Bryson DeChambeau (winner of the last two FedEx events) for him not to be there

'You all look at form and I understand that because that's easy to measure, but he brings so much more to the team than that

He's the player who stands up on Thursday evening and rallies the troops and again on Saturday night, if you're four points ahead, to say it's not a done deal

'Padraig Harrington put it best when he said it's about coming together as a team not just about the best players, and I know all about Sergio's qualities in that regard

' Garcia, who will be playing in his eighth Ryder Cup, said: 'I'm obviously very thankful for making it

It's been a tough summer for me, but I feel like my game is coming around. Thomas knows what I have to offer, and I will be giving it everything I have

' Poulter's pride in returning to the fold after missing out in 2016 was obvious

'Two years ago I was a vice-captain and something like 200th in the world, so it was obviously a huge motivating factor for me to get my game back in shape,' he said

'It feels incredible to make this team again. I can't wait to get started.' In addition to telling the four wild cards they were in, Bjorn revealed he made six other phone calls to the leading contenders who just missed out, with Rafa Cabrera-Bello the one who was the most crestfallen

'They were some of the hardest calls I have ever had to make and Rafa, in particular, found it hard to take in,' said Bjorn, of the Spaniard, who was a whisker away from being one of the eight automatic qualifiers

'I almost felt sick having to tell him.' Londoner Matt Wallace didn't get a wild card either despite birdieing seven of his last eight holes to win the Made in Denmark tournament in front of Bjorn for his third win of the season on Sunday

'Matt is an amazing player, but we have five rookies already and it would have been hard to select another,' he said

'Only the people who have been there know how difficult it is being a rookie at a Ryder Cup

But he will play in future Ryder Cups, that's for sure.'