European Ryder Cup captain Jose Maria Olazabal is adamant that picking inexperienced Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts and England’s Ian Poulter as his wildcard selections is not a gamble.

Poulter, 32, will be competing in his fourth Ryder Cup since making his debut in 2004, while Colsaerts, 29, will be playing in his first.

“It is true Nicolas is going to be the only rookie on the team but we do have an experienced team,” Olazabal said on Monday.

“Out of the 12 players, 11 have played Ryder Cup. They have proven they can handle that pressure. They have the experience so we do have a very solid team.

“He’s had a very solid season and, on top of that, he has made the extra effort trying to make the team, and he really showed me that he wanted to be part of that team and that is the reason I chose him.”

Colsaerts was 12th in the European Ryder Cup table, two places outside of automatic qualification, but his commitment to the team was evident when he played in the Wyndham Championship in North Carolina and then crossed the Atlantic to tee up in the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles last weekend to try to secure qualification.

Colsaerts will be the first Belgian-born player to compete in the 85-year history of the competition.

“Well, I know my phone has not stopped ringing but I do hope this is going to put golf in a better position in (Belgian) people’s minds, people’s heads,” he said. “Golf is not a very popular sport back home, and not much as it is over here in Scotland.”

For Poulter, it is the second time he has needed a wildcard selection after also getting one in 2008.

He learned of his selection after finishing tied for 36th in The Barclays tournament in New York.

“I am just thrilled to get the call last night from Jose which was a great moment, and I’m going to be thrilled to, again, pour some passion over the holes at Medinah and I’ll try my best,” said Poulter.

United States captain Davis Love will announce his four wildcard picks on September 4 in New York.

The Ryder Cup will be played from September 28-30 at the Medinah Country Club in Chicago.

European team:

Rory McIlroy (NIR), Justin Rose (ENG), Paul Lawrie (SCO), Graeme McDowell (NIR), Francesco Molinari (ITA), Luke Donald (ENG), Lee Westwood (ENG), Sergio Garcia (ESP), Peter Hanson (SWE), Martin Kaymer (GER), Ian Poulter (ENG), Nicolas Colsaerts (BEL)