European Ryder Cup captain Jose Maria Olazabal has admitted that he was surprised to see Hunter Mahan left out of the American team for September's competition.
American skipper Davis Love III selected Jim Furyk, Dustin Johnson, Steve Stricker and Brandt Snedeker as his four wildcards earlier this week, a decision that Olazabal has questioned.
The Spaniard said: "They are very strong picks but then at least two of them were pretty obvious in Stricker and Jim Furyk but the other two, Dustin Johnson and Brandt Snedeker, have been playing pretty well lately.
"The only question mark as I see it was Snedeker picked ahead of Mahan but then Davis has gone for form.
"However, Mahan has not been playing all that well, so he went for form and in that regard he has my respect."
The Ryder Cup begins on September 28.
