Jose Maria Olazabal has backed fellow Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez to do enough to qualify for the European Ryder Cup team this year.

Jimenez became the oldest winner on the European Tour thanks to his victory in the Spanish Open on Sunday, and Olazabal believes that the 50-year-old can achieve his target of playing in the Ryder Cup for the fifth time when the competition takes place at Gleneagles later this year.

"It's obviously great for a player like Miguel at 50 winning so well," Europe's victorious captain from 2012 told Sky Sports News. "He keeps our hopes alive somehow, when I look at that there is a little flame still shining inside and it gets stronger when you see what he's doing.

"He told me last year that for this year his goal was to play in the team and what he has done in the last month or so in that regard is helping his hopes.

"Obviously he will have to continue to play like this but that's a goal that he's got for this year and I believe he has a great chance."

Jimenez will be searching for back-to-back victories when he competes in this week's PGA Championship at Wentworth.